https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733756_1735278,00.html

Real, after inflation, Gross Domestic Product is up by one-third, despite the pandemic. That’s 2% annually, despite the Great Recession and the pandemic. The US economy is very solid.

A 21% increase in per capita income during this time. Quite solid and constant growth.

Inflation averaged a bit less than 2% before the pandemic, spiked to 8%, and has since declined to 4%. Experts disagree on whether it will return to 2% soon.

Gas prices are the most obvious component of inflation. They are largely driven by global supply and demand. Prices today are the same as in 2011-14, despite the general inflation increase of more than 20% since then.

Despite the pandemic, US unemployment is at a 50 year low!

Job seekers today encounter 3 times as many job openings.

Core age labor force participation has snapped back after the pandemic.

Investment values have doubled.

The number of millionaires and billionaires in the US has continued to increase.

Personal savings rates rose from 6% to 9% before the pandemic, shot up and fell back down to just 4% recently.

Housing values have doubled since the Great Recession.

Mortgage rates averaged 4% after the Great Recession, dropped to 3% and then increased to 6%+ as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates.

US exports have nearly doubled in 14 years.

Despite the Trump tariffs, which Biden has maintained, imports have also nearly doubled.

Despite historically slower growth rates, higher budget deficits and looser monetary policies, the US dollar is more highly valued today than in 2008.

Foreign countries still see the US as a positive ally, despite their concerns during the Trump era.

Obama returned the budget deficit to a “reasonable” 3% by 2016. Trump expanded it to 5% and then 15% as the pandemic struck. Biden drove some recovery to 5% by 2022, but has not driven further reductions.

US coal production is in a long-term decline.

Natural gas production has nearly doubled in 14 years.

Net farm income has been significantly above the base for 6 of the last 14 years, despite lavish Trump farm subsidies.

Manufacturing employment has continued to rise slowly in the last 14 years against the headwinds of international competition.

It’s difficult to put the pandemic in perspective, but here we see a 2-year reduction in expected lifespans. Opioid deaths and so-called “deaths of despair”, alcohol, drugs, suicide, also play a role.

Birth rates continue to drift lower as seen in all regions of the world.

The number of retirees has increased by more than 50%.

Retiree incomes are up by one-third, matching inflation.

Prospective retirees have doubled their cumulative savings.

The abortion rate has continued to fall in the last 30 years.

Church attendance has dropped from 40% to 30%.

Summary

The US economy recovered slowly after the Great Recession and then very quickly after the pandemic. Real, after inflation, output and per capita output increased. The labor market became very tight. Asset prices (investments and housing) rose for intrinsic and monetary reasons. The US remained a competitive international producer. The federal budget deficit was better at the end of the Obama period but worse for Trump and Biden. The pandemic reduced life expectancy and households had fewer children. Successful retirements grew and will grow. Social trends continue, uninterrupted by political positioning and policies.

Perceptions of the country and the economy are increasingly shaped by partisan political party views. Nonetheless, the US economy continues to grow and thrive.