TRUMP’S Economy Dwarfs Obama’s
by Jack Watts
COMMON SENSE: During the last administration, we were repeatedly told America’s best days were behind us. Because we were assured this was true, we needed to be content with an annual growth rate that wasn’t much above 1 percent. Accepting our decline gracefully and with dignity was the best future we could hope to experience.
As a result, in December 2016, the last full month of the Obama administration, it wasn’t a surprise that our gross domestic product (GDP)—the total goods and services produced by the United States—was $18.6 trillion. While still large, most economic prognosticators predicted that both China and the European Union would soon overwhelm us with their capacity to outproduce us.
That was then; this is now. Under our current leadership, our GDP has improved dramatically to $20.5 trillion. Even better, it is expected to continue growing for years—thanks primarily to massive tax cuts, deregulation, and unchaining our energy sector. Best of all, every American is benefitting from this unprecedented growth.
But what does it all mean? What is the difference between $18.6 trillion and $20.5 trillion, other than the obvious numerical difference of $1.9 trillion? This is a question that can best be answered by comparing our economy with the GDP of other nations. For example, the $1.9 trillion difference between what the Trump administration has been able to produce, as compared with that of the Obama administration generated two years ago, is greater than the entire economic output of countries like Russia, Canada, South Korea, or Italy.
Because Russia is in the news daily, let’s use them as an example. In a nation of about 147 million people, Russia’s GDP is just $1.5 trillion. This means our economy is 13.6 times larger than Russia’s, which is substantial. It means the growth differential between what the Obama administration produced and what the Trump administration is currently producing is larger than the entire economy of Russia. Our growth under Trump, as versus Obama, is greater than the total output of Russia. The difference between Trump’s economy and Obama’s is staggering.
This isn’t political spin. These are real numbers that have created real growth, and a dramatic increase in American power; and it has all occurred in less than two years. Every American, regardless of his or her political belief system, should be proud of this accomplishment.
Unfortunately, these accomplishments, as well as numerous others, have been obscured by the media’s obsession with focusing on trivialities and personality-driven journalism. The big picture, which is our geo-political resurgence to world dominance, has either been under-reported or not reported at all.
Therefore, it is up to us to not only proclaim this message.