Bounce Off The Bottom

Are you better-off today than you were four years ago?

This photo is making the rounds on social media as evidence that gasoline prices were cheaper during the Trump administration four years ago.

I recently paid $4.15/gallon for non-ethanol premium for our small engine stuff; so factually the photo is correct.  What isn't told is that this was in the midst of the COVID recession the last year of the Trump presidency.  There was ample supply and nobody was traveling.  Gas and diesel prices cratered along with everything else.  Including the financial markets, employment numbers and the national economy. Inasmuch as this was a global phenomenon blaming Trump for any of this is a specious supposition.

While Trump didn't cause the pandemic, in my personal view his mishandling of the government response to the pandemic certainly contributed to a sharp, short-lived recession and likely contributed to his reelection loss in November of that year.

To be clear, I think presidents get too much blame for bad economies and take too much credit for strong economies.  Truthfully, it is a heavy lift for a president to move something as complex as the US economy. For the record, supply/demand markets determine gasoline prices. Not presidents.  If you believe otherwise I've got a bridge to sell you.

I am better-off today than four years ago.

Peace.