On Tuesday, November 3rd either Donald Trump or Joe Biden will be elected for president of the United States. And the current state of the economy has been a contentious point for both candidates. Trump has been quoted as saying "we are rounding the corner" with this virus while Biden argues that the economy is struggling greatly.
The truth; however, may be somewhere in the middle. Trump is correct when he boasts our 3rd quarter economic growth of over 33% which is a phenomenal figure in a vacuum. Though this can be heavily offset by the 31% decline we saw in the 2nd quarter.
Additionally, our economy has contracted 3.5% as a whole when compared to 2019. I believe it is unfair to blame Donald Trump entirely for the current state of the economy. There was so much uncertainty and panic during the first lockdown which could have affected these percentages. Still the entire U.S. government--not solely Trump--should share the blame. Our COVID response has been relatively weak when compared to other countries, and lawmakers from each side have used this as a political tool to siphon votes. It would be interesting to see how seriously politicians may have taken this virus if we were not in an election year.
Many argue that we should not be "reopening" business at the moment and should take any means to control the transmission of coronavirus. It has become apparent that a shutdown is largely unpopular with voters, effectively ruling that out as an option. If our current economy is doing as poorly as it was in the 2nd quarter; this would almost guarantee a defeat for Trump.
Ultimately, the outcome of the election will be great news to some and horrible news to others. Our biggest concern should be working together to help the citizens. But I am afraid that the politicians from the losing party will do anything to ensure the failure of the president elect. Regardless if it is Trump or Biden.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-where-the-economy-stands-as-the-us-chooses-between-trump-and-biden-2020-10-31
1 comment:
Kofi I agree with you that the result of the election will be horrible to some and great to others. The US economy has been a problem since covid started and will probably still be a problem with either candidate. Hopefully they have a plan of what to do moving on in the future .
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