By Karen Stokes
Joelle Gamble, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (Photo/Econcon)
A conversation on the impact of President Biden’s economic agenda took place on Tuesday, with a group of women working for the administration. Erica Lowe, the director of White House African American media, skillfully moderated the discussion.
U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabel Guzman, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Joelle Gamble and Deputy Assistant to the President and AANHPI Senior Liaison Erika Moritsugu discussed the impact of Bidenomics on Black, Latino and AANHPI communities.
Gamble said, “The President’s economic vision focuses on building the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, in stark contrast from what has been done in the past, the failed trickle down economy. With the Biden- Harris Administration we’ve seen real progress from healthcare to entrepreneurship. There’s a lot to celebrate here.”
Erika Moritsugu , AANHPI Senior Liaison
(Photo/CNN)
The economic vision centered around Bidenomics adopts three key pillars:
• Making smart public investments in America
• Empowering and educating workers to grow the middle class
• Promoting competition to lower costs and help entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive
President Biden and Vice President Harris took office during a time of crisis, during a pandemic, unemployment, supply chain issues, and the risk of small business closures. They understood that simply returning to the pre-pandemic economy would not be sufficient, as it was plagued by long term challenges like inequality and disinvestment in communities. Their goal was to rebuild the economy while addressing these issues.
President Biden recognized that some of those challenges were rooted in a failed trickle-down theory that supported slashing taxes for the wealthy and big corporations, shrinking public investment in critical priorities like infrastructure and education, and failing to safeguard market competition.
Erica Lowe, director of White House African American media (Photo/UF School of Journalism
Moritsugu said, “Bidenomics is already delivering to the American people including Asian Americans. The Biden Harris administration has lowered the Asian unemployment rate to pre pandemic levels. The number of Asian American owned businesses has increased by 18 percent. Bidenomics is the embodiment of President Biden’s leadership. We look forward to what the future holds.”
President Biden and Vice President Harris have made progress in improving the economy for all Americans, including Black Americans. They achieved the lowest-ever Black unemployment rate and the highest Black employment rate since 2000. The Black child poverty rate was reduced by over 12%, benefiting more than 200,000 children. Efforts were made to invest in infrastructure and transportation projects in disadvantaged communities.
Access to healthcare and disability benefits was expanded, homelessness was reduced, and unemployment rates for Black veterans reached historic lows. The work is ongoing, but these actions show the positive impact of Bidenomics.
Isabel Guzman, SBA Administrator (Photo/SBA)
The Latino community has also benefited by reducing the Latino child poverty rate by greater than 7%, impacting over 300,000 children, through the Thrifty Food Plan. Achieved the fastest creation rate of Hispanic-owned businesses in more than a decade, which was over 20% faster than pre-pandemic levels, achieved the largest-ever single calendar-year decline in Latino unemployment.
Administrator Guzman, “When we talk about the historic infrastructure investments, those are contracted through small businesses across the country creating local jobs and growing the local economy.”
“Bidenomics is rooted in what always worked best for this country: investing in America. Because when you invest in our people, when you strengthen the middle class, we see stronger economic growth that benefits everybody,” the President said in a statement.