U.S. worker pay rate hits highest level since 2008

74 Comments

“Compensation for workers rose to a nearly 10-year high in the second quarter as inflation pressures continued to percolate in the U.S. economy,” Jeff Cox reports for CNBC. “The employment cost index increased 0.6 percent for civilian workers in the three-month period ending in June, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics release Tuesday. That brought the 12-month rate up to 2.8 percent, the highest level since 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2008.”

“Wages and salaries rose 0.5 percent for the quarter and 2.8 percent for the 12-month period, while benefits costs increased 0.9 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively,” Cox reports. “Private industry compensation was up 2.9 percent, a substantial rise from the 2.4 percent recorded as of June 2017. Government compensation increased 2.3 percent for the period, which actually was a pullback from the 2.6 percent gain recorded in June 2017.”

“The release comes ahead of Friday’s closely watched nonfarm payrolls report,” Cox reports. “Economists expect a gain of about 190,000 and a 2.7 percent increase in average hourly earnings. It also follows last Friday’s robust GDP release, which showed the economy grew 4.1 percent in the second quarter.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Increases in wages and salaries certainly bode well for sales of Apple’s products and services!

SEE ALSO:
Second-quarter U.S. GDP jumps 4.1% boosting hopes that economy is ready to break out of decade-long slumber – July 27, 2018
Dow rises as Wall Street weighs strong U.S. jobs report, Trump administration’s China tariffs – July 6, 2018
What Apple’s $100 billion buyback plan says about President Trump’s tax cuts – May 2, 2018
U.S. consumer confidence hits 14-year high – March 16, 2018
Dow and S&P 500 close higher on upbeat U.S. labor market data – February 22, 2018
U.S. sees strongest holiday sales since 2010 – January 12, 2018
Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rocket to new all-time records – January 11, 2018
S&P 500 and Nasdaq rise to records on first trading day of 2018 – January 2, 2018
U.S. employment jumps more than expected in November, boosts U.S. stocks – December 8, 2017
U.S. third-quarter GDP revised to three-year high of 3.3% – November 29, 2017
Goldman Sachs sees U.S. unemployment rate hitting lowest level since the late-1960s – November 20, 2017
American consumer confidence soars to highest level since December 2000 – October 31, 2017
U.S. jobless claims plunge to lowest level since 1973 – October 19, 2017
U.S. economy picks up steam; second-quarter GDP up 3.0% reflecting robust consumer spending and strong business investment – August 30, 2017
U.S. consumer confidence shows Americans upbeat on jobs, economy – July 25, 201

74 Comments

      1. The fanatical desperate libs cant digest it Goe..
        They just cant tolerate it…

        Come on LibLemms … go ahead ..shoot yourselves in the foot .. collectively jump off cliffs like mindless lemmings…anything to defend your misguided, delusional psudoelitist ideology( dogma is more like it) taken to fanatical Levels !
        You guys have turned into the most prejudiced/dishonest/ blind /fanatical/extremist group of fools not unlike some fundamentalist fanatics in the middle east ! ( yes ! U are no different)
        Yet u are completely oblivious to it ….
        It is pathetic!
        Cry baby soar losers. Who will deny and reject the Good, you will resort to lies/deceit/dishonesty just to spin the good onto bad … all just to save face and not admit your mistakes and wrong.. yet u believe u are the elite … lol … you are not.. u are just blind fanatical fools !

        U have managed to destroy your own credibility and honor and in the process made milllion and million sick of your egocentric/nauseating one track minded attitudes and of your party( for the most part ) .

        Thanks to what u believe to be your prophet ( lol) ..
        The big O.. the great clueless divider .. and the planted puppet who managed to brainwash you all into a mindless bunch ! And create the biggest division in recent US history… All through talk and absolutely zero walk !

        Go ahead … throw the baby out with the bathwater … who needs babies after all . It is your Dogma that counts beyond anything else.. right ? !
        Democracy as long as u win all the time at any cost .. right !? 😂

        Shocking how so many can be so lost and not know it !
        You should all take a good deep look in the mirror hypocrites !

