GDP...inflation...blah blah blah.
The economy in GOP hands has been a disaster for the last 20-30 years. They have done the same thing when they have been in power during this time frame. Specifically, they slash taxes resulting in a short term boom, they then promise that either 1) the tax cuts will “pay for themselves” 2) they will “get to spending cuts later”. #1 is clearly non-reality based / magical thinking on the part of the GOP and #2 (cutting entitlements) is so politically toxic with their base (old people) that they never actual do it. What do they do instead? INCREASE spending usually through increase defense spending and/or starting wars. The GOP is not a fiscally Conservative party—they are the fiscal voodoo party.
What we really need is a group of leaders that will INCREASE taxes responsibly AND simultaneously CUT spending (both defense and entitlement spending). We need this because the Boomers have been so reckless as leaders—we have known since the 1980s that social security and Medicare were not viable long term but neither party (both lead by Boomers during this time frame) has actual done anything to fix these problems.
What is interesting now though, is that Trump and the current GOP congress’s decision to once again follow the repeatedly disproven “cut taxes” approach during a time when all economic indicators where that this is a very bad idea. Typically it takes 6-8 years for the economic sh!t to hit the fan after a GOP tax cut coupled with their spend like a drunk hooker binge, thus, their base (uneducated, poor white men from rural areas and their submissive wives) is able to somehow blame the economic fall out on the other side.
All indications currently is that we’ll like have an economic crash in late 2019 or early 2020–thus the boom bust cycle is accelerating such that it’ll be hard to blame the Dems this time. Though, I suppose, Trump’s mouth breathing base will find a way through their bizarre a$$-backwards thinking to blame anyone but the GOP. This will be especially true if the Dems take back one or both houses of Congress in November—that would be a convenient scapegoat for the very stupid.