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The Bottom Line: The perception that Trump would handle the US economy better than Harris is dangerously false. It has been fueled by disinformation and aided by the (real and still high) cost of consumer goods. The reality is that the US economic recovery post pandemic has been distinctively strong (as recognized by the United Nations), due to actions of the Biden Administration and the Federal Reserve. Moreover, a joint analysis by most living US Nobel laureates for economics found Harris’ economic plans vastly superior to Trump’s: Hers will promote growth and benefit the middle class, while his will lead to higher prices, larger deficits, and greater inequality.
The Expanded Narrative
Americans often refer to the economy as a key issue in elections. This year is no different, and, by normal economic indicators, that should give a decisive advantage to Kamala Harris: The job market is strong (unemployment at 4.1%), inflation has come down to healthy levels (2.4%), and the stock market is at or near record highs, benefitting most Americans at a minimum through their retirement plans. Yet, voters seem to favor Trump on the economy. Why?
Sticker shock offers an explanation, as discussed in a recent NYT article: “costs for necessities like groceries and housing are much higher today than they were a few years ago. Many households still feel that burn when they go to pay the bills.”
Sticker shock is real and impacts people in profound ways. But focus on it alone ignores the post-pandemic context, and is dangerously misleading on who best to trust the economy to, moving forward.
The Biden Administration and the Federal Reserve, to their great credit, soft landed the US economy post pandemic, and did so faster and better than expectable. According to recent United Nations (UN) analyses, the US is one of the few countries bucking the trend of a stalling global economy. The UN credits this strong recovery and prognosis to three factors: the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act; the Federal Reserve’s gradual disinflation strategy; and a boosted investment in intellectual property fueled by the AI boom.
This is a major success story, that has been maliciously distorted by a disinformation campaign orchestrated by Trump and his allies. Trump consistently and falsely refers to the economy as in crisis that he alone can solve. The reality is that the remarkable recovery orchestrated by the Biden Administration offers excellent prospects to most Americans moving forward, if it is followed by appropriate plans for the next 4 years. And those plans are Harris’, not Trump’s.
In fact, in a jointly signed letter, most living US recipients of the Nobel Prize for Economics called Kamala Harris’ economic agenda “vastly superior” to the plans of Donald Trump. Quoting their letter: “While each of us has different views on the particulars of various economic policies, we believe that, overall, Harris’ economic agenda will improve our nation’s health, investment, sustainability, resilience, employment opportunities, and fairness and be vastly superior to the counterproductive economic agenda of Donald Trump”.
Their thinking is easy to understand. Harris is building on top of the economic backbone painstakingly and effectively put together by the Biden Administration over the past 4 years. Leveraging this backbone, the letter says: “Harris has emphasized policies that strengthen the middle class, enhance competition, and promote entrepreneurship. On issue after issue, Harris’s economic agenda will do far more than Donald Trump’s to increase the economic strength and well-being of our nation and its people.”
By contrast, Trump wants to rip that backbone apart. As the letter says: “His policies, including high tariffs even on goods from our friends and allies and regressive tax cuts for corporations and individuals, will lead to higher prices, larger deficits, and greater inequality. Among the most important determinants of economic success are the rule of law and economic and political certainty, and Trump threatens all of these.”
On economic grounds (as in so many others!), there is only one right choice this November: Kamala Harris!
— Antonio Baptista
Outside the box 
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