        Reply

        3. Can’t stand President Trump is turning the country around after eight feckless years of Obama who passed the worst healthcare bill in history.

          The reality successful businessman is in charge now replacing the theory laden liberal professor whose liberal ideas should never have made it out of the classroom.

          The president is looking out for his detractors, as well.

          BTW, your tunnel-vision HATE never ceases to amaze me …

        5. My answer.. to one of the greatest questions in one of f the greatest tunes… (from Bach to Simon/Garfunkel.)
          “I wonder whats gone wrong ……?” :

          The fanartical, cunning and deceitful freeloaders … in the guise of elitistism …..

    1. A quick look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website suggests not. The Employment Cost Index (EPI) measures the change from one period to the next in the seasonally adjusted cost of compensation (wages and benefits). Only 70% of an increase in the EPI is available to consumers, since the rest represents nonwage benefits. Since the index is actually measuring wage inflation, it cannot be adjusted for inflation.

      The EPI measures changes in compensation, not the current level. The headline is somewhat misleading. Wages are not at their highest level in 10 years, although the rate at which they are rising is.

      Similarly, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change from one period to the next in the cost of a standard basket of goods and services typical of purchases by urban dwellers. Again, this is a measure of inflation and uses whatever the current value of a US dollar happens to be. It measures the rate of change, not the current price of the basket.

      So, real wages (actual purchasing power) change at a rate = EPI – CPI. Currently, that = 2.8 – 2.9 = -0.1

      Let that soak in.

      Reply

        1. I thought the success was all about the American worker. You cheer for a 0.5% wage increase when cost of living over the same time period increased 2.7%. Is that better for the American worker? That is a yes or no question for you, Goeb. Be honest.

          Now you see the problem. Worker gets a 0.5% raise (insignificantly more than at any quarter for the last 30 years) whereas the billionaire class continues to be offered tax loopholes and special status such that their real income increases by double digit percentages most years. Why? Because the people/corporations that hold all the gold have made the rules biased in their favor.

          Did Trump solve the problem? No. He exacerbated it and covered up the corporate welfare bill with a ONE-TIME pittance of a tax cut for the working class that will make the economy look good through the midterm elections. The economic slide that is guaranteed to occur when these unfunded corporate tax stimuli wear off will hit in the foreseeable future, and you can bet Goeb and others will be told who the scapegoats should be. Immigrants, of course. If they don’t look like us or talk like us and don’t have big silicone tits, then they must be enemies, right?

          Show us the data to prove otherwise, Goeb. Everyone agreed that Trump’s corporate handouts would pump adrenaline into the economy in the short term. Problem is, it’s weak sauce and the benefits are tiny compared to what was promised.

          Let me help you out with a nonpartisan resource. This is a very good objective assessment of many important statistics, shown in context. Which of these show that America is greater now than any other time in these postwar years.

          https://www.factcheck.org/2018/07/trumps-numbers-second-quarterly-update/

          Summary points you need to read and understand:
          “Economic growth picked up, but remains below what Trump promised, and even below the best years under Barack Obama.”
          “Home prices rose 17 percent, to a record level.” — read: cost of living is dramatically outpacing wage growth.
          “The U.S. trade deficit continued rising — up 13.6 percent.”
          “The federal debt rose by more than $1 trillion, and projected annual deficits increased.”
          – Corporate Profits up 10.1% (that’s where the money is going)

          I have no doubt you will whine that your cherry picked numbers presented without context are MAGA MAGA, but the long term trend isn’t impressive. It’s setting the USA up for a bigger fall in the future.

        2. Fact-check.org is a liberal institution and has been partisan in their analysis for years. Obviously they have the same bias as you, so you have no problem with that.

          Sorry, this is great news that we have not seen under Obama in eight years. Could it be better, sure. But more importantly, it’s not bad and an improvement.

          Guess you are a glass half empty person.

          Put that in your pipe and smoke it …

        3. Goeb, youre so predictable. You think only your biased news sources are acceptable. Factcheck is about as honest as they come, and they cite the source of their data. Just like Mike did. But you never do. If there’s anyone misinformed here, it’s you and the blind Trump propagandists.

