President Trump and his followers have been crowing lately about the great turnaround of the economy under his leadership. The stock market is humming along, and unemployment is at almost record levels. It’s a miracle, they say.
What the fan club fails to point out is that the economy had been in a recovery mode for many years, following the economic collapse of 2008 (The Great Recession). That recovery, which has gone on now for about 9 years, was started under President Obama, whom Donald Trump regularly ridicules.
When Barack Obama became President, the Dow Jones Average (New York Stock Exchange) was just shy of 8,000; when he left office, it had reached 20,000. It is now at a record high of 26,000.
Similarly, when Obama took office, unemployment was at 7.6 percent. At the end of his term, it had been reduced to 4.8 percent. The current number is 4.1 percent.
What we can infer from this are two things: (1) Mr. Trump has not adversely affected the ongoing economic recovery; and, (2) the President’s policies may have stimulated more enthusiasm in the economy.
There are two problems with the Trump euphoria: (1) Newton’s Law applies to the stock market; and, (2) wages are still stagnant.
Many Trumpian issues have been, seemingly, set aside while the stock market rises, but there will be a DJA correction (there always is!). When that happens, how will people react? Will they then begin to take note of the many scandalous actions of the Administration? Mid-term elections are coming.
And, if wages don’t make gains, Trump will have a lot of irate constituents barking at him, because he promised significant improvement in that area. Remember? “Make America Great Again”…more jobs, higher wages. Again, mid-term elections are coming.
Miracle? I think the jury is still out. It will render its verdict in November, 2018.
