It is the economy, stupid.

If I were a single-issue voter, that issue would be fiscal responsibility and the economy. That sounds like TWO issues, but as an accountant I’ve learned that they are intricately interwoven. It IS about the money money money. (Uh cha-ching cha-ching.)

For the life of me, I fail to understand why Republicans think they are the fiscal conservatives and better for the economy. Perhaps one of you will chime in with some kind of rational explanation. (No Trumpies with incoherent grunting in his defense, only actual Republicans with specific thoughts on this topic.)

“It’s the economy, stupid.” – A phrase that helped Bill Clinton defeat an incumbent Republican in 1992. Bill went on to preside over the balancing of the federal budget and handed off a thriving economy to his successor. Enter George W. FUCKING Bush. Things were good, so why not help the top 1% (2001 tax cuts EGTRRA)? Then… 9/11 and the ensuing crisis. Fuck it… MORE Bush tax cuts (2003 tax cuts JGTRRA)! And all the while Republicans worked to deregulate banking and environmental standards to make it easier for businesses to make money and screw over the rest of us. I remember sounding the alarm in 2004 that Republican actions were sending us into a financial abyss, but people re-elected Bush anyway. *POOF* – Now I’m labeled a “raging liberal” and we crater into the Great Recession, aka the Global Financial Crisis.

Was Obama a great president? Eh… he was ok. During his eight years he reversed Bush tax cuts, bailed out the auto companies, stimulated the economy, and presided over 7 years of economic growth. He didn’t balance the budget, but the Global Financial Crisis had been pretty damaging and Congress was blocking him much of the way. So… not bad all things considered. (You want to bring up Obamacare? That’s another good/bad/ugly topic by itself.)

Then the Republicans take charge again, with Trump at the helm. They didn’t waste much time before passing massive tax cuts for the rich to the detriment of the financial stability of our country and deregulating businesses to the detriment of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we live on. Were they not paying attention during the first part of this millennium?!

When Bush did it, the effects of his tax cuts did nothing to stimulate the economy and eventually led to trillion-dollar annual deficits and a financial crisis. Trump? Same. Only this time the trillion-dollar deficits exploded to multi-trillion-dollar deficits because of a global pandemic. A pandemic that he admittedly downplayed to the American people and is worse than it would have been because he had eliminated the White House pandemic preparedness team.

I understand the THEORY of trickle-down-economics, but the THEORY fails to compensate for the greed and selfishness at the top. The pandemic didn’t cause this recession, it just hastened it. So tell me… how are Republicans better for the economy and the economic strength of our country?

If you aren’t in the top 2% you are a part of the other 98%, and the financial gulf between the two groups continues to grow. Do we let Trump continue his efforts to defund Social Security (hastening its demise) and cut taxes further? Or do we elect someone willing to address some of the financial problems facing our nation and Make America Great Again? The answer seems clear to me.