Rather than call the economy a “mess” and point to one measure and say “GDP growth is historically low at 2% rather than 3%,” this evidence-based article provides numerous measures and context. For instance, did you know that the economy added an average of 200,000 jobs/month for 76 consecutive months? Did you know median household income increased 5.2% from 2014 to 2015, the fastest single year gain since 1968? How about cutting the budget deficit from 9% of GDP to 3%?

Time will tell if the current administration will improve on the same collection of measures presented in this article. I wonder if there is a financial instrument available to execute a parlay bet on unemployment, GDP growth, income gap, and budget deficit…

Nevertheless, I encourage everyone to consider the full set of measures and make their own decision on whether or not the economy is a mess. Then, use the same measures and criteria 4 years from now and see if the economy is worse off (losing jobs, widening wealth gap, larger deficits, etc.), in the same “mess” (e.g., adding 200,000 jobs/month, positive wage growth, deficit reduction), or doing better (e.g., a budget surplus, reduced income and wealth gap, adding 400,000 jobs a month, 4% GDP growth, etc.).

-Dr. Moore

Trump says the economy is a ‘mess’ — here’s the truth about Obama’s economic legacy
Business Insider

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress. President Donald Trump has been trashing the economy and his predecessor’s legacy lately. For example, in his free-wheeling Feb. 16 press conference, Trump said he “inherited a mess” from President Barack Obama. His newly minted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin followed suit a week later by telling the Wall Street Journal that Obama’s policies are to blame for the slower-than-normal growth the U.S. has experienced since the financial Read the full story

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