By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 14, 2018
ANALYSIS
Since President Trump took office, the economy is booming, according to such reliable sources as federal agencies, analysts and data from the private sector
That may not be good enough for the press, however.
The news media is seeking to “rewrite history” to credit former President Barack Obama for this feat, says one major business publication.
“The stronger the economy gets under Trump, the more desperate his critics are to hand credit over to Obama. Even if that entails changing the past,” says an Investor’s Business Daily editorial. “A recent New York Times story says it all: ‘An economic upturn begun under Obama is now Trump’s to tout’.”
Things were not always thus.
“We seem to recall that the economy was stagnating in 2016 after the weakest recovery from a recession since the Great Depression,” the IBD editorial noted. “In fact, The New York Times itself described Obama’s economy this way in August 2016: ‘For three quarters in a row, the growth rate of the economy has hovered around a mere 1 percent,” the IBD editorial recalled. “In the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, the economy expanded at feeble annual rates of 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.”
The editorial also cited similar coverage at CBS News.
“Now that the economy is outperforming everyone’s expectations, Trump’s critics want to pretend that the current boom was already baked in the cake,” the editorial said. “Now, after Trump’s deregulation and tax cuts are starting to take effect, we’re seeing still more signs of stronger growth. Polls show that the public gives Trump credit for what’s going on today. They, not the mainstream press, have it right.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/aug/14/mainstream-media-tries-to-rewrite-history-to-credi/
For those that don't know IBD = Investors Business Daily
The IBD Editorial
Editorials
Economic Boom: Media Rewrite History To Credit Obama Instead Of Trump
8/10/2018
Growth: The stronger the economy gets under President Trump, the more desperate his critics are to hand credit over to Obama. Even if that entails changing the past.
A recent New York Times story says it all: "An Economic Upturn Begun Under Obama Is Now Trump's To Tout."
The article begins by admitting that "by nearly every standard measure, the American economy is doing well," then spends the next 1,400 words arguing that the current good times have nothing to do with Trump's economic agenda.
The economy, reporter Patricia Cohen declares, "is following the upward trajectory begun under President Barack Obama."
Upward trajectory?
We seem to recall that the economy was stagnating in 2016 after the weakest recovery from a recession since the Great Depression.
In fact, The New York Times itself described Obama's economy this way in August 2016: "For three quarters in a row, the growth rate of the economy has hovered around a mere 1%. In the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, the economy expanded at feeble annual rates of 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. The initial reading for the second quarter of this year, released on Friday, was a disappointing 1.2%."
GDP growth decelerated in each of the last three quarters of 2016.
And on January 27, 2017, after the government reported that GDP growth for all 2016 was a mere 1.6% — the weakest in five years — the Times announced that "President Trump's target for economic growth just got a little more distant."
That same month, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office forecast growth this year would be just 1.9%.
There were other signs of stagnation as well. Stocks had flatlined in 2016, with major indexes down slightly. Real median household income dropped that year, according to Sentier Research.
Growth had been so worrisomely slow throughout Obama's two terms in office that journalists started warning about "secular stagnation." They said the country was in a period of long, sustained, slow growth resulting from slow population and productivity growth.
In August 2016, the Times declared that "the underlying reality of low growth will haunt whoever wins the White House."
Predictions of Slow Growth
The next month, CBS News reported that "with U.S. economic growth stuck in low gear for several years, it's leading many economists to worry that the country has entered a prolonged period where any expansion will be weaker than it has been in the past."
In short, there was no upward trajectory to the economy on anyone's radar when Trump took office.
Now that the economy is outperforming everyone's expectations, Trump's critics want to pretend that the current boom was already baked in the cake.
We are the first to admit that the impact of federal policies take time to show up in the economy. But the fact is that optimism surged across the board as soon as pro-growth Trump won the election over stay-the-stagnant-course Hillary Clinton.
Now, after Trump's deregulation and tax cuts are starting to take effect, we're seeing still more signs of stronger growth.
Polls show that the public gives Trump credit for what's going on today. They, not the mainstream press, have it right.
http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/economic-boom-trump-obama-policies/
