America's Healthy Economy

Lately, Trump’s been bragging about how he is creating a great economy.  

For the record, America’s healthy economy derives from the Obama years.  After eight years of George Bush, the economy crashed in 2008 and the Great Recession began. 

Under Obama, the economy got back on its feet well before Trump moved into the White House; he’s avoided wrecking it so far but that remains a danger.  The huge tax cuts for the wealthy enriched the top one percent more than anyone else—they did not improve the financial status of the people as a whole.  

Meanwhile, he’s not done nearly enough to address the rebuilding of America’s infrastructure.  He’s done precious little to help minimum wage workers or to raise salaries in general; he fails to see the urgency of weaning the nation off fossil fuel and transitioning the country to a green economy.

He’s played a dangerous game of brinkmanship around sudden and draconian increases in tariffs; he’s added a trillion dollars to the national debt.  Per the GOP playbook, he’s pumped billions into defense industries while proposing deep cuts to social service programs. 

He’s ruling by Executive Order and a declaration of National Emergency rather than passing legislation through Congress, the people’s representatives. 

After promising to drain the swamp, he’s appointed billionaires with no experience to his cabinet, several of whom were immediately accused of financial abuses.  He and his (former) cronies are bogged down in a host of accusations and investigations; he himself has been named in a criminal indictment. 

He has a long history of bankruptcies going back years—the question has arisen why banks (particularly Deutsche Bank) chose to lend him money despite this history.  He doesn’t read; he ignores the advice of experts; he relies on slanted FOX news; and he indulges his petty temper tantrums at the drop of a hat.   

His narcissism is so outrageous there’s frequent worry that it affects his rational judgment.

If the economy is strong we should all be thankful but in all honesty its healthy nature traces back to President Obama’s policies and successes, not Trump’s.  We’ve seen this pattern before.  

The economy was strong in 2000 when George Bush became president; it took eight years before it tanked; housing mortgage scams and financial scandals exploded.    

When it comes to discussing Trump’s long-term influence on the economy, the night is young.