          The gdp is a poor guesstimate of the real economy; it basically just gauges gross corporate money sloshing back and forth. How much is being awarded to the hardworking people who help make it all happen everyday? Pitifully little. Thanks to rigged game rules, the rich get richer.

        5. @GoeB
          “Fact-check.org is a liberal institution and has been partisan in their analysis for years.”

          That is the standard dismissal NeoCon True Believers apply to anyone or anything that does not drink the Kool Aid and spout the company line. The next most often used phrase is something along the lines of he/she/it is not a “true” conservative.

          The economy has been growing continuously since the spring of 2009 and since the arrival of Agent Orange has been fed by an ill advised massive tax cut that has blown a Trillion Dollar hole in the deficit. Just wait until the full impact of that is felt upon the economy.

          Before you dismiss my comment as a Democratic partisan one- I am not a Democrat, have little to no use for the leadership of that party and doubt they would fix much of what needs fixing. I voted for Gary Johnson in 2016.

        7. I’m hearing frequently in TX that the job openings outnumber workers and it’s not just in a certain sector. It takes a bit of time for all of these things to settle in/sort out, but such a situ will mean there will be wage increases.
          That also means inflation and interest rates will rise…again, shifting reality for the workers. One positive marker often brings a undesirable marker…higher wage/higher inflation & interest rates. These are all things pointing to an ascending economy…like it, or not.

        1. Very possibly, TT, although your argument is ill-defined and prejudicial.

          The U.S. had steady, but slow economic growth under Obama after the terrible Bush crash. The unemployment rate under the Obama Administration steadily decreased towards historical lows. This has continued during Trump, which is not a surprise. During Obama, we were also beginning to see wage pressures from labor supply/demand tightening. All of this is fact, and the continuation of these trends into the Trump Administration was expected. The U.S. economy seldom pivots rapidly, except in times of crisis.

          Modest wage growth would be nice. But the combination of low unemployment, increasing interest rates, and the tax stimulus package will likely lead to increased inflation in addition to increased wages. And who knows what the tariff battle will do to the economy over the next few years? The net effect on the American worker in terms of buying power may end up being negative, not positive. All factors must be considered before rendering a judgment. Unfortunately, about 40% of the voters in this country only need to hear the word “Trump” and their logic and fact-checking faculties seem to shut down.

        2. Almost every year wages hit new highs. Every year the bitter whiners complain that wages aren’t rising fast enough, even though it is precisely global wage disparity that prompts corporations to move all manual labor overseas.

          Trump just proves one thing: with a short term artificial stimulus, you can fool the low information voter to give corporations huge tax breaks while wages continue as always to trickle upwards at or below the rate of inflation. Nothing has changed except now the USA has lost the respect of the rest of the globe. Trump wants the USA to be an island fortress. That isn’t going to end well and it sure as hell aint doing a thing for the workers he claims to be helping. Cost of living is still growing faster than wages. The cream is skimmed off by corrupt multinational corporations — as Trump has done. Workers got stiffed.

        3. “you can fool the low information voter to give corporations huge tax breaks“

          No, we are not fooled by repetitive Democrat and media dogma.

          The tax breaks are based on what you earn and pay in taxes. The wealthy pay almost 90% of ALL TAXES. So PROPORTIONATELY, naturally they would get a bigger break?!?!? Hello???

          You are just mouthing the stupidest Democrat campaign line over and over. They pay the MOST, they deserve the MOST relief …

        4. @ Goeb:

          Everything you type is based on stupid bipolar thinking. You have never demonstrated any independent, clear-headed, objective thinking. And you’re not alone. The republican party, which once demonstrated principles that I encouraged, like fair trade, free human migration, fiscal responsibility, and high standards of education and civil conduct (law & order) have all been thrown out the window by a new crop of greedhead scum that thinks only of themselves. The I win/you lose attitude permeates everything they do. They make the least likeable creatures.

