Will The New President Fix The Economy?
By Thom Hartmann A...
With just a few days to go before the presidential election, things are looking pretty good for the economy.
According to new numbers out last week, it grew at a rate of 2.9 percent last quarter.
This is about twice as fast as the economy grew the previous quarter - and the fastest such period of growth in two years.
Government economists say these numbers are probably the result of increased exports.
Unfortunately, it's not clear that these good times will last.
Since the recession officially ended in 2009, the economy has seen periods of rapid growth as well as periods of rapid contraction.
Overall, though, average annual growth has hovered at around 2 percent - making this recovery the weakest on record.
Barring a complete meltdown, this is the economy either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will inherit when they take the oath of office in January.
It's an economy that it is theoretically in a much better place than it was 8 years ago, when we were on the precipice of another Great Depression.
But it's also an economy in which many of the the underlying problems that caused the crash remained unsolved - and it's an economy where many people increasingly feel like they have no path to prosperity.
Is either candidate prepared to fix it?
Comments
#2
With the choice of two bad apples, my hope is that we have a split congress and senate like we had with BOB and the citizens will wake up and demand changes in election process completely. The BS that has occured for nearly 2 years is too painful to repeat. I would love to see a demand By The People, for an election process similar to the UK. Short, sweet, no PAC's and back to balanced TV time and make the Media do it without cost. Would that be great or what!!! The mud slinging these two corrupt candidates have been giving us and the way the media feeds like pigs in the mud with them is making our country fall apart and become a oligarchry or a third world country of stupid "reality" loving, celebrity wanna-bees!
Stupid is as stupid does! We the voters have only ourselves to blame. Too many years of pandering to special interests and corrupt politicians running amok!
Just my 2 cents and rant......all I can do is vote and be active locally.
#3
No. It might look better for the middle class, but that's all. The US continues to deny the reality that not everyone is able to work, and there aren't jobs for all. Thus country shut down/shipped out a massive number of jobs since the 1980s, ended actual welfare in the 1990s. We're 20 years deep into one hell of a war on the poor that has taken a heavy toll, but as long as we all ignore it, no problem. The overall quality of life in the US has gone from being rated at #1 when Reagan was first elected -- far from perfect, but much better -- down to #48 by the time Obama was elected. But this issue simply doesn't resonate with today's middle class, so never mind.
#4
"By The People" -- which ones? We're more deeply divided by class and race than we were a decacde ago.
#5
flyguy8650 - You got the scenario all weighed up... I'd say vote against establishment!
DHBranski - After WW2 there was a pull from politicians to elevate all upward in effort to achieve the American Dream... then what was fought against in that war was quickly forgotten and about 1980 Reagan unwittingly embraced Facism fed to him by economists and corporate greed interests of the period... along with that inhuman Ayn Rand... the trick (le) down economic BS theory
#6
We all know that Trump's desire would be to carry on with Republican style business as usual.....meaning trickle down economics, and more tax breaks for guys like himself. In other words, more of what has already frustrated the vast majority of us, making America worse again!
Hillary could make a difference if the Dems get the House and Senate back, otherwise the Teapublicans will continue to throw us all under the bus in favor of their billionaire/Fascist backers.
It's really quite simple....get more money into the hands of those who will spend it....this via higher wages, and tax breaks for those who actually work for a living. I could never figure out why a business owner gets huge tax breaks while his workers suffer with increased taxes and wage stagnation. That's the cart before the horse if there ever was one.
#7
DHBranski makes a good point. Not everyone is able to work, and in the richest country on the planet, poverty should be non- existent. I'll add that anyone who works full time for a living deserves a living wage. We're not all born to be Engineers, Doctors, and Lawyers....or even Banksters.
#8
There are a few issues here. The economy is as good as it has been because we have been spending well beyond our means.
Try this experiment at home. Go to your bank and borrow 50% more than you earn. Do it for as many years as your bank is willing to loan you money. My guess is that you'll live better than had you not borrowed the money. But at some point the party will end and the bank will stop lending. Greece knows what that looks like.
Given the latest series of Hillary scandals it is becoming likely that Trump will win.
His strategies for getting growth kickstarted will be much different than Hillary's (which are no different than Obama's). Trump believes that lower taxes, fewer regulations, less spending on wars, and renegotiated trade agreements will revive growth in America. Realistically this is going to mean more borrowing while waiting for all of this hoped-for growth (and jobs) to show up and increase the tax base.
I don't know if he is right or not, but the path we are on isn't working, so why not try something different? Is it a risky strategy -- yes. Is it worth trying - yes. I expect the house will not give him a long leash on reduced taxes. He'll need to show some signs that the hoped for growth is happening within 24 months or he'll lose his ability to push through a budget which isn't balanced.
#9
Trump has borrowed hundreds of times more than he has ever earned for decades! Trump is hundreds of millions in debt, so much debt that he still qualifys for the Star property tax break on his principal residence. Trump's own words..."I'm the King of debt"
The corpse media has let Trump get away with bald- faced lies to the American public for months now....and I'm damn well sick of it .
Trump's ex wife accused him of brutal rape, and he's currently being charged with the rape of a 13 year old. He faces a potential felony fraud conviction with his bogus University. He's also being investigated for misuse of charity funds. The list goes on and on...but Hillary has a Trumped up email story, so the corpse media ignores Trump's very real scandals.
How about the 22 million emails related to an illegal war that Bush and Cheney deleted?
Where was the media then?
Wake up im4trump. We've had a Teapublican controlled House, Senate, and Supreme court, and you blame Obama for the economy???? You remind me of the wrong side of the Salem Witch Hunts. Hillary scandals...yeah right!
#10
Why would you ever vote Republican if you can remember what is was like at the end of the last Republican POTUS term? 8 years of lies and misery with a total financial collapse at the end. If anyone should be LOCKED UP it is Bush and Cheney.
#11
Again, if you want Medicare and Social Security privatized, vote Republican.
Every Medicare recipient must know that every Republican incumbent in Congress has supported turning Medicare into a voucher system!
The 2011 Republican budget included a plan to reshape Medicare by giving seniors 65 and older a set amount to spend on private health insurance instead of guaranteeing health coverage. Sound familiar?
It was succeeded in March 2012 by the Republican budget proposal for 2013. Representative Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, played a prominent public role in drafting and promoting them and they are therefore often referred to as the Ryan budget, Ryan plan, Ryan proposal, etc. The 2013 proposal provided a choice of private plans competing alongside the traditional fee for service option on a newly created Medicare Exchange.
The same is true for 2014-2016 budgets.
E,G. http://www.cbpp.org/research/medicare-in-ryans-2015-budget
#12
This is what it will come to for the average American in the future (or now). Stop paying into insurance. Pay into your own healthcare fund. Travel to Cuba, India or the country of your choice for medical care. Google Medical Tourism or below is an example site:
#13
Why isn't anyone mentioning Dennis Kocinich's name? He said the ACA had many things wrong with it. Now the repugs are highlighting all the negative. Dennis was finally persuaded that the ACA was better than nothing and he voted for it with great reluctance.
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