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Democrats and supporters of President Obama argue against Donald Trump, who said the previous few administration worsened the economic and trade conditions, where thousands of jobs moved away from the United States along with factories, by saying that President Trump inherited a much stronger economy compared to President Obama in 2009.
Well, it’s true. Just compare the numbers.
- In January 2009, vehicle sales were 9.6 million, jobs were declining at the pace of 791,000 per month, unemployment rate was 7.8 percent, Housing starts number was a dismal 490,000, new home sales were 336,000, Mortgage delinquency rate was 13 percent, budget deficit was 9.8 percent, and US benchmark stock index S&P 500 was trading at 805.
- Compared to that, in January 2017, vehicle sales are 18.3 million, jobs are increasing at the pace of 156,000 per month, unemployment rate is at 4.7 percent, housing starts number is at 1,126,000, new home sales are 592,000, Mortgage delinquency rate was 6.1 percent, budget deficit is at 2.8 percent, and US benchmark stock index S&P 500 was trading at 2270.
However, those who argue in favor of numbers should note that this last recovery was most in equal in the history of recoveries. Many people were left out and many left the labor force, leading to increased poverty in the United States. When one adds back the people to Labor force the unemployment numbers don’t look as pretty as it does above. Nevertheless, it is needless to say that Donald Trump inherited a much stronger economy in 2017, compared to Barrack Obama in 2009. He is also inheriting a much higher debt level and a much worse global geo-political environment.
Even economically there are lots of scopes for improvements. If President Trump succeeds with his trade and energy policies, he can significantly push down the trade deficits, which would be very positive for the dollar. If he succeeds in bring back manufacturing jobs, it can lead to a reduction in inequality in terms wealth in the country, which is running at the highest level in history.
