The Biden legacy

To the editor

A recent letter to The Chief agrees that Democrats have helped American workers and that Republicans have done harm. But the author suggests that 2024 was a referendum on the past four years only. Fair enough.

During this time, 16 million Americans found jobs, the most in any single presidential term, and GDP grew by $7.375 trillion, another record. Biden passed the first infrastructure bill since Dwight Eisenhower; but just 32 Congressional Republicans backed the bill.  

As a former DOT official, I notice infrastructure. I have seen more roads resurfaced, repaired and rebuilt in the last three years than in the previous 30 years, combined.

Next the CHIPS Act (220 GOP Congressional “no” votes), which is completely revitalizing the city of Albany. Billions of private dollars are pouring into our state’s capital as Albany is poised to become the East Coast’s Silicon Valley. The PACT Act (185 GOP opposed) demonstrated Biden’s commitment to our military by compensating soldiers and family members poisoned by burn pit smoke and other toxins.  

Finally, the Inflation Reduction Act (zero GOP support) includes generous rebates and tax credits for upgrading home heating and cooling systems. My wife and I saved a bundle by renovating our 25-year-old systems.

I will also mention that Biden was the first president to walk a picket line with striking workers.  Presidential historians rank him as the most pro-union president since FDR.

Of course, the knock on Biden is inflation. Yet, it was worse and lasted longer under Ronald Reagan. I lived through it. My wife and I purchased our first home in 1987. The best rate we could get was 10.75 percent on a 15-year fixed mortgage, nearly double today’s rates. In 2022 (the worst year), inflation averaged 8 percent; in 1981, it averaged 10.3 percent.

Joseph Cannisi