More for TheHustings.news: A Real Economy vs a Fake Economy
Posted By RichC on March 15, 2025
Some might say that I’m spending too much time focused on the political news coming from Washington DC these days … but so much is happening — and at a rapid pace.
I’ve enjoyed spinning commentary a little more than usual this past year … and am a bit more Trumpish when posting on X.com or on TheHustings.news than I really am, but as the editor commented that he doesn’t really have a strong pro-MAGA voice to write for the right-column. So I’m the “slanted-right” voice by default, even though tariffs (taxes – yuck) make me nervous. 
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A Real Economy vs a Fake Economy
The economic visions of Donald Trump and Joe Biden stand in sharp contrast: Trump’s “Real Economy” emphasizes deregulation, energy independence, and tariffs to bolster American jobs, while Biden’s “Fake Economy” is roundly criticized for government expansion, deficit spending, and inflated metrics. As America awakens to month three of President Trump’s second term, stark differences between the two presidents highlight a pivotal debate over America’s economic future.
The Trump 1.0 administration delivered the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, slashing corporate taxes from 35% to 21%, driving investment and pushing unemployment to a 50-year low of 3.5% by February 2020. Energy policies made the U.S. a net oil exporter, fueling manufacturing and keeping costs low. Trump 2.0 is doubling down with tariffs—proposing significant tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, China, and the European Union—aimed at leveling the playing field for U.S. companies. This strategy incentivizes domestic hiring by making foreign goods costlier, with Trump claiming it will “bring back millions of American jobs” and shift revenue from foreign producers to the U.S. Treasury. This is a “Real Economy” that prioritizes American workers without wasting a single taxpayer dollar on DEI or green energy boondoggles.
Under Biden, his administration pumped $1.9 trillion into the American Rescue Plan, driving inflation to 9.1% in June 2022 and swelling the national debt from $27.8 trillion in January 2021 to $36.2 trillion by January 2025—an $8.4 trillion increase. Foreign aid soared, government jobs ballooned, including $80 billion to hire up to 87,000 IRS employees by 2031. By early 2025, the IRS workforce grew from 80,000 to over 100,000. The result of all this government spending: inflation. It hit 9.1% in June 2022, eroding wages, while green energy mandates raised energy costs, creating a “Fake Economy” that gave away much of our economic strength.
Trump’s tariffs aim to reverse this by encouraging companies to expand and hire domestically. Biden’s defenders point to stock market gains and low unemployment, but skeptics see a mirage—sustained by borrowed billions and government bloat rather than private-sector strength. With economic pressures mounting, the clash between these diametrically opposed philosophies will be enlightening over the next couple of years.
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