We’re now deep enough into Donald Trump’s second term to begin objectively comparing his economic record to Joe Biden’s.
Unsurprisingly, the cold, hard numbers illustrate once again the superiority of Trump’s economic agenda of less regulation and lower taxes versus Biden’s disastrous big-government agenda. They also show the path forward for the Trump administration to extend its early gains.
Recall that by this point in the Biden administration, surging inflation was already stirring public discontent and prompting a torrent of denial and misinformation from administration officials and their apologists on the political left.
Let’s look at the numbers.
According to official government data, inflation stood at just 1.4% when Biden entered office in January 2021. Over the ensuing five months through June 2021, that rate nearly quintupled. It rose to 1.7% by February, 2.6% in March, all the way up to an unsettling 4.1% in April, 4.9% in May and then 5.3% at today’s point in Biden’s term.
Biden and his defenders at first dismissed that painful spike in consumer prices as nonexistent, but by summer were already pivoting to brushing it off as “transitory.”
One year later, however, inflation rose all the way to an excruciating 9% in the summer of 2022. By the time that Biden left the White House in January of this year, inflation remained at 3.0%, over twice as high as when he entered office four years earlier.
Throughout that period, Biden stubbornly maintained his agenda of wasteful “Green New Deal” spending blowouts that only fueled the inflationary fire. As a result, the average American was paying approximately $20,000 more for the same basket of goods that they paid when Biden entered office.
And what has happened since Biden departed?
Well, since Trump returned to the White House, inflation has already declined by 20%. From 3.0% in January, inflation fell to 2.8% in February, 2.4% in March, 2.3% in April and 2.4% in the most recent month reported, when monthly inflation increased just 0.1%.
Remember, those same voices who dismissed Biden’s runaway inflation as “transitory” assured the nation that Trump’s policies would unleash painful consumer price hikes.
Drilling down a bit further, gas prices have plummeted compared with the number one year ago, and today stand at their lowest rate in four years. Keep in mind that this has occurred even amid Middle East turmoil as Israel and the United States executed attacks against oil-rich Iran. Credit President Trump’s immediate effort upon reentering the While House to deregulate the energy sector, which places downward pressure on oil prices by creating the prospect of abundance in future months and years.
Elsewhere, stock markets have ascended to record highs since Trump returned to office, despite predictions of doom from those leftist pundits just three months ago. That also manifests an optimism among businesses and investors regarding the prospect of future growth.
Meanwhile, the latest official jobs report offered similar cause for optimism.
Specifically, employment growth for the month of June exceeded expectations as payrolls increased by 147,000 for the month, well above the 110,000 expectation. That was also higher than May’s 144,000, which itself was adjusted upward from the initial estimate. Moreover, April’s job growth number was also adjusted upward by 11,000 from its earlier estimate. At the same time, the nation’s unemployment rate fell from 4.2% to 4.1%, against forecasts of an increase to 4.3%.
So inflation is slowing, stocks continue to rise after exceeding their all-time highs and job growth continues.
And while economic prediction is obviously a treacherous endeavor, recent events only offer additional reason for optimism.
Last week, President Trump and Congress successfully enacted his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which some label the most pro-growth legislation in history. Unlike Trump’s executive orders, which can be reversed by future presidents with decidedly worse economic agendas, the bill makes permanent the tax reductions of his 2017 bill.
If Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D – New York) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D – New York) had their way, in contrast, the American economy would be hit with a $4 trillion tax increase and revert to the developed world’s highest corporate tax rate.
Anyone want to guess how an immediate tax hike of that magnitude would’ve affected our economy?
The bill also includes such beneficial elements as increasing energy exploration and mining on federal lands to further increase supply, which further reduces our reliance on hostile powers like Venezuela and China for petroleum and rare earths.
Accordingly, early returns already serve to reconfirm the importance of a low-tax, deregulatory, smaller-government economic agenda. By continuing that course, and avoiding such ill-advised ideas as pharmaceutical price controls, prospects for the next three-and-a-half years are bright indeed.
Timothy H. Lee is Senior Vice President of legal and public affairs at the Center for Individual Freedom.
Reprinted with Permission from CFIF.org – Timothy H. Lee
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
DJT keeps being RIGHT while the “experts” keep being WRONG! That’s because the “experts” just have head knowledge from “ELITE” colleges while Trump has real-life experience!
The democrats economy is dependent on the tax that is paid by the working class. More spending to keep voters voting for the democrats is their agenda.
Those not willing to work we have to give them some money Mayor Bass of LA was heard to say this morning. You know people capable of working but are afraid to go out because of COVID or being deported because they are here illegally. No we don’t owe them a living. We need to arrest all these people who come to these arrests of illegals by ICE agents and throwing rocks at their vehicles. They are all breaking the laws. January 6 screamers where are you now. The democrats are overthrowing the government one rock at a time and they are getting away with it due to the Soros bought judges in this country. And the silence of the MAGAs. January 6 was an event to preserve our country. Now we are in an era of insurrection by the democrats and not a peep from the MSM or the Republicans. The democrats ignored the judgements coming down from the Supreme Court Biden did it why not a senator or House member today. When President Trump has been given power by the Supreme Court, which has been granted to him under the constitution, the democrats start violent attacks and riots. All to cover up their illegal policies of the past 4 years. Speak up people or we are lost.
It only took one look at Yellen and her “transitory inflation,” and I knew our economy was FUBAR. THANK GOD DJT is back in the White House!!! Those who oppose President Trump’s economic policy simply hate America, and want to see it become a communist country.
President Trump is great for this country, GOD Bless You!!!!!
When it comes to the economy, or ANYTHING ELSE, not ONE Democrat has a fricking clue how to run it or make it work in a positive way FOR E
AMERICA OR FOR HER PEOPLE.
Their ONLY IDEA AND SOLUTION is to RAISE TAXES, SPEND MORE, AND KEEP RAISING TAXES TO PAY FOR THEIR INSANITY.
President Trump also has my finances to within a few thousand of all that I lost after the illegal Obiden election.
Great article. Only question is the $20,000 for a basket of goods
MAGA is like the original America. getting better everyday (once the commies are out of the way!)
Of course the Dems didn’t want to pass the BBB. That way they could blame Trump when taxes soared.
I so notice and appreciate what President Trump has done for our nation. Beyond the inflation factor, which will go down slowly, as prices on staples like gasoline and groceries are still in stock at the former inflated prices.Look at the foreign affairs!
I knew that pure evil was afoot, when Biden closed down the Keystone pipeline, knocking out jobs for so many, and then the stop drilling, which overnite caused all prices in the market place to sky rocket. Toward the end of what we all thought was Biden’s adm. many chickens were killed ie, bird flue. So anything produced with eggs and eggs themselves, stayed waay higher than any other needed product.
Now, we all know that Biden was being handled by a or many puppeteers. Justice must be avenged or this will happen the next time a party wants to run a so called, benevolent grandfather, who is so senile, they can manage him/her.
But according to the Demonrats his policies don’t work. Te Demonrats only know how to spend and tax and then waste our money on climate changes and pucking industries like solar that has cost us a Trillion Dollars and have done nothing to control mother nature. Which there pie in the sky will never do.
Deregulation of natural gas for consumers has led to a major mess we have to deal with every year. I dread having to call and haggle over the per therm price and set a new contract. I long for those days when I had a regulated company that served this need. No 15 extra items to be charged in addition to the usage. Not all deregulation is good. Don’t mess with my electric service!!