          Now, to respond to your post: cite your figures. You claim the rich pay for everything, but you are dead wrong. The rich skim the cream. Costs are ALWAYS socialized, that is baked into corporate dogma. The rich DO NOT deserve a greater percentage tax break for winning at financial gerrymandering or inheriting their wealth (which is actually how most billionaires got rich — by winning the sperm lottery).

          As for taxation: neither party has a good record of setting up a system that incentivizes good behavior and is fair. But you whine incessantly about one party while your orange savior is in the process of taxing small (and many large businesses to death with trade taxes, AKA tariffs.

          Here’s a level headed, apolitical assessment that you should read. It has nothing to do with parties or the stupid partisan attacks that you repeat ad nauseum. This is a rundown of what tariffs are going to do, and what companies will be hurt. The inflation, which accompanies every trade war, will destroy whatever tiny wage growth that Trump promised.
          http://ritholtz.com/2018/08/get-ready-tariff-based-inflation/

          Commodity prices: All over the map.

          US soya bean exports are plummeting since China stopped buying. Pork farmers also are bracing for the worst. But imported commodities, like oil, are at their highest prices in 3.5 years. Bad for anyone who drives a car. Steel and aluminum — prices pass directly to companies that use it. This will of course be passed directly to consumers. Companies already announcing lower earnings estimates include: GM, Boeing, UPS, 3M, Harley-Davidson, Whirlpool, Caterpillar, … etc. I guarantee you that the employees at these companies are far more numerous than the sum total of steelworkers and coal workers that Trump holds in such high regard. How about Apple? Cook is trying to be silent about the fact that Apple is as exposed as any tech firm if China-specific tariffs are raised. You will pay the price.

          But price inflation doesn’t just cause a little pain. To combat runaway inflation, the Fed will have no choice but to increase the Fed fund rate. Thus the cost of credit will also rise, hitting automakers and homebuilders.

          We’ve been through all this before. Trump owns the economy, so you say. I can’t wait to hear how you spin it when his disastrous trade policy undercuts the short term stimulus that he just put on the nation’s credit card. How are you going to pay it off, Goeb?

          I’ll tell you how US corporations will play it. They will work twice as hard to find low labor costs in the world.

          Call us when Apple announces iPhones are made in the USA, Goeb. If the trillion dollar golden company can’t or won’t do it, even under threat of a 25% tariff, then there will be no company interested in recreating Trump’s dream of an 1830’s economy.

        5. You just wasted a lot of time on Democrat fiction. You are not persuasive only dogmatic. My advice to you, you have better things to do with your time …

    1. Yes, he is an economy God compared to the last eight years.

      Obama pitifully tried to defend his bad economic record and told us we had to adjust to lower expectations. So, accept his failure and accept his excuses.

      1.5 years later, from a first time politician and businessman, he exposed the failed Democrat policies of the past for what they are. Clueless.

      Ahhhhh, so refreshing …

      Reply

      1. Goeb, you are so partisan and delusional, you are embarrassing yourself.

        Here’s a handy plot of inflation adjusted GDP growth.

        https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/jul/02/donald-trump/donald-trump-base-describing-gdp-growth-his-watch/

        In the Q4 2008 bloodbath, Bush delivered -8.2% GDP
        The expensive stimulus approved by bipartisan Congressional vote and signed by Obama provided positive growth for all but 3 quarters (of 32 total in his administration). The extremist republican propaganda machine was conspicuously silent when GDP growth exceeded 4.0 % in 2011, 2013, and 2014. 5.2% growth in Q3 2014. But they are going crazy with glee since Trump delivered the following exciting GDP growth:

        Q1 2017: 1.2%
        Q2 2017: 3.1%
        Q3 2017: 3.2%
        Q4 2017: 2.9%
        Q1 2018: 2.0%
        Q2 2018: 4.1% (to be verified)

        When your amazing Trump recovery hits 5.2% that Obama delivered, then you can gloat. Looks to me like short term stimulus isn’t delivering what Trump claimed. The grand announcements by Trump have neither changed the trajectory of the 10-year recovery, nor have they unwound the unfair system by which the benefits of a growing economy are captured only by the connected fiscal elite swamp creatures.

