A trade deficit subtracts from our GDP, so why do most journalists, economists, and Democrats — and some Republicans — act as though it does no harm?

The U.S., under Biden, was running a $2-trillion budget deficit.  As a country, we are running almost a $1.5-trillion trade deficit, yet most of the media and other journalists seem to have the position that the status quo was just great.  They are nuts.  As a country, we were heading toward bankruptcy, and our manufacturing has been transferred throughout the world. 

Government spending had to be reduced, and we need to bring manufacturing back so we aren’t dependent on other countries. 

Thank goodness we have Trump, who is working hard to fix massive problems that have been brewing for decades. 

And remember: In Trump’s first term, with lower taxes, fewer regulations, a more secure border, energy independence, and tariffs, inflation was low, and real incomes rose substantially after decades of stagnation.  It was especially helping the poor, the middle class, and all races. 

Poverty hit a low not seen in sixty years.  Income inequality was being reduced.  Yet the media and other Democrats were fighting Trump every day and seeking to destroy him through endless investigations based on nothing. 

As incomes grew, income inequality fell for the second consecutive year. Between 2017 and 2019, the Gini index of income inequality fell from 0.489 to 0.484. Over the same two-year period, the share of income held by the top 20 percent fell by 0.4 percentage points.

The rise in income was driven by an increase in the number of workers, especially women. There were 2.2 million more people working at some point in 2019 compared with 2018, and 1.2 million more people working full-time year-round. The full 1.2 million increase in full-time year-round workers was attributable to women.

Poverty hits record low after largest decrease in over 50 years

Incomes grew across the distribution, and poverty plummeted as a result. The official poverty rate fell to an all-time record low of 10.5 percent in 2019. Over 4 million people were lifted out of poverty between 2018 and 2019 for a 1.3 percentage point decrease. This was the largest reduction in poverty in over 50 years.

Minority groups led the way in poverty alleviation. Compared to the overall poverty rate reduction of 1.3 percentage points, black poverty fell by 2.0 percentage points, Hispanic poverty fell by 1.8 percentage points, and Asian poverty fell by 2.8 percentage points (see Figure 2). The poverty rate fell to an all-time record low for every race and ethnic group in 2019. Notably, the black poverty rate fell below 20 percent for the first time in history.

I have seen a lot of people who oppose the tariffs say it will take years to get factories up and running, so shouldn’t we start now, before it is too late?

It has taken Biden and the Democrats years and billions of dollars, and they still couldn’t get people hooked up to the internet.  They built very few charging stations for electric cars.  Yet most journalists pretend they did a great job and handed off a good economy. 

As for the stock market, it was trading much higher than fundamentals would justify at the end of 2024, just like in 2000.  It was due for a correction. 

Image via Pixabay. Pixabay License.