Dumb question: Why are Dems simply conceding credit for the good economy to Trump?

[gulliver]

Last edited Fri Dec 27, 2019, 03:19 PM - Edit history (4)

The economy is the the only thing lifting Trump up, and we're just going to let him claim credit for Obama's (and Democrats') success? That seems crazy to me. We should never stop repeating that Trump and the Republicans are taking undeserved credit for the good economy. The good (as perceived by the majority of people) economy started with Obama and under Dems, and we deserve the credit for it.

If we contest Trump's claim, the news media will stop one-sidedly giving Trump credit like it does now. If every Dem starts saying that the only thing Trump has going for him is the economy (and he inherited that like he inherited everything else in his life), the news media will dutifully do what it always does: It will start treating credit for the economy as a matter of opinion with two sides. Whenever a news talking head says "Trump is benefiting from a good economy," they'll also feel duty bound to add, "although Democrats say Trump is taking credit that really belongs to Obama."

That will incense Republicans and Trump, of course, and they'll kick and scream and flail about. So, I guess we shouldn't do it because of that, unless we really want to upset them. (I do.)

Trump inherited the good economy from Obama, and its good trends simply continued (except for some things made worse by Trump such as lower GDP growth numbers, lower job growth, and reigniting the deficit).

https://www.businessinsider.com/9-charts-comparing-trump-economy-to-obama-bush-administrations-2019-9#job-growth-another-key-labor-market-measure-followed-a-similar-pattern-the-great-recession-destroyed-millions-of-jobs-per-quarter-but-the-economy-has-steadily-added-around-200000-jobs-per-month-since-president-obamas-second-term-3

[elleng]

1. Very difficult to do so, to confirm that it began after Prez Obama brought us

out of bush miasma. imo.

[gulliver]

2. I posted a link in the OP. Have a look. The graphs basically say it all.

Obama took over a broken economy from Bush Jr. and his Republicans. The economy and the stock market have followed an upward trend since Obama took over, and the trend did not change under Trump (except, as I said, it gets worse in some cases).

Does a President deserve "all the credit" for a good economy? No. But whatever Trump says about his deserving credit is more true for Obama actually deserving it.

[elleng]

3. Yes, will read, but I should have said difficult for LARGE NUMBERS

to bother reading and accepting.

No, a president doesn't deserve 'all the credit,' and hugely difficult transferring the credit from trump the beneficiary back to Obama, the 'creator.' Same as always, repugs make a mess, Dems clean up and rarely get credit.

[gulliver]

4. The key thing is to make it "a matter of opinion" in the news media.

Details aren't really necessary, but they are there if needed. We just need to say, "Trump's taking credit for Obama's economy, but Trump is only responsible for the bad parts of the current economy. The good parts Trump inherited like he inherited everything he ever had."

Once Dems show the media that we don't concede credit to Trump, the media will start treating it as a "matter of opinion" like they do everything. We win if they do that. They'll feel they have to show skepticism of Trump's claim every time they mention it. Right now, they mention it all the time and simply act as if it's a given that Trump deserves credit.

[Recursion]

5. Because unemployment is at 3.6% and wages have risen more in the past 4 years than in the 40 years

before them.

That said, 2016 was also a very strong economy and Trump managed to make it a "change" election. Part of the problem is that the only political language we have for unhappiness is economic. People are lonely, depressed, and anxious, so they convince themselves it's an economic rather than social problem, even when it isn't. We may have an "in" that way.

[pansypoo53219]

6. pfft. he's coasting on obama's and not good for all. and he screwed farmers.

plus his little trade TAX hikes. oh, and the deficit they keep yammering about. where are they now?

[tirebiter]

7. Poppy Bush made the Clinton economy work

The tax increases he signed in made the Clinton economy take off. I always tell myself that we’re in the Obama Recovery but nobody else seems to care all that much.

[Lady_Chat]

8. Not a dumb question, and thank you for it.

I keep wondering the same thing. This was brought up during a Christmas gathering. After hearing how "bad" Obama made things, another relative cleaned his clock. People forget Obama took us out of a recession, that the unemployment was over 7% under bush, and came down to around 4 under Obama and that the stock market was closing at 20,000 when he left office. In other words, Trump inherited a healthy and growing economy, and we were heading in the right direction. Obama left things better than when he found them. If life was fair, Trump should have inherited Bush's economy.

There is something else too, before Obama, there was no affordable care act, which helped so many people, especially those with pre-existing conditions, and actually helped to save lives. Ironically, 4 of the 5 states that voted for Trump, depend on the ACA. Sadder yet, a lot of these voters didn't know the ACA and "Obamacare" was one and the same.

