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Heather Long Profile picture
@byHeatherLong
Oct 10 • 4 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
2024 is on track to be an extraordinary year for the economy (and US stocks).

Here are 3 key points that show how incredible it is.

1) The US is defying expectations.
Inflation has fallen all the way back to 2.4% without a recession. Growth is strong & unemployment is still very low.

/1Image
Image
2) The bottom 50% are benefitting.

The biggest wage gains have gone to the bottom 40%

And wealth has nearly doubled for the bottom 50%.

/2 Image
3) The U.S. recovery has been the envy of the world.

Look at how much more the U.S. economy has grown since the pandemic compared to other G7 nations. Image
My column: This is a great economy. 2024 is shaping up to be one of the best economic years of most people’s lifetimes.

It’s not perfect. But we should be able to celebrate good news, regardless of our politics.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/…

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More from @byHeatherLong

Heather Long Profile picture
Jul 18
NEW: Who benefitted the most in the Biden and Trump economies?

Today I published 17 charts (w/@aden_barton ) to try to answer this Q.

Most of America experienced lower unemployment under Biden. /1 Image
Biden oversaw an incredible rebound from the pandemic with rapid — and widespread — gains including

*15.7 million jobs (6 million more than pre-pandemic)
*A manufacturing surge
*A start-up surge
*Child poverty reduction
*Lowest Black unemployment rate ever recorded
*A historic reduction in inequality
/2Image
Image
But inflation really stung Americans.
*Wages for most workers barely kept up with inflation under Biden.
*And home affordability is at the lowest level in 40 years

This is why more Americans trust Trump on the economy.

/3
Image
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Read 6 tweets
Heather Long Profile picture
Mar 8, 2023
NEW: An alarming number of Americans are already struggling, even if they have jobs

20.5 million are behind on utility payments

Nearly 25 million people are behind on their credit card, auto loan or personal loan payments. We haven't seen that since 2009
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
Here's the breakdown:

Auto loan delinquencies are at an all-time high of 3.3 million.

Credit card delinquencies are the highest since 2009

Consumer loan delinquencies are highest since 2010
This shows the rapid return to the pre-pandemic "two Americas" situation.

It's driven by:
-high inflation on basics
-end of pandemic gov't aid
-some overspending (people got used to extra $)
-some subprime borrowers had higher credit scores for a bit due to 2020/21 debt payoff
Read 4 tweets
Heather Long Profile picture
Feb 26, 2023
NEW: We need to talk about the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment. A 🧵

The heart of the problem = Norfolk Southern’s system didn’t detect a faulty part fast enough. There’s better tech out there. Freight rail should use it. /1

WaPo Editorial: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
The faulty part was a bearing – where the axel connects to the wheel. Most freight rail detect bearing problems using temperature sensors along the rails.

The issue? By the time the bearing is super hot, it’s done. It’s akin to learning you're out of gas 1 block before empty /2
To truly prevent the Ohio derailment, Norfolk Southern should've been using vibration detectors. They can be on the actual bearing or along the rails. They likely would have caught this problem MONTHS before, experts say. /3

We need to push for this tech
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
Read 8 tweets
Heather Long Profile picture
Jan 11, 2023
NEW: WaPo Editorial Board calls for a break up of the FDA. Food safety & nutrition should be its own agency.

Why?
-Baby formula crisis of 2021
-Lettuce outbreak of 2018
etc

All these crises have same issues: Slow response, unclear leadership, lack of $
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
Report after report has said the same thing about slow FDA responses to food outbreaks: There's no clear leadership and not enough resources for food side

-Reagan-Udall 2022
-Politico investigation 2022 (via @hbottemiller )
-Numerous GAO reports
-HHS Inspector General 2016/17
The time to act is now.
The independent Reagan-Udall report recommends breaking up the FDA into 2 separate agencies.

Just look at how confusing the current FDA org chart is. The 3 circled divisions handle food safety. They don't have 1 central leader (except the FDA head).
Read 5 tweets
Heather Long Profile picture
Jul 6, 2022
The past week was one of the most joyous – and scary – of my life. (a 🧵)

I gave birth to my daughter and my heart grew several sizes.

Then the “silent killer” after childbirth hit me and I nearly died.
I was almost sent home 2 days after delivery. Luckily, my doctor had me stay 1 more night. That saved my life. My blood pressure spiked and would not come down. I was sluggish, really swollen and on the verge of a seizure or stroke. /2
I didn’t understand why this was happening. My pregnancy had no complications. My delivery had been really smooth. Yet BOOM, 3 nights after delivery I had “postpartum preeclampsia” /3
Read 8 tweets
Heather Long Profile picture
Nov 10, 2021
Inflation is high right now (6.2% is highest in 31 years).

Overall, wage growth is NOT keeping up with inflation. Many American workers are worse off. (Chart 1)

*BUT* there are some parts of the economy -like hospitality - where wages ARE growing faster than inflation (Chart 2)
As @Claudia_Sahm points out, ~155 million Americans received a stimulus check in 2021. And ~35 million families are getting monthly Child Tax Credit payments.

This $$ helps low and moderate income households get by right now.

BUT the longer this goes on, the harder it will be
For now, the Federal Reserve thinks it is more important to keep the economy "hot" and get millions of Americans back to work, even if it means higher inflation.

The Fed's hope (and forecast) is wages will stay high in 2022, while inflation will come down.
Read 7 tweets

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