this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] -5 points 10 months ago (7 children)

Nothing compared to Biden. The numbers show Biden inflation was much worse.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (6 children)

Correlation doesn't equal causation. Just because Biden is in office doesn't mean inflation is because of him.

But here's what we DO know:

Quantitative Easing and interest rate control directly affect the economy for better or for worse. He also kept gas prices artificially low. We can argue if that was good are bad but we can't use gas prices to determine the health of our economy.

If abused, QE and low rates result in short term gain and long term damage. We often times don't see the results until years after the actions have been made and the market has had an opportunity to adjust the new dollar value. Basically crazy inflation equals crazy booms and crazy busts.

Trump pushed QE and near %0 interest rates harder than any president in history. Even Jerome Powell was uncomfortable and pressured into inserting more dollars into the economy. Yikes.

Remember the bust and miraculous recovery in the stock market we had during Trump? Busts like that don't happen for no reason. Nor do recoveries like that normally happen. Our economy was being fed cheap money until the day he left office. Now we're paying the price.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

Presidents don't control interest rates. Try again.

ETA: I agree with you on the gas and that is a metric that is commonly quoted but is often not tied to any president or presidential action.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If presidents don't influence interest rates then presidents don't influence the economy in a measurable way compared the fed reserve. By your logic then neither president is to blame then. But neither of us actually believe that.

I would encourage you to look back into how Trump pressured the federal reserve throughout his presidency.

Again, if you don't believe that he influenced the feds decisions then all that talking that Trump did about improving econ health, and low interest rates was just the equivalent of him promising a wooden nickel to his followers and lying that he was the source of the change.

And again, I and I'm sure you believe that he did heavily influence the economy and fed reserve.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm so happy you sent me that article. It proves that stimulating the economy with new money often times is bad... Just like what Trump did. I'm not a Biden fanboy but I genuinely believe that Trump's love for cheap money doomed us. Here's one of many articles showing that he did exactly what I described above. The fed was trying to deflate the economy now but we're basically pressured into not. Now they are finally doing what they wanted to do like 6 years ago.

I promise you, you cannot in good faith argue that there was not massive artificial economic stimulus in Trump's presidency and he had a massive role in that.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The Democrats were pushing for more money because of the pandemic. They wanted people to stay at home. Right or wrong, the Democrats pushed it and I can't say it was the wrong decision at the time. Would you have preferred Trump refused to send money to let people stay at home during the pandemic?

Biden came in and started spending like crazy. Look at the debt growth under Biden. It is astounding. That money didn't need to be spent. That was Biden just spending.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I feel like you're skating past all the points I've mentioned. Do you agree or not?

Yes, Dems were pushing for stimulus checks. I was personally against it on a macro level but I would like to believe it was crucial to some families. Ultimatly, that was a drop in the bucket compared to interest rates and QE.

Spending is a different animal. Government spending doesn't really equal inflation. Ultimately I don't care if you're spending it on "good" things. Republicans won't mind military spending and Dems won't mind whatever it is they care about. All that is very subjective and not really my wheelhouse since I don't look at yearly budgeting and I don't think most do.

But when we're talking about inflation what we're talking about is new money flowing into the economy. We aren't taking about a presidents spending plans.

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