FUNDAMENTAL LIMITS ON THE ECONOMY

I think the conclusion of my good friend and former CSUB colleague is incorrect (“Why Biden is a terrible president,” Jan. 8). Considering just his economic case, Dr. Frank Falero argues Biden is terrible because employment has increased by only 3.46 million from its pre-pandemic peak.

This is rhetorically selective. While it identifies much of the impressive 12 million-person employment increase as a post-pandemic return to work, it ignores fundamental limits: the economy already is at full employment and the Fed wisely has strongly leaned against unsustainably faster growth for two years.

Biden also is supposedly terrible because prices have increased by 18.86% since his inauguration. The trigger and largest contributing factor to this inflation burst was a pandemic causing historic supply chain and labor force disruptions. Supply shocks are beyond any president’s control (especially if inherited!).

Biden honored the Federal Reserve’s independence in responding to this inflation, although large interest rate increases carry significant risk of a recession going into his reelection. The Fed’s political independence is “merely a norm.”

Imagine the hyperinflationary alternative. When real growth is positive (as it is), real income increases even though prices are increasing. While it may be hard to feel and there always are distributional effects, the economic gains of our growing economy are being broadly shared.

The average hourly wage adjusted for inflation for all workers increased in 2023. For production and nonsupervisory workers, the core of our working lower-middle and middle class, real wages increased by more than the average. — Mark Evans, Bakersfield