Earlier this week, I received an “urgent” phone call from a friend of mine who, after reading one of my recent articles criticizing Trump and the GOP for advancing the agenda of the far-left, was concerned that I had “suddenly” become a “flaming liberal.”
Besides the fact I’ve been called a flaming liberal in the past — and much worse — for criticizing the flaming liberal in the White House, my friend’s use of the word “suddenly” was essentially an admission he’s never read my work before. Still, he wanted to let me know he disagreed with my opinion and felt it was urgent for him to let me know about it.
As an unabashed Trumpist, my friend defended Trump by parroting his talking points about how he’s done a lot of “good things” to make our economy “the greatest in history.”
That’s when things got interesting.
My friend focused on three areas of Trumponomics: tax cuts, job creation, and low unemployment. Needless to say, it wasn’t all that difficult to point out how wrong he was and how little he knew about how Trump’s policies were destroying the economy.
On tax cuts, I showed my friend how they succeeded in putting loads of money in the pockets of corporations but did very little to improve wages. And what little improvement there may have been with wages have been swallowed by Trump’s trade war.
Trump’s trade war was the perfect segue for discussing job growth. Tarifaxes, as my friend Shannon Joy calls them, have resulted in lost jobs and anemic job creation. How anemic? Last month’s jobs report showed a dismal 75,000 jobs created, only half of what’s necessary just to break even. The reality is Trump’s job creation numbers are pretty much the same as Obama’s.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
On a side note, I also informed my friend Trump’s trade war has resulted in higher prices for U.S. consumers and is causing the trade deficit to rise. Ironic, because “fixing” the trade deficit is supposedly why Trump launched his trade war in the first place.
In response to my friend’s praise for Trump’s “record low unemployment,” I pointed out to him how this number is calculated and why it’s worthless. He was shocked and offended to learn that Trump is using the politically manipulated U-3 report used for decades in Washington as the “official” report. U-3 only considers people in the work force who have actively looked for a job in the previous four weeks.
The U-6 report is a broader measurement of unemployment and includes the underemployed (part-time workers who would prefer full-time jobs), marginally employed (looked for work in the last year but not the previous four weeks), and discouraged workers (given up looking for work altogether). When these forgotten souls are included, the real unemployment rate is nearly double the number touted by Trump.
Source: St. Louis Fed
Using other articles I have written on Trumponomics, I concluded my discussion with my friend by reminding him the hidden cost of Trump’s trade war is no longer hidden and his economic policies are creating a hopeless economic hell. And despite the election year rhetoric, Trump’s economy is looking a lot like Obama’s.
On that note, he changed the subject to his newborn daughter before hanging up.
By the way, a newly released report shows Trump’s trade war has cost Americans $22 billion through April. That was before Trump more than doubled the tariff rate on $200 billion worth of Chinese products in May, so current totals are likely much higher.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative.
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