‘Obama-Clinton Economy’ Contradicts Donald Trump: Household Incomes Rise, Poverty Falls

Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has said the ‘Obama-Clinton economy’ is a disaster for the middle class and he’s placed the blame firmly on the current administration. Trump has also claimed he’ll be the best ‘jobs president’ if he’s elected. But new data on the US economy shows Trump is wrong.

The US Census Bureau released new information Tuesday showing that median household incomes have increased. The median income rose to $56,516 in 2015. That’s a 5.2 per cent increase on the previous year. This is the first increase in median household income since 2007 – before Barack Obama was elected.

The poverty rate, which Donald Trump has repeatedly discussed in his visits to working class areas, is also down. The rate has fallen from 14.8 per cent in 2014 to 13.5 per cent in the most recent census. This means 3.5 million fewer Americans are living in poverty.

Thanks to Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the number of Americans without health insurance is down to 9.1 per cent. Some 29 million Americans are still without health insurance, but that’s a fall from 33 million in 2014. The numbers seem to indicate that Obamacare, much hated by Republicans, is working.

Donald Trump has tried to spin the economy to his advantage. He has toured white, working class areas and talked about closed factories, unemployment and pledged to bring jobs back from overseas. He has also tried to reach out to African-American voters by saying they live in poverty and have nothing to lose. The census figures make a mockery of his claims.

However, the Trump campaign will likely dispute the numbers. Trump has claimed that ‘real’ unemployment is around 40 per cent, though this claim is not based on fact. These new figures will feature prominently in the presidential election. Trump has tried to sell himself as better for the economy because of his wealth but the numbers contradict his claims on American decline.