Trump keeps bragging about how well Wall Street is doing, but that doesn't affect most Americans. For them, the economy is not doing well at all. Robert Reich explains:
Job growth slowed considerably last month. Employers added a less-than-expected 57,000 jobs in June, according to Labor Department data out today.
That’s far below the 129,000 jobs added in May and comes amid high anxiety about the state of the American economy.
According to today’s report, average hourly earnings increased by 3.5 percent. But prices are increasing at an annual rate of 4.2 percent.
What do you get when prices are increasing faster than wages? You get people who are becoming poorer. And what do you get when people become poorer? Angry voters.
Trump is constantly talking about the strength of the stock market. This morning he even shared a link to an article called “S&P 500 closes with strongest quarter since 2020.” Yesterday, when asked about the huge profits he’s made off his stock trades, he countered, “Well, you know why I’m profiting? Cause the stock market’s going up. Everybody’s profiting.”
The truth is most Americans aren’t profiting in the stock market. The richest 10 percent own over 90 percent of the value of all shares of stock. The richest 1 percent own over half of the value of all shares of stock.
Trump frequently points to 401(k) accounts as evidence of Americans benefiting from the strong stock market. But only around a third of working-age individuals have any savings at all in 401(k) accounts. About 40 percent of all Americans have no retirement savings whatsoever.
Bottom line: It’s a lousy economy. Anyone who voted for Trump in 2024 should have buyer’s remorse.
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