Trump administration will make inflation worst

Question

An influential reason as to why Trump gained many votes this election has to do with his policies on boosting the economy and lowering the prices on things such as groceries. However, the economy and inflation specifically are a complex system. Which makes me question if the policies he speaks on benefit the everyday people. This article speaks on how there are parts of his administration which will help boost the economy, but it also states that “Trump's plans may also boost inflation, potentially hurting consumers who are hoping for relief at the checkout counter."

Answer 1

This question is hard to confirm or dispute, as answers are purely based on past evidence and speculation. The reality is that we cannot yet predict what Trump's economy will entail, as he has not yet begun his second term. However, we do have statistics from the American economy during his first term. Using this data, we can speculate on potential trends for the US economy over the next four years. 

According to a BBC article, the average annual growth rate of the country's GDP was 2.3% between January 2017 and January 2021 (when Trump was in office). Under the Biden administration, it was 2.2%, which is not much different. 

It's also important to note that President Biden and the current President-elect inherited vastly different economies. While Biden was handed an economy that was still recovering in the wake of a devastating pandemic, Trump seemingly eased into an excellent economy crafted by the Obama administration. A JEC report supports this point, stating that by the time Trump took office, the economy had largely recovered from the Great Recession and was nearing full strength. Under President Obama, decisive actions were taken to address the economic crisis, leading to significant improvements, including a drop in unemployment from 10% to 4.7%. Although job growth had continued under Trump, the pace has slowed down quite a bit, with an average of 191,000 jobs added per month during his first term compared to 227,000 in the last months of Obama’s presidency. Additionally, while GDP growth rates remained similar during both administrations, median household income increased more significantly under Obama, suggesting that the economic benefits of Trump's policies may not be as pronounced as he claimed. 

Based on all of this evidence, it can be predicted that the American economy will continue to go in a downwards spiral as Donald Trump assumes office next January. However, we truly do not know what the future holds and the economy has the potential to move in either directions.

Comments

You did a great job highlighting the differences in GDP growth between Trump and Biden, especially given the vastly different economic conditions each inherited. I like how you used specific numbers to support your point—it gives the comparison more weight. It might also be interesting to look at how each administration’s policies specifically impacted different sectors of the economy, as that could add even more depth to your analysis.