task0778
Diamond Member
Larry Summers is grumpy that President Trump is taking credit for the booming economy. Wait until the former mastermind of President Obamaâs economic strategy sees the most recent IBD/TIPP Poll. That survey, according to Investorâs Business Daily, shows Americans giving President Trump an âAâ for his handling of the economy.
The poll shows their âEconomic Optimismâ index climbing in August to 58, the second-highest mark since January 2004.
In addition, they note other indicators that the nationâs mood has brightened:
In August, respondents rated their âQuality of Lifeâ at 64.2; the previous all-time high was 63.1, recorded in January 2004.The average under President Obama was 53.7.
Similarly, the latest reading on âDirection of the Countryâ hit 50.3, up 13 percent from the prior month, and the highest recorded since 2005. That compares to a 17-year average of 41.6 and an average of 37 during President Obamaâs time in office.
The âFinancial Stress Index,â which has averaged 59.4 since it was created in 2007, plunged in August to 47.4, its lowest level ever. As IBD explained, âPeople are feeling more secure in their finances than they have at least since the early 2000s.â
Meanwhile, the presidentâs approval ratings came in at 41, the highest level since March 2017. Fifty percent of respondents said they disapprove of the job Trump is doing, down 4 points from July. His âLeadership Index," similarly, saw the highest score since his first months in office.
Is it coincidence that these improved ratings have tracked the acceleration in the economy and improving jobs market? Of course not. A recent Rasmussen poll showed that 50 percent of likely voters say Trump deserves plaudits for the improving economy, while only 40 percent credit President Obama.
Even in a Quinnipiac poll taken at the height of the controversy over Trumpâs Helsinki summit, when the president came under extreme criticism, respondents by a 49-47 margin were positive on his handling of the economy.
Larry Summers not only disagrees that President Trump has anything to do with our improving economy, he is also reluctant to bury his gloomy âsecular stagnationâ theory that income and job growth will forever be severely restricted.
He is, of course, in the position of having to explain why the Obama administration, in which he served as director of the National Economic Council, failed to excite higher investment and spending and instead presided over the slowest post-recession growth in modern times.
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In fact, this year, the U.S. is the worldâs star economy, benefiting from the GOP tax cuts and lighter regulation. That reality bolsters Trumpâs claim of credit; other countries have not injected their economies with any optimism-producing tax or rule changes, and their performance has suffered in comparison.
France, under newly-elected Macron, started out attempting to loosen its archaic work rules, for instance, and the U.K. hoped to move along the same lines after Brexit, but neither country has managed to follow through.
But the ultimate argument in favor of President Trumpâs impact on the economy is that Americans greeted his election with a surge of optimism the likes of which we havenât seen in decades.
Summers would not understand that, because like most liberals, he is probably offended by Trumpâs disregard for established norms of behavior and his controversial embrace of lower taxes and lighter regulation.
That optimism is real, and powerful â something Obama never appreciated. When he told business owners, âYou didnât build that,â or when he ignored and ultimately shut down the Presidentâs Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, a group offering suggestions on how to create jobs, he displayed a very real antipathy toward private enterprise and actual job creators.
Obama's economist grasps at straws trying to devalue Trump's impact
You know what it boils down to? Obama played politics to his base, while Trump didn't play politics and made all of us better off.
The poll shows their âEconomic Optimismâ index climbing in August to 58, the second-highest mark since January 2004.
In addition, they note other indicators that the nationâs mood has brightened:
In August, respondents rated their âQuality of Lifeâ at 64.2; the previous all-time high was 63.1, recorded in January 2004.The average under President Obama was 53.7.
Similarly, the latest reading on âDirection of the Countryâ hit 50.3, up 13 percent from the prior month, and the highest recorded since 2005. That compares to a 17-year average of 41.6 and an average of 37 during President Obamaâs time in office.
The âFinancial Stress Index,â which has averaged 59.4 since it was created in 2007, plunged in August to 47.4, its lowest level ever. As IBD explained, âPeople are feeling more secure in their finances than they have at least since the early 2000s.â
Meanwhile, the presidentâs approval ratings came in at 41, the highest level since March 2017. Fifty percent of respondents said they disapprove of the job Trump is doing, down 4 points from July. His âLeadership Index," similarly, saw the highest score since his first months in office.
Is it coincidence that these improved ratings have tracked the acceleration in the economy and improving jobs market? Of course not. A recent Rasmussen poll showed that 50 percent of likely voters say Trump deserves plaudits for the improving economy, while only 40 percent credit President Obama.
Even in a Quinnipiac poll taken at the height of the controversy over Trumpâs Helsinki summit, when the president came under extreme criticism, respondents by a 49-47 margin were positive on his handling of the economy.
Larry Summers not only disagrees that President Trump has anything to do with our improving economy, he is also reluctant to bury his gloomy âsecular stagnationâ theory that income and job growth will forever be severely restricted.
He is, of course, in the position of having to explain why the Obama administration, in which he served as director of the National Economic Council, failed to excite higher investment and spending and instead presided over the slowest post-recession growth in modern times.
.
.
In fact, this year, the U.S. is the worldâs star economy, benefiting from the GOP tax cuts and lighter regulation. That reality bolsters Trumpâs claim of credit; other countries have not injected their economies with any optimism-producing tax or rule changes, and their performance has suffered in comparison.
France, under newly-elected Macron, started out attempting to loosen its archaic work rules, for instance, and the U.K. hoped to move along the same lines after Brexit, but neither country has managed to follow through.
But the ultimate argument in favor of President Trumpâs impact on the economy is that Americans greeted his election with a surge of optimism the likes of which we havenât seen in decades.
Summers would not understand that, because like most liberals, he is probably offended by Trumpâs disregard for established norms of behavior and his controversial embrace of lower taxes and lighter regulation.
That optimism is real, and powerful â something Obama never appreciated. When he told business owners, âYou didnât build that,â or when he ignored and ultimately shut down the Presidentâs Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, a group offering suggestions on how to create jobs, he displayed a very real antipathy toward private enterprise and actual job creators.
Obama's economist grasps at straws trying to devalue Trump's impact
You know what it boils down to? Obama played politics to his base, while Trump didn't play politics and made all of us better off.
