Democrats are much better for the economy than Republicans, and this is unlikely to soon change
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For 30 years, Republicans have been bad for the economy.
- George H. W. Bush’s term in office ended in recession.
- The economy boomed under Bill Clinton.
- George W. Bush started his term with an ordinary recession …
- …. and ended with a huge one.
- The economy grew back steadily under Barack Obama.
- The Obama boom slowed during the first part of Donald’s Trump term.
And of course we’re in economic catastrophe now.
Not coincidentally, standard Republican claims have not held true.
- Deficits have not led to inflation.
- Corporations have not reinvested tax windfalls in their businesses.
- Economic growth has not “trickled down” to the rest of the population.
- Stock market gains have not been coupled to the rest of the economy.
Most fundamentally, Republicans wrongly claim that “making more money available for investment” does in fact cause significantly more investment. (This is how they justify tax cuts for corporations, tax cuts for rich people, removal of regulations, and the like.) But in reality, if that was ever true, it’s been false for decades. Giving corporations more money just increases their dividends, stock buybacks, and/or executive pay, much more than it does their productive business spending. Cutting corporate taxes or lowering regulatory compliance costs, while great for earnings and hence stock prices, does little for the overall economy.
So when Republicans let infrastructure crumble – because they fear that paying workers to fix it would “crowd out” private investment — they’re wrong. When Republicans suppress the wages of our poorest workers — who would surely spend most of that new income and thus stimulate the economy — they’re wrong. And when Republicans resist investing in the education, child care and health care that makes our workers more effective or freer to work, they’re even wronger yet.
That’s all horrid enough, but Trump-style Republicans add a terrible new error: They oppose immigration. Immigrants are our hardest workers at our worst jobs. Immigrants provide energy and leadership for our greatest entrepreneurial successes. And immigrants comprise many of the engineers and other skilled workers who help our hottest job creating businesses grow. Many of our most productive people are immigrants … and the rest are descended from immigrants of the past.
And what about that “socialist” buzzword Republicans have been slinging at Democrats since the 1930s? It was nonsense then. It was nonsense when Reagan said Medicare would end freedom. It is nonsense now. (Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination.) And it is nonsense looking ahead. Even today’s Western Europe is capitalist enough for solid economic health, and the US isn’t going nearly as far left as that.
A version of this post formatted for yet easier copy/pasting is in the comments below.
About the author: For almost 40 years, Curt Monash has been an adviser to and observer of many of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs. He was voted by investors as the #1 stock analyst of the computer software and services industry. He has consulted to a large fraction of the world’s important technology companies, often at the CEO level. Before entering business, he was a research fellow in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. His Twitter and Facebook usernames are CurtMonash, and his public email address is curtmonash@monash.com. His official bio is at http://www.monash.com/curtbio.html.
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[…] Shorter and easier to copy/paste. […]
[…] Shorter and easier to copy/paste. […]
As promised, here’s a version of the post with copy-unfriendly formatting stripped out.
For 30 years, Republicans have been bad for the economy.
— George H. W. Bush’s term in office ended in recession.
— The economy boomed under Bill Clinton.
— George W. Bush started his term with an ordinary recession and ended with a huge one.
— The economy grew back steadily under Barack Obama.
— The Obama boom slowed during the first part of Donald’s Trump term.
And of course we’re in economic catastrophe now.
Not coincidentally, standard Republican claims have not held true.
— Deficits have not led to inflation.
— Corporations have not reinvested tax windfalls in their businesses.
— Economic growth has not “trickled down” to the rest of the population.
— Stock market gains have not been coupled to the rest of the economy.
Most fundamentally, Republicans wrongly claim that “making more money available for investment” does in fact cause significantly more investment. (This is how they justify tax cuts for corporations, tax cuts for rich people, removal of regulations, and the like.) But in reality, if that was ever true, it’s been false for decades. Giving corporations more money just increases their dividends, stock buybacks, and/or executive pay, much more than it does their productive business spending. Cutting corporate taxes or lowering regulatory compliance costs, while great for earnings and hence stock prices, does little for the overall economy.
So when Republicans let infrastructure crumble – because they fear that paying workers to fix it would “crowd out” private investment — they’re wrong. When Republicans suppress the wages of our poorest workers — who would surely spend most of that new income and thus stimulate the economy — they’re wrong. And when Republicans resist investing in the education, child care and health care that makes our workers more effective or freer to work, they’re even wronger yet.
That’s all horrid enough, but Trump-style Republicans add a terrible new error: They oppose immigration. Immigrants are our hardest workers at our worst jobs. Immigrants provide energy and leadership for our greatest entrepreneurial successes. And immigrants comprise many of the engineers and other skilled workers who help our hottest job creating businesses grow. Many of our most productive people are immigrants … and the rest are descended from immigrants of the past.
And what about that “socialist” buzzword Republicans have been slinging at Democrats since the 1930s? It was nonsense then. It was nonsense when Reagan said Medicare would end freedom. It is nonsense now. (Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination.) And it is nonsense looking ahead. Even today’s Western Europe is capitalist enough for solid economic health, and the US isn’t going nearly as far left as that.
This argument is supported with more detail at http://www.monashreport.com/2020/10/15/why-democrats-are-better-for-the-economy-than-republicans/ The URL for this version is http://www.monashreport.com/2020/10/15/democrats-are-much-better-for-the-economy-than-republicans-and-this-is-unlikely-to-soon-change/ Please include one or both URLs when sharing.
About the author: For almost 40 years, Curt Monash has been an adviser to and observer of many of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs. He was voted by investors as the #1 stock analyst of the computer software and services industry. He has consulted to a large fraction of the world’s important technology companies, often at the CEO level. Before entering business, he was a research fellow in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. His Twitter and Facebook usernames are CurtMonash, and his public email address is curtmonash@monash.com. His official bio is at http://www.monash.com/curtbio.html.
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