HMPRESENTLY: Seeing The Tax Cut Through Rose-Colored Glasses

Spinning information can be habit forming; that’s why — if you happen to be a PR spokesperson — you try your darnedest to be somewhat disciplined.

The chief economist for President Trump’s National Economic Council, Joseph Lavorgna, perhaps, had his rose-colored glasses on — or, he was spinning? — while discussing the nation’s economic outlook. Starting when MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle “questioned how the GOP tax cut in 2017 could be considered something that benefited the middle class,” according to an article in RawStory.com.

Lavorgna suggested that “real median family income went up $4,400 to $69,000… the biggest ever,” according to the article, and “when you look at the data, this shows it was at the lower and middle class ends,” he noted.

If you’re wondering how such a sharp gain in real median family income could occur in a COVID-impacted economy, you’re not the only one.

“A fact-check by the Washington Post,” mentioned in the Raw Story article, “questioned this claim by citing Census Bureau numbers, saying, ‘median household income in 2018 was $63,179 (in 2018 dollars), a gain of $1,380 since 2016 but not statistically different than in 2017. That’s a far cry from the $5,000 gain in income claimed by Trump’”… and referenced, it seems, by Mr. Lavorgna.

Also, during his interview with Stephanie Ruhle — who is the senior business correspondent for NBC News — Mr. Lavorgna “quipped at one point that the markets seem to be thinking they’re doing a good job,” (referring to POTUS’s National Economic Council and the president, evidently). Reacting to the quip, Ms. Ruhle said, “Yes, well, the markets are, obviously, not the same thing as the economy.”

The president often does equate the state of the stock markets with the overall state of the economy, but — while I’m not an economist — that seems rather illogical… for several reasons, not the least of which is the markets’ often illogical behavior. When, for instance, just one business firm’s disappointing earnings report causes the major markets, the Dow, the Nasdaq and S&P, to drop like rocks one day, and then blast off, the next day, because another company’s earnings are rosier than expected. That makes no sense.

But still, the president goes on equating the markets with the economy.

Maybe Mr. Trump and Mr. Lavorgna share the same rose-colored glasses. Or, they’re seriously addicted to spin?

Harvey Radin

Harvey Radin

Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.