I’m increasingly convinced that most “experts in the media and politics” have zero understanding about what’s really happening in the economy. For example, here’s an article on VOX stating, “It’s morning in America.”

Morning in America was a phrase associated with Ronald Reagan, taken from one of his 1984 campaign commercials. It actually was more than a slogan. It meant something.

Close

Look at this chart, which shows annual changes in real GDP:Chart02

Now check out these numbers:

After recession, Ronald Reagan provided high growth rates

1983:  4.6 percent
1984:  7.3 percent
1985:  4.2 percent
1986:  3.5 percent
1987:  3.5 percent
1988:  4.2 percent

Now look at these numbers:

After recession, Obama provided   . . . not much.

2010:  2.5 percent
2011:  1.6 percent
2012:  2.2 percent
2013:  1.5 percent
2014:  2.4 percent

2015 wasn’t on that chart – maybe it was better? Nope. If you look here, you see it was 0.6 percent in Q1 2015, 3.9 percent in Q2 2015, and 2.0 percent in Q3 2015.

Q4 data isn’t available, but it seems likely that growth will once again come in under 3 percent. Some economists believe the prospects for 2016 are no better. And as we know from looking at the data on real median household income that most people aren’t seeing any of that growth – their incomes are flat are declining.

How could you look at these numbers, compare them to the record of the mid-1980s, and say that it’s “morning in America”? Do these folks really believe this stuff? Are they lying? Or are they just ignorant?