While Democrats Are Working For The People, President Trump’s Broken Economic Promises Are Felt Across the Country
MANUFACTURING: For the first time in three years, U.S. manufacturing has experienced a contraction.
“A key U.S. factory gauge unexpectedly contracted for the first time since 2016… The Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers index fell to 49.1 in August… Figures below 50 indicate the manufacturing economy is generally shrinking.” [Bloomberg, 09/03/19]
WAGES: Wages for workers are stagnant, despite President Trump’s promise that his tax cuts for the wealthy would turn into a $4,000 pay raise for average workers.
“With such a tight labor market and rising productivity, workers should expect much bigger pay raises than they’re getting. Private sector workers (excluding farmworkers) got an average 11-cent hourly raise, adding up to an average hourly pay of $28.11. In the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.2 percent. That’s a slight uptick from previous months but still represents disappointing pay growth when adjusted for inflation.” [Vox, 09/06/19]
HEALTH CARE: President Trump’s health care sabotage efforts have increased the number of uninsured by two million, including 425,000 children. This is the first time in a decade that the uninsured rate has increased.
“About 27.5 million people, or 8.5 percent of the population, lacked health insurance for all of 2018, up from 7.9 percent the year before, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. It was the first increase since the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, and experts said it was at least partly the result of the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine that law.” [NYT, 09/10/19]
JOBS: The August jobs report under-performed expectations – a result attributed largely to the uncertainty caused by President Trump’s trade war.
“Hiring slowed in August as employers added 130,000 jobs, further stoking recession fears and strengthening the Federal Reserve’s argument for another cut in interest rates this month...” [USA Today, 09/06/19]
SIGNS OF A DOWNTURN: The Treasury yield curve inverted, which is correlated to a coming downturn, and the Federal Reserve is reportedly contemplating another rate cut in response to signs of a sluggish economy. “A red-flashing recession indicator in the bond market only adds to the pressure the Federal Reserve will face when it meets next month to deliver what markets anticipate will be another rate cut. The spread between yields on the 2- and 10-year Treasurys flipped Wednesday morning as the shorter-duration debt rose above the level of the benchmark rate. That’s a classic recession indicator, predicting the past seven periods of negative U.S. growth.” [CNBC, 8/14/19]
RURAL ECONOMY: According to the American Farm Bureau, farmers are being pushed to file for bankruptcy, as a result of President Trump’s trade war.
“The delinquency rates for commercial agricultural loans in both the real estate and non-real estate lending sectors are at a six-year high... Across the U.S., farm loan delinquencies and Chapter 12 bankruptcies are rising.” [Farm Bureau, 07/31/19]
Meanwhile, House Democrats have used our Majority to pass bills that raise wages, grow the economy, and lower health care and prescription drug prices. We continue to urge Senate Republicans to take up and pass these bills to ensure more families can make it in America.
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