Trump’s “Great Economy”

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart 

[The statistics for the entirety of Donald Trump’s time in office are nearly all compiled. As we did for his predecessor four years ago, we present a final look at the numbers. 

• The economy lost 2.7 million jobs. The unemployment rate increased by 1.7 percentage points to 6.4%. 

• Paychecks grew faster than inflation. Average weekly earnings for all workers were up 8.4% after inflation. 

• After-tax corporate profits went up, and the stock market set new records. The S&P 500 index rose 67.8%. 

• The international trade deficit Trump promised to reduce went up. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services in 2020 was the highest since 2008 and increased 36.3% from 2016. 

• The number of people lacking health insurance rose by 3 million. 

• The federal debt held by the public went up, from $14.4 trillion to $21.6 trillion. 

• Home prices rose 27.5%, and the homeownership rate increased 2.1 percentage points to 65.8%. 

Illegal immigration increased. Apprehensions at the Southwest border rose 14.7% last year compared with 2016. 

• Coal production declined 26.5%, and coal-mining jobs dropped by 25%. Carbon emissions from energy consumption dropped 11.3%. 

• Handgun production rose 12.5% last year compared with 2016, setting a new record. 

• The murder rate last year rose to the highest level since 1997. 

• Trump filled one-third of the Supreme Court, nearly 30% of the appellate court seats and a quarter of District Court seats.] 

 

These are the majority of Trump’s “accomplishments.” 

This does not include the statistics related to the more than one-million men, women, and children who lost their lives to Covid-19. 

When someone asks if life was better under the Biden administration you can say “hell yeah.” 

Op-ed by James Turnage