In response to Richard Lafferty’s riposte “Economic truths about Obama, Trump” (March 18, TribLIVE) to my letter “Obama vs. Trump on national debt” (Feb. 27, TribLIVE): I agree the Bible says the “truth shall make you free.” But I will quickly follow up with the comment it depends where you are getting your “truth.”

A case in point is the Trump “recovery” referenced in the letter. A dispassionate look at the data for the Obama and Trump periods doesn’t support the assertion President Trump “rescued” the economy.

In Trump’s best year (2018), the economy failed to achieve even 3% GDP growth (let alone his boast of 4% or 5%), and that was with all fiscal guns blazing, including a tax cut that favored wealthy individuals and companies resulting in an annual structural deficit of $1 trillion.

Let’s not forget President Obama had to deal with the predecessor to the Trump party — i.e., the Republican Party that eschewed budget deficits and adding to the national debt (budget hawks — remember them?). Obama’s and Trump’s GPD records are essentially identical even considering the recovery from the Great Recession. The charts show a smooth progression through the 2010s until now.

Unfortunately, less than 10 days after Lafferty’s letter was posted, Trump had to inject $2.2 trillion into the economy with additional capital supports of up to $4 trillion from the Federal Reserve. Like Obama, Trump had to respond to events, consequences be damned. Let’s hope his outcomes are better than Obama’s.

James Kvitkovich

Hempfield

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