        Again: why do workers get a 0.5% pay raise when the GDP rose 4.1%? Tell us, Goeb. Why isn’t Trump’s base getting any of the rewards he promised?

        Reply

        1. “When your amazing Trump recovery hits 5.2% that Obama delivered, then you can gloat.“

          You are talking about one quarter. If you do a yearly average under Obama he never broke 3% if I remember correctly.

          Tell me, where was your tedious detailed examination of Obama’s paltry recovery doubling the national debt, hmmm? I already know the answer: NOWHERE. You don’t have the courage to criticize your team.

          The country is on an upward path, sorry that disturbs you …

        4. Mike’s graph proves otherwise. The way your partisan blogger spins the numbers is to average the Bush 2009 implosion into 7 years of constant growth, every year averaged more than 2% in what has been the one of the longest growth cycles in US history. I don’t blame Bush for incurring the 2001 disaster but two unfunded wars plus bad financial regulation will cause a crash.

          Previous crash: Reagan with clandestine wars and poorly designed tax cuts.

          Next crash: driven by Trump’s needless trade wars and stupid short term economic planning.

          The rich get richer, when do the workers who voted for Trump realize they will only be screwed again?

        5. When you say “unfunded wars” you prove right then you have no idea how an economy functions.

          To keep an engine running you make sure those coals are red-hot and don’t add anymore weight to the load.

          Geeze…..

        7. It’s figured as a percent of GDP Buzzy, just like deficits (which is why the deficit is actually going down even if the debt is going up)

          http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/04/paying_for_the_iraq_war.html

          In other words, the Iraq War cost much less of a percent of GDP than others and also the fact that Bush was still trying to keep the economy going after 9/11.

          Again, most people really don’t understand how our economy works so it is easy for the Left to spread disinformation during campaigns because hey, they got nothing else and as long as a majority of the media are just as ignorant or even worse complicit then they will continue to mislead the “enlightened” ones.

        8. The First Bush tax cuts were passed in 2001 before 9/11. More cuts occurred in 2003. I’m not really sure what your point is that “Bush was still trying to keep the economy going after 9/11.” GDP was, from a historical POV, fine in the months following FQE 12/31/01:
          https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A191RL1Q225SBEA
          Your point seems to be that the assessment was made that this would be a less expensive war. In the end, that is absolutely not correct and, from a policy point of view, as the Forbes article points out, funding a war and cutting taxes was atypical in our (US) history. As Defense Secretary Rumsfeld might say, one of the absolute known unknowns is when the fighting starts, unpredictability rules the day as it, in fact, did. More commonly, as Tyson said, everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the face, as our country did. Judicious planning would have dictated NOT cutting taxes as we embarked on two wars.
          Mitch Daniels, Director of the OMB at the time makes a series of embarrassing forward looking statements that could have not been more wrong about the cost of the wars. I hope he has someone with him at Purdue who understands budgeting: https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/31/us/threats-responses-cost-white-house-cuts-estimate-cost-war-with-iraq.html
          Here is a pretty thorough examination of the actual cost of these two wars: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/publications/financial-legacy-iraq-and-afghanistan-how-wartime-spending-decisions-will-constrain
          And, really, save the I’m so smart stuff, it reveals the colossal chip on your shoulder.

        10. ANNUAL GDP GROWTH FOR TRUMP IN 2017 WAS 2.3%

          Not one trumpanzee complained. They ignored every quarter any prior administration presided over strong economic growth. They conveniently forgot all the prior times when tax cuts without spending cuts led directly to major deficits, then necessary tax increases (“read my lips”) and then recession.

          WHY ARE YOU FOCUSING ON ONE QUARTER????????

          You people are so focused on your goddamned politics squabble that you aren’t setting up the economy for long term performance. When the sugar high is over, the public debts will remain and corporations will have stashed away more money, refusing to circulate it to workers or directly to investors.

