With the daily, mostly negative, rhetoric that we seem to be bombarded with, I would like to mention some positive things that have happened over the last two years. Big investments in infrastructure throughout the whole United States — bridges, roads, rail, new water systems, upgrading our energy grid, and more. The business community and all of us have been clamoring for this type of national investment for decades, and it’s finally being accomplished.

New investment in building manufacturing here in the U.S. is happening after years of companies building their plants in foreign countries. Microchip manufacturing and electric car manufactures lead the way, with 375,000 new manufacturing jobs created in 2021 alone. Construction spending for manufacturing facilities has doubled since the end of 2021. Available jobs are up substantially. Wages are up. Inflation is coming down. The stock market is back up to reasonable returns. Improved relationships with our allies both in Europe and the Pacific rim, along with a strong defense of our democratic principles against the dictatorships of Putin’s Russia and Communist China make the U.S. and the world a safer place. 

I understand that we still have large problems to solve, but let’s look at the glass as half full and not half empty.

Gardner Merriam

New Haven