| House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is very upset by the strong US economy |
In a press conference last Thursday, June 7, Pelosi was asked about the May unemployment figure of 3.8%, the lowest it has been in 18 years. A reporter asked her if she thought the low lever was a good thing.
Pelosi's odd response (emphasis is mine):
"This has happened before," she said, "The people say, 'Oh my goodness... the unemployment rate is down. Why isn't my purchasing power increasing?'"
"Because our economy will never fully reach its possibilities unless we increase the consumer confidence," she explained.
"Unless we have a very significant increase in wages and bigger paychecks, we are going to increase the frustration of America's families because they'll be saying, 'Hip hip hooray, unemployment is down. What does that mean to me in my life? I need a bigger paycheck.' That's the apprehension American families have had for a while," she said. (Transcript via Real Clear Politics)
Pelosi's answer is, frankly, disconnected from reality. Has everybody's financial situation improved under Trump? Of course not, but Pelosi contradicts herself with that answer.
She acknowledges the low unemployment rate -- the fact that many, many Americans are back at work and getting paychecks, but mocks that by suggesting people are wondering why their purchasing power has not increased. (Note to Pelosi: If you were unemployed and now have a job with wages, your purchasing power has increased.)
Maybe Pelosi doesn't realize that a paycheck is income, and that income to a previously unemployed person is not "wage stagnation" but a raise in their income.
Pelosi's answer ignores numbers and facts. From Fox News:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday resumed her attacks against President Donald Trump, this time criticizing the nation's nearly 18-year high in consumer confidence under the president's leadership.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose 2.4 points in May, reaching 128 -- for the highest reading in more than 17 years, the organization said this week.
But in her weekly news conference, the California Democrat downplayed the figure, just a week after she claimed low unemployment numbers reported earlier “mean little” to the American people.
"Consumers’ short-term expectations improved modestly, suggesting that the pace of growth over the coming months is not likely to gain any significant momentum. Overall, confidence levels remain at historically strong levels and should continue to support solid consumer spending in the near-term.”
What about that "wage stagnation" that Pelosi mentioned? Wrong again. Earnings, on average, are up for American workers.
From The Week:
The only question from this month's report is "whether there are enough synonyms for 'good,'" said Neil Irwin at The New York Times. Even persistently lackluster wage growth may finally be rebounding: Average earnings are up 2.7 percent year over year, slightly faster than inflation. Clearly, "the economy is in a sweet spot."
MarketWatch addressed inflation and wages just today:
Inflation hasn’t risen enough to hurt consumers much, though. Higher pay has offset some of the increase in inflation and a strong economy has Americans feeling better than they have in years. Sales at U.S. retailers probably increased again in May, suggesting that growth domestic product could top 4% in the spring.
That's very good news, indeed. Add that to the record numbers of Americans back at work and getting paychecks, average earnings are up nearly 3% and beating inflation, and consumers are feeling rather confident indeed.
Why then, did Pelosi make such a ridiculous statement? That's simple. The good economic news makes Trump look good and, by extension, the Republicans. With mid-term elections coming up -- which will determine who controls Congress after November -- Pelosi and her Democrats are desperate to downplay the strong Trump economy. Even if that means using the Democrats' favorite tools: Distortion and lies.
