There is an excellent editorial in the August 23rd issue of the New York Times by Steve Rattner. It counters the misinformation and lies that President Trump will be presenting during the upcoming Republican National Convention. Here are some highlights:
Although the economy grew and produced jobs during Trump’s first three years in office, its performance was weaker than the last three years of Barack Obama’s presidency. About 1.5 million fewer jobs were created by Trump than by Obama.
Even to accomplish this goal, the Trump administration passed a huge tax cut that favored business and wealthy Americans while greatly increasing the deficit.
Americans in the top 20 percent of incomes received a 2.9 percent increase in their after-tax incomes while middle-class Americans got a 1.6 percent increase.
This year, Trump’s mishandling of the Covid pandemic contributed to an economy in crisis. A contraction of 10.6 percent during the first half of 2020; unemployment over 10 percent; more than 22 million jobs lost; 28 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits.
As Mr. Rattner emphasizes, Trump’s proposals will do little to improve the situation.