TheWiseOldFart

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%. ...