Biden better for the economy, Pt. 2

Letter to the Editor (Graphic Illustration/MetroCreative)

In “… Trump 1,” I presented my expertise in economics. I probably attended more classes in economics than Trump. I pointed out that a fair comparison of economic superiority could only be made by comparing their performance over the two different economic cycles between 2016 and 2024.

I left off discussing Trump’s “trickle down economics” to jump start the economy ending with the Foxconn debacle. Due to this, there was no significant increase in worker taxable income to offset the tax loss from the wealthy. Wealthy bought stocks instead of financing factories, increasing disparity with middle and lower classes. National debt ballooned from $20 trillion in 2017 to $25 trillion in 2020. This is not a good start for Trump, who promised to pay down debt by 2024. It is like asking an addict to go cold turkey. The only reasonable conclusion is Trump would sacrifice Social Security rather than inconvenience his wealthy friends. It is galling to think the MAGA Trumplicans refused to acknowledge Trump’s debt contribution when it came time to raise the debt limit in 2022. For the critics, I will cover Biden’s debt contribution in letter three of four.

Now, project Biden’s economic policies to 2017 if he were president. He would have inherited the low approximately 2% inflation rate from Obama. He would have nursed the economy along, reducing unemployment. Remember, Obama added more jobs in his last year than Trump did in four years. Regarding taxes, Biden probably would have reduced tax rates for low and middle income wage earners. He would probably increase them for the wealthy. There would be no increase in the debt.

Comparing the Trump versus Biden economic policies on the 2017-2020 timeframe shows no significant advantage for Trump. Prices for eggs and gasoline would be the same. Biden would be better because the debt would not have increased.

I am not alone in disparaging Trump, calling him a moron. During a Politico interview, Cary Cohen, a former Trump economic advisor, called him dumb as feces. Google fact check shows the common term.

Readers, consider which moniker is more complementary to Trump. I prefer moron. It gives me two more words to describe how stupid Trump was during his presidency and bad for the country.

I mention in “… Trump 1” the only fair comparison of economic policies is to include the 2020-2024 timeframe. This will be the subject of letters three of four.

Don’t elect a moron like Trump to the presidency.

Gregory Cigal

Parkersburg