AlterNet, July 27, 2019: The myth of the ‘Trump economy’ is going down in flames
Even those who aren’t fans of President Donald Trump sometimes give him credit for the strength of the American economy. I’ve argued before that this is largely misguided because presidents’ impacts on the economy are hard to evaluate and are typically exaggerated.
But new data released Friday further undermined the claims of Trump’s economic prowess, deflating the myths around his administration’s supposedly growth-inducing tax cuts and deregulation.
The U.S. economy grew by only 2.1% in the second quarter of 2019, according to new data by U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
“The deceleration in real GDP in the second quarter reflected downturns in inventory investment, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment,” the bureau found. In other words, business investment is lagging — which is exactly what the GOP’s 2017 tax cuts were supposed to stimulate. But there was never much evidence to suggest that the tax cut would actually supercharge growth — it was a vain hope of Republicans who see lower taxes as the solution to everything.
