Some polls are currently saying that Republicans now hold an edge in next year's congressional elections, and many in the news are saying it's because of the economy. They think voters believe Republicans would do a better job with the economy.
Frankly, I don't understand why voters would think that. While it's true that Republicans have been claiming to be the better party for the economy for decades, the facts don't bear that out (note the charts above). The truth is that the economy has done better under Democrats -- both in economic growth and job creation.
What have the Republicans done for the economy. In the last Republican presidency, the only thing they did was to cut taxes for the rich and the corporations. They claimed the huge cut in corporate taxes would have companies creating a massive amount of new jobs and raising the wages of their workers. Neither of those things happened.
What did the corporations do? They spent most of the tax savings buying back their own stack (which increased the value of the stock -- which helped management to inflate their own income). Workers were not helped at all, and neither was the economy.
The Republicans still hold fast to their trickle-down theory of economics -- the theory that giving more to the rich and corporations will help everyone in a society. But that has been proven fallacious time and time again. The money doesn't trickle-down. It just piles up in the bank accounts of the rich and corporations. It doesn't spur economic growth, because the rich are already spending all the money they want.
Democrats know better. They know that in a free enterprise economy, economic growth does better when the bottom 90% of people have more money. Most of these people will spend that money, causing economic growth -- and even benefitting businesses (both small and large). In a society like ours, money does not trickle down -- it flows upwards.
That's why the economy does better under Democrats -- because they institute policies that puts more money in the hands of the masses. Meanwhile, Republicans care only about helping the rich get richer.
The next time you hear someone telling you that Republicans will be better for the economy, just understand they are either ignorant of the facts or lying.
