One way that the Biden administration is meeting its commitment to underserved communities is through a surge of investment to places that were left behind.
An important new study from Brookings and MIT gives the details, as reported by Axios:
There’s an unprecedented building boom underway in America. With it has come a less-noticed phenomenon: a surge of investment into communities left behind in the last economic expansion.
Why it matters: Poorer counties with lower employment rates have attracted a large share of the hundreds of billions of dollars allocated for clean energy projects, semiconductor mega-factories and more.
“The previous three years of data indicate that after decades of economic divergence, strategic sector investment patterns are including more places that have historically been left out of economic growth,” the report says.
The big picture: The building boom has been spurred in part by money allocated under Biden-era legislation — the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and CHIPS and Science Act— that’s helping put a floor under the national economy and sustaining demand for workers.
Another brand-new study by the Center for American Progress backs up this analysis. It shows that communities that lost manufacturing jobs are main beneficiaries of the Biden administration’s new industrial policy.
The Biden administration’s economic investments are benefiting underserved and historically disinvested communities. After two decades of disinvestment in manufacturing jobs, the Biden administration’s new industrial policy is helping bring jobs and investments back to these communities.
This analysis finds that 83.2 percent of counties receiving new private investments spurred by the Biden administration have manufacturing sectors that have shrunk since 2001. This suggests that the administration has so far been successful in its goal of incentivizing private investment in locations where access to manufacturing jobs is limited.
“Decades of disinvestment have made it harder for Americans to support themselves and their families through good manufacturing jobs,” said David Madland, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “But fortunately, the industrial policies of the Biden administration encourage investments in America’s manufacturing capacity for clean energy, electric vehicles, and semiconductors.
Madland continued, “These are jobs that can pay good wages, offer the chance to join a union, and, importantly, are now increasingly accessible to workers in places with limited access to manufacturing jobs in recent years—all important steps for building a better future for the American middle class.”
This is all part of a larger manufacturing supercycle started by Biden, as Axios reported last June:
There is massive new investment taking place in U.S. heavy industry that's set to shape the economic landscape for years to come.
- It is fueled by hundreds of billions of dollars allocated by the Biden administration's signature legislation — the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastucture Law, and CHIPS and Science Act — as well as pent-up demand.
- It implies sustained upward pressure on demand for workers and raw materials for years to come, and makes a recession less likely by creating a floor of activity under normally volatile industries.
What they're saying: "We believe the U.S. is in the early stages of a manufacturing supercycle," wrote Joseph P. Quinlan, head of CIO Market Strategy at Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, in a report this week.
- He emphasizes the role of foreign direct investment in the surge, as global companies rush to build large-scale facilities in the United States. He sees the trend extending well into the second half of the 2020s.
- "It's really gotten the attention of the world," Quinlan tells Axios. "When you talk to companies in South Korea, Japan, Europe, all they want to talk about is building out a presence in the U.S."
By the numbers: As of April, spending on manufacturing construction — new factories — is tracking at a $189 billion annual rate, triple the average rate in the 2010s ($63 billion).
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden has done so much more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
What can you do to help?
Your donation will come bundled with others from our Good News community and will show Biden that there are many of us who support him and combine hard work with optimism in our battles for a better America!
Want to do something else?
Rec and comment on these posts to keep them alive at DKos and share them with others who might not realize how great a president Joe Biden has been.
Looking for something else? Here are some other ideas:
This is an entry in my ongoing series Boosting Biden.
Check the comments for more information on how to find other entries and subscribe.
These posts are written by Goodnewsroundup (Goodie),
edited by Matilda Briggs, supported by 2thanks and WolverineForTJatAW,
and reinforced by several notable Kossacks!
As with all good things, it takes a village.