No, the Economy Is NOT Terrible

Despite what some presidential candidates are saying the American economy is in the best shape it's been in many Americans' lifetime. Andrew Kugle at The Washington Free Beacon cites a number of statements made recently by Democrats vying for their party's nomination which suggest that they believe, or want voters to believe, that the economy is in tatters.

For example,

• "The economy in America today is not working for working people," Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.).
• "When they declare victory at 4 percent unemployment, it is not good enough," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.).
• "We have enormous crises in this country … in terms of millions of people living in poverty, in terms of a shrinking middle class," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).
• "The middle-class squeeze is real and millions of families can barely breathe." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.).
• "Clearly something is broken. Something is broken in our economy," former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg (D.).

Statistics, however, don't seem to bear out these melancholy claims. According to Kugle:

The unemployment rate is at 3.8 percent, a 50-year low. Unemployment rates for African Americans and Hispanics have reached record lows in the last two years. The labor force participation rate is at 63.2 percent. Consumer confidence reached an 18-year high in September and rebounded in February after a three-month decline.

A 3.8% unemployment rate is considered at, or close to, full employment, so it's not clear what Senator Gillibrand means when she says that 4% is not good enough nor what the others mean when they assert that the economy isn't working. here are a couple more stats from Kugle's piece:

In January, manufacturing jobs were growing at a rate 714 percent faster under Trump than under his predecessor President Barack Obama.

The latest job numbers show wages growing at a rate not seen in a decade, with most of the wage growth occurring in the lower half of wage earners.

Kugle might've also pointed out that food stamp recipients have declined by almost four million people in the last two years, and that compared to the economies of every other first world nation, ours is very healthy.

Of course not everyone in the country is a millionaire, but of all the problems with which we are faced today, the economy seems to be among the least urgent. If politicians are going to tell us that that's not true, they should explain why it's not.

Otherwise, they're being less than honest with the American people, and they're certainly forfeiting their credibility.