September 21st, 2024.

On Thursday, September 19th, the day after the Federal Reserve began to lower interest rates,

two and a half years after it began to raise them to get inflation under control,

President Joe Biden spoke to the Economic Club of

Washington, D.C. a non-profit, nonpartisan forum where leaders from around the world

can speak to larger questions about the global economy.

Biden noted the interest rate cut and identified it as an important signal from the Federal

Reserve to the nation that inflation, which at its post-pandemic peak was 9.1%, has come

down close to the Fed's target rate of 2%.

He described it as a declaration of progress, a signal that we've entered a new phase of our

economy and our recovery. But Biden told the audience he was not here to take a victory lab.

Instead, he wanted to speak about how far we've come,

how we got here, and most importantly, the foundation that I believe we've built for a more prosperous

and equitable future in America.

He wanted, he said, to make the country realize how much progress we've made.

Because if we don't, the negative economic mindset he attributes to the pandemic

will dominate our economic outlook, and we will miss the immense opportunities in front of us right now.

Biden reminded the audience that when he and Vice President Kamala Harris took office

in January 2021 having inherited the worst pandemic in a century

and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression they found there was no real plan in place, no plan to deal with a pandemic,

no plan to get the economy back on its feet. Nothing. Virtually nothing.

The nonpartisan congressional budget virtually nothing.

...