Trump or Harris for Lower Prices?

Recently, I have seen lawn signs go up saying, “Trump - low prices, Harris - high prices.”  Is that a reasonable prediction for the next 4 years?

Many people think that Trump will handle the economy better and have lower prices because prices were lower during his term as President than they are now.  Whereas prices have risen dramatically during the Biden administration and so they think electing Harris will result in higher prices.  This is what Trump has told them.

This thinking is faulty.  Trump was president in the years before COVID.  That was a different world, economically as well as in other ways.  Prices were lower, but it had nothing to do with Trump and his policies.  As a matter of fact, his tariff war with China created a price spike for many products that came from China.

The Biden Administration, on the other hand, was impacted by the effects of COVID, which included dramatically increased prices for a number of reasons all stemming from the effects of COVID on the economy.  It had nothing to do with action taken by Biden and there was no way for Biden to control prices since we do not live in a Communist country where the government controls prices and wages.

So you can’t base your prediction on the economy and prices for the next 4 years based on the experiences of these two persons in office because they were dealing with different contexts.  Admittedly, there is no question that BIden’s infrastructure plan probably added some pressure on prices, but it also had a major impact on creating jobs which decreased unemployment.  So on balance, it was a good thing.

The question each voter must ask is what are the candidates’ economic program for the future.  Trump has no plan, only slogans, which sound good, but if there is no plan, they are only words.  Like when he wanted to repeal and replace Obamacare, but he and the Republicans never came up with a plan to replace Obamacare.  Harris, by comparison, has offered a somewhat detailed plan on what she plans to do to bring prices down for housing and food, among other things.

Beware political slogans.  Look for plans, facts.