          Wake me up when Apple starts making iPhones in the USA or Europe, paying a living wage.

        11. “WHY ARE YOU FOCUSING ON ONE QUARTER????????”

          Hey brainless, read the quote from the top of my post. That was the same argument I was making. Time will tell.

          “Trumpanzee” hmmm, reminds me of someone’s favorite word banned here last year …

      2. What exactly did he ever do to position the country for growth?
        Devoting 1/6th of the economy as a “cost” sector isn’t something one does to lift an economy. Add to that, IT never made fiscal sense…at it’s core. Critical to it’s successful functioning, design it so the healthiest citizens, who need the services the least and, therefore have little incentive to “buy in,” purchase nonetheless to buoy the program for the rest.

        Yep, economic and operational genius seen in his landmark program!

        Reply

        1. Obama was Econ 101 clueless.

          High taxes, onerous regulation, debt doubling he clearly was the worst economic president in history.

          President Trump is turning that around and the economy is roaring for now …

        3. And exactly how many budgets did the US have under Obama that were enacted by Congress?
          I seem to remember that during most of his terms we operated under continuing resolutions without a budget.

        6. Can you please translate that to English? Obama’s goal was to recreate the successful healthcare system that Romney signed into law in Massachusetts. Problems were many, but after 9 years of whining and obstruction, rethugs still have no healthcare policy and costs are continuing to spiral out of control. President Smoke And Mirrors doesn’t tweet about that however.

        7. Uhhhh….no.
          The healthcare system was much better off (and cheaper) before Obama fucked it up. It wasn’t great unless you compare it to now.

          Do you not know ANYone in the medical/billing field?
          Insurance??
          Low income???
          High income????

          They almost all agree to a T regardless of party that ObamaCare has done NOTHING to improve healthcare.

          Go GOOGLE any numbers you like but go out into the real world and you will find the truth.

          Obama, like most Socialist and/or anyone who never held a real job (activism, universities and politics do not count) has no clue how a free market economy works just like a child has no idea where chocolate milk comes from (they just want MORE and all you need is a golden goose I mean brown cow….)

    1. Count on Goeb to post partisan bullshit that has nothing to do with Apple, just so he can paste labels and divide the republic further. How much does Putin pay you to troll, Goeb?

      Reply

        2. You post fact free bullshit on a public forum and pretend you are above discussion with someone who actually posted referenced data? Okay princess. Go play with your trump action figures and let adults discuss then.

    1. Obama took office in January 2009. He also delivered >4.1% growth repeatedly during his administration. The data is plainly evident for those of you who aren’t partisan dickheads.

      Reply

        1. Mike is more than equal and opposite to trolls like Goeb. Sorry you can’t handle his direct language. I guess trump fans only like tough talk when it’s delivered by a clown with dyed orange hair and a spray on tan.

      2. Complete BS: “He also delivered >4.1% growth repeatedly….
        Talkin about Putin and trolling. Talkin about partisan dickheads!

        Annual GDP: Obama admin the first to never top 3% in annual GDP growth. Snapshots can erroneously support a story. I’ll take the annual story any day for the reality…and you wouldn’t?

        Reply

        1. “Annual GDP: Obama admin the first to never top 3% in annual GDP growth.“

          That’s what thought I read and thanks for the backup.

          We always have to be vigilant when dealing with cherry picking liberals that are dishonest and don’t present the complete picture …

        4. You are misinformed as usual. You seem to be mistaking total gdp for gdp per capita, which paints very different pictures of the us economy. Gdp roared under Obama thanks to huge corporate expansion. You all cheered as stocks took off. Stockholders were all happy. Workers didn’t get shit. That’s why so many of them were tricked into voting for self serving trump. His short term stimulus has been done before. You ought to know what happens in the long run when you don’t pay your bills.

        5. “Gdp roared under Obama thanks to huge corporate expansion. You all cheered as stocks took off. Stockholders were all happy. Workers didn’t get shit.”

          GDP roared? Obvious you are not honest about the numbers. GDP NEVER teached over 3% yearly during the eight years under Obama.