In the meantime a Democratic House has passed 400 bills that can do even more to help Americans, and they just sit on McConnell's desk. You would think our Democratic candidates would be talking about this every chance they get. A lot of voters don't have a clue as to what's going on.

Sometimes I'm just plain disappointed that Democrats don't brag about what they have accomplished, and what is holding them back from doing even more.

[ms liberty]

9. This is an excellent reply, Lady_Chat! Very well said. n/t

[gab13by13]

10. President Obama turned the economy around,

without increasing the deficit like Trump has done. Trump gave corporations and the rich 1.5 trillion dollars, give me a million dollars and my financial status will be great also. Look what Trump did when his tariffs hurt farmers and ranchers, he just flat out wrote them checks for billions of dollars. Trump's good economy is artificially stimulated. God help us if we ever do have another recession the Fed has shot its bullets, its remedies during good times.

[pwb]

11. It is early in the election?

People cant remember yesterday let alone what is said eleven months before the election. Your question will be addressed at the right time. Right now we are letting the pukes self destruct with their crimes and lies.

[DeminPennswoods]

12. Fact is, presidents have little impact on the

general economy unless there is a real crisis like in 1929 or 2007/08.

[pressbox69]

13. Seems I remember

Republicants, constantly pouring water on the fact that the economy was good during the Obama and Clinton years.

[Ferretherder]

14. Just my humble opinion, but,...

...it may be that the more 'savvy' element of the Democratic establishment, and for sure, the 'progressive' wing, see that guys like me(lower end of the wage-earning spectrum - $40,000 per year for my wife and I) and a LOT of other Americans are NOT seeing the benefits of this 'gang-busters' economy! I am making at least a decent wage for my part of the country(West Monroe, LA), and am still seeing that, every year, my pay check has less and less buying power, and rapidly rising medical costs and insurance premiums and utility bills are taking more and more of our available funds. In this atmosphere, it would be wise to let the repugs 'crow' about the booming economy, and let the average person go, 'uh, what are they talking about?', and then, as the general election actually nears, start bombarding the airwaves and social media with sound bites like, 'just remember, folks, the republicans want you to believe that you have never had it so good, because of their 'booming economy', so, what does that say about what they plan to do to help YOU to get a little relief from the bleak economic future that YOU are facing?!'...or, 'hey, everybody, the economy is GREAT for billionaires, so what the hell are YOU complaining about?!'

...maybe, this is more of a chess move, and less of a missed opportunity to criticize what they see as a gross mischaracterization of what is actually going on in this economy.

...maybe...

[Proud Liberal Dem]

15. It's a hard needle to thread

Public perception is that the economy is doing well and Democrats may look "out of touch" making broad negative statements about the economy. Democrats would probably be best to sidestep the issue and focus in on all the ways Trump(ism) hasn't been good for the country (and for the economy, where Trump's policies harmful to the economy can easily be identified) and make gratuitous references to "Obama's Economy".

[nini]

16. So the impending crash can't be blamed on Obama??

.

[moondust]

17. Because they can't tell the media

what to say?

Media moguls wanna be trillionaires too, ya know. And a lawless, incompetent gubment will help to speed that up rather than slow it down with its pesky laws and white-collar enforcement.

I tend to think unemployment is low right now largely because a lot of boomers are retiring and leaving lots of job openings in their wake; that will continue for a while. I'm also skeptical of the government's economic numbers knowing that in the past Dumpy the Clown has accused others of cooking the books. They probably wouldn't do it but he and his corrupt toadies wouldn't hesitate if it serves their interests.

Maybe somebody should spend more time talking about Dumpy's irresponsible "trickle-up" tax cuts borrowed from the Reagan playbook, massive deficits and record national debt, tariff ignorance, massive bailouts for farmers that dwarf Obama's auto bailouts, massive farm bankruptcies, massive trucking company bankruptcies, etc.

[Ron Green]

18. It's not a good economy, it's a house of cards.

Cities and towns all over the US are broke. The low interest rate rewards debt and punishes saving. Homeless people are everywhere. We’re still fed the lie that GDP somehow measures something good. Our “American Way of Life,” built on fear and cheap oil, continues to be fed by those two things.

[gulliver]

19. We need to claim credit for the good and assign blame to Trump/Republicans for the bad.

It's not a one-sided issue. It's undeniable that most Americans think the economy is good for them while a whole lot of Americans think it's bad. We need to cover both sides, nut just the blame but the credit side.