The economy's growth in 2021 was the strongest in 37 years. Thanks, Joe!

The economy grew by 5.7% in 2021 during the first year of the Biden administration. This is the strongest showing in 37 years (since 1984). In fact, the gross domestic product in the last quarter of 2021 grew at a whopping 6.9%.

There are a number of reasons for this economic recovery. (1) Business restocked its inventory to meet strong demand. (2) The government injected large doses of fiscal stimulus. (3) Interest rates have remained low. And (4) the farming community is benefiting from promises kept by President Joe Biden.

For example, Donald Trump’s trade policy forced farmers to depend on receiving government payments rather than building sales. President Joe Biden turned that policy on its ear and is working to rebuild relationships with those customers lost by Donald Trump. As a result, the farm sector has fared quite well under President Joe Biden, as farmers ease off of government bailouts and see a boost in commodity prices.

And things might be even better if we didn’t have to deal with the onslaught of COVID-19, the Omicron variant, and the resulting business interruptions.

The last time the GDP grew at this rate, President Ronald Reagan was in office. Today the threat to a growing economy is that Congress has not approved President Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better legislation. That coupled with a likely rise in interest rates may well put a hold on future growth.

You may remember that it was not too many years ago that in response to encouraging news on economic growth, Republican National Committee Chairperson Ronna McDaniel tweeted "You can't deny our economy is roaring: Fastest GDP growth in 13 years.... Record low unemployment... Thank you [Donald Trump]!"

That may have been true at the time, but then recently after the economy reached its highest point in 40 years, created 6.4 million jobs last year, and employment reached its sharpest one-year improvement EVER, the same GOP officials said President Joe Biden doesn't deserve any credit for the recovered economy.

I always thought that what was good for the goose was also good for the gander.

A number of Republicans and their leadership are simply ignoring the strongest economic growth since 1984. The Republican National Committee, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell act as if the good news for our country is not worthy of comment.

Could it be that President Joe Biden's first year in the White House was so good that these Republicans figured it better for them just to be quiet?

Kevin McCarthy went so far as to release a press statement just 4 months after Joe Biden became President. "Today's disappointing jobs report confirms once again that President Biden's tax-and-spend policies are bad for American workers, families, and small businesses.... Experts are calling this jobs report the 'worst miss in 23 years', and it was a direct result of President Biden's counterproductive policies. So President Biden is not fixing a crisis, but creating new ones."

The reality is different.

But the truth is that lies sell. During the 2016 campaign, the media gave Donald Trump $2 billion in free media coverage. While Donald Trump was President his name-calling, whims and statements were lauded on cable news networks, despite the fact that all of this was littered with exaggerations, deceptions and outright lies.

Yet in 2021, the press fanned the flames of “Democrats in disarray” due to the failure of Republicans in Congress to pass the Build Back Better plan and voting rights legislation. The problem is that this narrative gives Congressional Republicans a free pass for killing both pieces of legislation.

There is no question that we live in challenging times. A growing economy doesn’t overshadow the assault we are experiencing on democratic processes or the continued and changing COVID pandemic.

As American citizens we are faced with choices about our future. These alternatives are perhaps best illustrated by the policy and political positions between former Republican President Donald Trump and present Democratic President Joe Biden.

Painting with a broad brush, Donald Trump is pro-life, while Joe Biden is pro-choice on women’s rights except Biden supports a federal ban on partial-birth abortions.

Trump wants to deport all undocumented immigrants (regardless of their skills or ability to fill much-needed positions in the workplace), while Biden supports a legal path to citizenship.

Trump wants to build a wall on the Mexican border, while Biden supports the DREAM Act.

Trump supports no controls over gun ownership and open carry, while Biden wants to expand responsible gun handling legislation by banning assault weapons and closing the gun-show loophole (by requiring gun show sales to have background checks).

Trump urges the cutting of taxes for high-profit corporations and for those in high-income tax brackets, while Biden supports tax cuts for individuals in all income brackets.

Trump wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, while Biden wants to provide affordable health insurance for all citizens including those under age 21.

Trump tweeted “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Biden wants to create a 5-year, $50 billion project to finance research by American companies into discovering alternative energy sources and developing technologies.

Trump rejected the Iran nuclear deal that the Obama administration had negotiated. Biden supported the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act as well as direct engagement with Iran “to exploit fissures within the government and between the government and the people.”

The bottom line in all this is philosophical differences.

Trump and the Republican Party refused to develop, write or publish a platform for the 2020 Presidential Election. Therefore, to gather Republican stance on issues important to Americans, it’s necessary to dig through tweets, news commentary and other unreliable sources. Being slippery and not accountable is a frightening direction for the Republican party.

Biden and the Democratic Party considered its position on issues important to Americans at the 2020 Democratic Platform Committee on July 27, 2020. Stance on issues was approved by the Democratic National Convention on August 18, 2020. Like the positions taken or not, they are written, published, easily available and clear.

Yes, the economy grew by 5.7% in 2021 during the first year of the Biden Administration. It is also the strongest showing in 37 years (since 1984). To top it off the GDP grew at 6.9% in the last quarter. These are facts.

All Americans - Republicans and Democrats alike - should be rejoicing.

Bill Gindlesperger is a central Pennsylvanian, Dickinson College graduate, Pennsylvania System Of Higher Education (PASSHE) Governor, Shippensburg University Trustee, and Chairman of eLynxx Solutions. eLynxx software coordinates and drives communication, specifying, approval, procurement or production, reporting and activities necessary to obtaining direct mail, marketing materials, promo and all other printing. He is a board member, campaign advisor, successful entrepreneur, published author and commentator. He can be reached at Bill.Gindlesperger@eLynxx.com

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Biden deserves credit for growth of economy: Gindlesperger