Measuring the Strength of the Economy
Here’s a piece in Forbes that compares “Trump’s economy” to Obama’s. A few things:
The quote marks around “Trump’s economy” are meant to signify that the president has a very limited capacity to shape the economy by himself. Did Bush 43 push the economy into freefall in 2008? Of course not.
Measuring the strength of the economy is akin to measuring the quality of a poem or a piece of art, in that there are dozens of different dimensions, some of which are subjective. If I were asked to do it, I would find a way to measure the quality of life, as it applies to finances, for the bulk of Americans.
Is poverty diminishing? Are people able to save more? Are goods and services becoming more affordable? Are long-term prospects improving via positive developments in trade relations, job qualifications vis-a-vis global competitors, educational standards, and investment in key technologies? Can people afford to enjoy a decent amount of leisure time?
Corporate profits and the Americans’ purchasing power have almost nothing to do with one another. The raw number of jobs means nothing to a person who needs three of them in order to buy their prescription medications and feed their families.
Craig,
Do you never stop whining ? The US economy is doing astonishingly well despite many otherwise contrary pressures.
The Trump administration has wrought a miracle for the working class, blue collar American. First it stopped the extinction of US blue collar workers created by Obama’s policy of shipping their jobs overseas.
The administration’s efforts in just two years to reverse a twenty five year trend of losing blue collar employment, then adding a record number of new blue collar workers back into the work force has been miraculous. Wages have begun increasing with the decrease in unemployment as employers compete for the best labour.
The social benefits in poor (especially black) communities are profound. With employment comes back pride and enterprise. Families become more stable, crime, vandalism and drugs decrease as families remain cohesive units.
As the tax bases in poorer communities increase due to lessening unemployment, funds become available for better social facilities such as schools and medical infrastructure. The burden on the taxpayer lessens when more citizens pay tax. With a drop in crime and social welfare, more money can be diverted to civic improvements which creates more pride and employment in productive ways.
(perhaps if you left your safe little affluent enclave in Santa Barbara Cal., and traveled through some of America’s more deprived areas, you might just gain a greater appreciation).
All these economic benefits have been achieved despite a negative, truculent House of Representatives determined to frustrate the President’s policies.
The US has been in an “undeclared” trade war with the Peoples Republic of China for at least twenty five years,..and losing! The President announced his intention to correct this state of affairs and began the first volleys of what will be a long, and at times, bitter struggle against the emerging power of China.
There are those selfish American’s who are either too stupid, short-sighted, complicit, collaborationist or just too cowardly, to support the fight. Like all “appeasers” these creatures are capable of deception and delusion. In the end they are just craven collaborators.
America must win these battles if it is to survive.