Bidenomics is Growing the Middle Class | Opinion

In recent weeks, the White House has honed its economic sales pitch by touting the success of what it is calling "Bidenomics"—the administration's strategy of growing the economy by growing the middle class. While some are scoffing at the term, new data suggests Bidenomics has yielded a record worth touting—with the United States appearing poised to defy the historical odds in bringing down inflation while sustaining solid economic growth and a strong job market. In fact, the United States has the lowest annual inflation rate and strongest GDP among all G7 countries.

The U.S.' economic fortitude didn't happen by chance, it is the direct result of new policies that are investing in the American people and cutting the cost of living. This month marks one year since two of President Joe Biden's chief economic bills—the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—became the law of the land. While there has been significant attention to how the laws are prompting a surge in manufacturing and construction spending, the laws are also helping grow the economy in often unseen ways.

Between countless acronyms and varying timelines for new policies to go into effect, it can be hard for Americans to know how new laws are altering our economic picture. That's why one of the best ways to understand what these new policies mean for the American people is to hear from those whose lives are being impacted most by them. The Center for American Progress has had the opportunity to hear from countless people about how new investments in manufacturing and innovation, clean energy, and lowering the cost of health care are giving Americans more peace of mind and financial security.

For years, Missouri senior Robin has been suffering constant stress about how she was going to afford her $1,800 a month insulin prescription, which she needs to stay alive as a Type I diabetic. But thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act's $35 a month cap on insulin expenses for seniors, for the first time in five years, she was able to join her grandchildren and other family members on vacation and is excited to plan a girls' trip for the fall. Those vacations are more than just a luxury. They mean money spent at local businesses and restaurants, stimulating the economy of other states in addition to her own. They also afford the ability to share laughs with loved ones and achieve a meaningful quality of life.

But the IRA isn't just helping people save money on critical expenses, it's also driving public and private investments into new projects, like the Ford EV battery plant in Michigan, to create thousands of good-paying, union jobs. These investments aren't just headlines to people like Raquell, a 25-year-old journeywoman carpenter whose life was changed thanks to union work.

Her career in trades, including work at Ford's EV battery plant, has allowed her to achieve financial security, purchase a car, and own a home—things that felt nearly impossible at 19 when she was living in youth shelters and staying on friends' couches. None of that would be possible without her good-paying job made possible through her union and employer.

The IRA is creating higher-quality jobs for Raquell and others thanks to better standards for employee benefits. Additionally, as more jobs are created for people like Raquell and the trades industry booms, workers have more power to collectively bargain, and businesses have to compete for labor, resulting in better-paying jobs.

These new investments in clean energy and chipmaking go further than most jobs to produce batteries for electric vehicles or semiconductors, they're also creating a ripple effect across the economy that is helping create jobs in other industries. For example, Paul Sarzoza is the CEO and president of Verde Clean in Phoenix, Ariz., a small business he sought to create after a childhood watching his family treated poorly as migrant farm workers. Not only did he achieve his goal, but after securing the contract to do facilities work for the new TSMC chipmaking plant in Arizona, which was made possible by the CHIPS and Science Act, he gets to invest in more people. Verde Clean is expecting to hire up to 150 new employees over the next year, and 800 over the next decade.

Our economy shouldn't be measured by the value of the stock market, but the ability of Americans to live a middle class life that affords meaningful financial stability. After decades of seeing jobs shipped overseas, wages in a race to the bottom, and the cost of living cause families more stress, President Biden's policies are charting a new path and it's one Americans are already starting to feel thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.

Maddie Sell is a media relations specialist at Center for American Progress and Action Fund's Stories team. For more information on the Stories program, click here.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.