U.S. Economy Wasn't at Best Before Pandemic

Christopher Frawley

Politics

26th August 2020

U.S. Economy Wasn't at Best Before Pandemic

The pandemic caused a depression, but the economy wasn't at its best before that (Getty Images).

The Claim

Prior to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, the United States economy was at its greatest ever peak.

News posted on

Ronna McDaniel

Emerging story

U.S. President Trump has repeatedly touted the claim that the economy under his administration has been the “the best the U.S. has ever had.” He cited numbers such as low unemployment rates and stock market highs to prove this.

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Trump’s claims of a strong economy had to end with the devastating economic blows which came with the coronavirus epidemic. Since then, he has stated that he will rebuild the economy which he says was the greatest ever.

In late August 2020, the claim went viral on social media.

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar’s investigation found that the GDP (gross domestic product) percentage increases were higher during the post-WWII economic boom than during the Trump Administration. Even compared to the Bush and Obama Administrations, Trump’s economy is given a run for its money in multiple categories (S&P 500 Index, GDP increase, etc.).

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This is not to mention the ongoing trade wars overseas which has caused complications for Americans. It is true that the unemployment rate, which had been steadily falling since 2010, was at a 50-year low of 3.5% in 2019. However, that figure may be deceiving. The average wage of American workers continues to lag behind the average living wage, meaning that just because a citizen is employed doesn’t mean that they’re financially comfortable.

Additionally, the United States is currently in a truly mind-boggling amount of debt. Before the coronavirus pandemic even began, America owed over twenty trillion dollars in debt. To put this number in perspective, that is roughly equivalent to the entire gross domestic income of the United States in 2019.