Looking back over the last 10 years is a reminder of just how good we have it.

The last decade has ended much better than it began and, well, it’s not because of the government. It’s despite the government and its massive growth.

Let’s start with some cold, hard numbers.

When this decade began in 2010, America had just marked the largest budget deficit — $1.4 trillion — in our nation’s history. That deficit included the gigantic growth of the federal government to include the bank bailout and the so-called American Recovery Act that featured “stimulus” spending aimed for shovel-ready jobs that weren’t so shovel ready.

The year 2010 began with unemployment at 9.8%, after a double-digit peak of 10% in October 2009. Wages were hitting a low of 1.6% annual median growth in January 2010 after falling from 3.6% median growth in January 2009. Only 153,484,000 Americans were in the shrinking labor force at the beginning of 2010 compared to the more than 164.4 million working as of November 2019.

The beginning of the decade marked a financial wall with improvements confined by the reliance of taxpayer-funded capital and spending rather than the private sector. The free market was constrained by the growth of the government, contrary to sound economic principles. As the late economist Milton Friedman once put it, “The deeper the recession, the stronger the recovery.” That was true until 2009, which began the worst recovery since the Great Depression.

Until the Obama administration’s government-funded “recovery,” the 11 preceding post-Depression recessions were followed by recoveries of all jobs lost in an average of 27 months. Barack Obama’s recovery took 76 months — over six years — with GDP growth of no more than 2% declared to be the “new normal.”

Private-sector growth cannot compete with the unfair advantages of government-run sectors of the economy, and markets respond unfavorably to government intervention. Look no further than March 2010, when about 20% of America’s economy became governed by regulations for a uniform product that drove out-of-pocket spending higher for customers. The grossly misnamed “Affordable” Care Act (ObamaCare) has forced more people onto health-insurance rolls, but it has not reduced the costs of healthcare services. In fact, contrary to its name, the law has actually increased the amount patients pay on their own while having insurance.

Big Government doesn’t fix problems that involve cost, access, quality, or value. Instead, economic forces respond very favorably to the removal of barriers in markets. The last three years offer the proof that reducing taxes and regulations works.

Manufacturing jobs are growing faster than at any time over the last 30 years. Four million jobs have been created since November 2016. Unemployment for blacks and Hispanics is at historic lows. Annual GDP growth topped 3% for the first time in a decade. Median household income is at a record high and wages are growing at a healthy clip, particularly for those at the bottom.

The Donald Trump-led economy is humming along nicely.

But what about the rest of the world? Well, it’s improving, too.

As the Cato Institute’s Johan Norberg writes, “The World Bank reports that the world-wide rate of extreme poverty fell more than half, from 18.2% to 8.6%, between 2008 and 2018. Last year the World Data Lab calculated that for the first time, more than half the world’s population can be considered ‘middle class.’”

Due to increased access to fresh water, vaccines, and sanitation, the incidence of malaria in Africa has declined by almost 60% and deaths due to HIV/AIDS have been more than halved. Death rates from air pollution declined worldwide by nearly 20% as improvements in infrastructure and societal habits translate into better health.

It’s interesting that as individuals experience better economic conditions, they enjoy greater personal wealth, mobility, and access to services and products that offer more energy efficiency and higher capacity. That, in turn, shows that economic growth can mean using less and being a more sustainable global community.

Our smart phones now serve as a camera, calendar, clock, map, radio, flashlight, and even our primary source of news via “screen time” and video content — all in the palm of our hands. Gone are the computers that require an entire room. Gone are the heavy TVs and massive stereo systems complete with wires and speakers. Gone are our oversized atlas maps and our notebook-sized day planners.

Yes, 2010-2019 has been and continues to be a time of great political strife. Yet the reality is that this “First World Problem” that occupies the preponderance of our time and energies is cast upon the canvas of an American Day of opportunity and growth that will continue to grow — as long as our government is restrained and people are permitted to live in Liberty.

2020 … here we come!