          “Workers didn’t get shit.”

          Under Obama, correct.

          “That’s why so many of them were tricked into voting for self serving trump.”

          “Tricked?”

          Talk about brainless. No, they voted for Trump for the reason you mentioned: “Workers didn’t get shit.” …

        6. Again, the ideologues speak invisibly with down votes, but not a one can reply with logic. Mike, you’re the one that deceptively posted with “Putin/partisan” animus…it’s your turn to serve up some logic.

    1. 6% might be a bit off.

      Goeb and others here love to take single quarter statistics in isolation and declare political victory. Their minds are focused on a finite game and they want to declare themselves winners no matter what. It is quite pathetic to read.

      Others here have pointed to reality. The average citizen is part of a community that rises and falls together. When cost of living (including inflation) outpaces wage growth, families feel the pinch. When factory towns dry up and take away low skill jobs, the people with low skills will feel the pain. Some will retrain, some will move, some will medicate themselves into a stupor, ut most will whine and demand a superhero politician savior who will magically bring jobs back. The bipartisan solution in 2008-2009 was for the federal government to offer corporate welfare, absorbing corporate debt into the hundreds of billions. It worked, but it was painful. Constant russian propaganda amplified all the rhetoric so now the republicans are in charge, and people have been misled into thinking a businessman must have all the answers. Sorry to disappoint you, but Trump is clueless. He dropped taxes on corporations with no requirements for them to do anything. Most are buying their own stock, not hiring. Apple isn’t making new Macs great again. Foxconn will continue to be the sole maker of iPhones. Nothing changed except now, because Trump didn’t decrease federal spending, taxpayers are now looking at a booming federal debt. The CBO has all the projections, it is nonpartisan, and if you are conservative you should are about fiscal responsibility. Trump isn’t. Trump’s stupid answer to a major debt problem is to attack trade, raising taxes on citizens and businesses reliant on global trade with ill planned tariffs. It will take years to play out but attacking friends is a very stupid way to approach trade diplomacy. Trade only works when both parties benefit. With Trump demanding that the USA always win, whatever that is supposed to mean, trade war will erase a major part of the US economy and hurt everyone. The result can erase this quarter’s wage growth and worse.

      That is the reality of the situation. I would rather see the USA build strong relationships for the last ng term prosperity of everyone on the globe rather than trying to pretend it can build a guilded castle of prosperity and lock the other 95% of the world population outside the walls. When has that ever worked in the long run????

      Short term versus long term thinking. Trump can’t think beyond what’s on Morning Joe. I predict another recession before or very shortly after Trump leaves office.

      Reply

      1. “Goeb and others here love to take single quarter statistics in isolation and declare political victory. Their minds are focused on a finite game and they want to declare themselves winners no matter what. It is quite pathetic to read.“

        Oh right, like people here are not boasting about one quarter under Obama where GDP was +5%.

        What I learned reading and listening to the LEFT, they don’t play fair and blind themselves to an honest accounting of both sides.

        Like the rest of your post. Nuff said …

        Reply

  9. It is impossible to debate with Most Trump lovers because they have been taught by example to believe what you want to believe and say what you want to be the truth. You have people on this forum blaming Obama for 2008. You have people comparing one as-yet-unverified month of economic growth over 4% for Trump to annualized growth under Obama. Never mind the fact that the Trump economy started from a position of relative strength and was artificially inflated by tax cut stimulus financed by future borrowing while Obama’s economy started from a near-Depression collapse engineered by Bush.

    Consider the last few decades of U.S. history. Massive GOP tax cuts enacted during both the Reagan and Bush Administrations combined with increased defense budgets were financed by deficit spending and resulting in massive increases in the deficit and total debt. Both served two terms and about three years into their second terms the economy disintegrated and chaos ensued followed by massive government bailouts and great pain for working Americans. Trump and the GOP Congress is following the exact same strategy in addition to rolling back consumer protections and controls on the financial industry. Don’t be surprised when things fall apart again in 2023. Another GOP train wreck with the benefits going to the very wealthy.

    Reply

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