Our Opinion: Political divisions gloss over our nation’s booming economy
As is typical of any midterm election season, there was a lot of public campaign hand-wringing in the past couple of months that left the impression our country is in the darkest of times.
It is hardly the first time political pundits and opposition to the sitting power holders painted an overly bleak picture in hopes of translating the negativity into tide-turning votes.
While some of the criticisms have some accuracy behind them, any rhetoric relating to the nation’s economy was especially inaccurate in the past few months.
The key facts relating to the economy paint a positive picture that is, frankly, historically bright.
Unemployment numbers reported in October showed the jobless rate at 3.7 percent, the nation’s lowest unemployment rate since 1969. In many cases, employers can’t find qualified workers to fill openings.
This is a marked contrast to large portions of the Obama administration when many people without jobs became so depressed over their prospects that they stopped seeking them.
If these low unemployment numbers continue, they will inexorably lead to higher wages for every earning sector of the workforce, which is a good thing. And the economy’ s economic growth rate indicates the trend will continue. The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 4.2 percent in September, an almost unprecedented rate of growth.
As was inevitable, there are signs from the stock market and other places that the growth rate is starting to slow in October and November.
But even a slowed rate that is half what September’s number was would still represent a strong economy. In these highly politicized times, a booming economy should be something that we can all cheer for and hope is maintained.
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