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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe economic perception gap: This is more than partisanship
The economic perception gap: This is more than partisanship
By Jennifer Rubin, Opinion writer at the Washington Post
Jan. 1, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. EST
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/01/economic-perception-gap-this-is-more-than-partisanship/?utm_source=reddit.com
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As Trump struggles to undo the damage from his own trade war, consumers are still paying the price. (Per Rattner: [Prices] of tariff-related goods rose by 3 percent, while the prices of other goods (excluding food and energy) have been unchanged. Moreover, rather than revive manufacturing, Trump has helped push it into a recession. That, in turn, has dented business confidence and for a time seemed likely to drag down the broader economy. While those fears have ebbed, the number of factory jobs is barely growing and has contracted in some of the key 2020 swing states. Through November, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania had lost manufacturing jobs this year.
Rattner also notes that investment (which was supposed to rise as a result of Trumps tax cuts) has grown more slowly under Trump than it did under Obama after the recession ended. Meanwhile, job growth, a constant subject of Trump boasts, is slower than it was under Obama: [Average] monthly job growth during Mr. Trumps 34 months in office (193,000) was less than the 227,000 jobs added monthly during the last 34 months of Mr. Obamas tenure.
Job growth was materially slower this yearin Ohio and Michigan than it was nationally, and in three other [swing states] Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Minnesota the unemployment rate also rose.
Worst of all, the deficit has exploded, thanks to Trumps tax cuts and the two budget deals he signed into law this year that add on federal spending. Rattner explains: All told, measures passed under Mr. Trumps watch caused the annual deficit to more than double; it will exceed $1 trillion in the current fiscal year. Coupled with historically low interest rates, this robs us of the normal stimulus tools we would be able to utilize in case of an economic downturn.
In sum, there is much to Democrats claim that the economy is doing great for the rich, for big corporations, for stock investors and for those not in manufacturing. Moreover, with health care, college and housing prices spiking in many regions, there are millions of Americans who feel squeezed. It is these Americans who might determine the outcome of the 2020 election. Democrats seeking to win back the White House and control of the Senate will need to speak to Americans legitimate economic insecurities and their perception that economic success should be more widely enjoyed without sounding like Chicken Little. Thats no easy task, but it is hardly impossible.
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sakabatou
(42,174 posts)But that's not working at all.