It should go without saying that the shape of a country’s economy effectively determines its outlook on the future. This is one reason why the stronger a nation's economy is, the better prepared it is to capitalize on potential opportunities. As such, with the next presidential election only a few short months away, the most vocal voices in the race have been making the state of the country’s economy a major topic.
More specifically, former president Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, have made some pretty bold claims in this department. Each individual has essentially put themselves forward as the best hope for the country in the coming days. For Americans who want to make the best decision possible, it’s critical to objectively evaluate and assess what each person truly brings to the table.
Naturally, there are several ways to do this. However, one approach you can follow to help appreciably increase the accuracy of your decision-making is to consider antecedents and context.
Following his fourth indictment in June 2023, former POTUS Trump released a video essentially bragging about his contributions to the economy relative to those of Biden. Of course, much of what was said was either outright lies or mighty exaggerations. But it does give us perspective. These two individuals have been/are at the helm of affairs. We can always use how they performed in the past to infer how they might do in the future. So, let’s take a look at a few key markers to see how both these individuals stack up against each other.
Arguably, one of the best places to start is the employment status of the nation. As of June 2023, the Biden/Harris administration have created nearly two million jobs in that year alone! That put the unemployment rate at 3.6%, ensuring that it had stayed below the 4% benchmark for nearly two years. In sharp contrast, you will find that in all of Trump’s four years as president, his administration lost nearly three million jobs.
Of course, the argument can be made that Biden benefitted from the post-pandemic bounce back. And you’d be right, but only up to a point. It’s vital to recall that the nation had basically recovered most (if not all) of the jobs lost to the pandemic by September 2022. From that point on, the over three million jobs that have been created have been largely due to the ingenuity of the president. What makes this feat all the more impressive is that the stats show that the current administration have created more jobs than all the last three Republican presidents combined!
Another area we can turn to for a greater perspective on this issue is the manufacturing sector of the U.S. Sure, we can say that manufacturing thrived (to an extent) under Trump. However, the real builder in this department is undisputedly the Biden/Harris administration. If you’re wondering why, it’s because the numbers show that manufacturing is at the highest it’s ever been since 2008! They have successfully overseen the infusion of more than $200 billion into new investments and the creation of nearly one million manufacturing jobs.
We would also be very remiss if we didn’t take the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) into account as well. This is particularly noteworthy because, in October 2022, Bloomberg gave a 100% “accurate” prediction that a recession was certain to hit the country in 2023. In that same 2023, the U.S. GDP recorded a 2.4% annual rate increase over the second quarter of the year! This is all the more commendable because no one expected the Biden/Harris administration to initiate such a strong recovery so fast and so efficiently.
Finally, let’s consider wages and savings. With the former, workers' wages are actually rising faster than the inflation rate now. The Biden/Harris administration pushed it up by more than 4% in 2023. But more than this, he has also fostered an environment where we can afford to put away more in the bank, especially compared to the Trump era. The proof of this rests in the fact that more than 10% of the population save more now than when Trump was president.
Their prudent policies in this area have also had another positive effect: a significant decline in income inequality. They have done what many have tried and failed to do – close (albeit marginally) the gulf between the rich and the poor.
Knowing all of this, is it still really a question of who’s better? The simple truth is that having another Trump administration is certain to not only roll back all this progress but it will surely put us in more dire straits.
Harris is undoubtedly the best hope for sustaining and flourishing the economy right now.
