We Don’t Win Anymore

Trump has said at almost every chance he gets that America doesn’t “win” anymore.

“Our country doesn’t win anymore. We used to win, we don’t win anymore. We lose on trade, we lose with ISIS, we lose with one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen negotiated of any kind — that’s our recent deal with Iran.”

Comments like these punch a huge hole through the Republican idea of American Exceptionalism and instead sounds like some pinko communist. Why doesn’t he just start praising Russia? Oh wait, Trump already did that.

Reality

By all measures, we’re winning all the time. Here are a few examples:

• We have the highest GDP at a ridiculously huge $18 billion. That’s bigger than 2nd and 3rd place countries combined.
• The GDP continues to grow. 3rd quarter 2016 jumped up to 2.9 percent, the biggest gain in two years.
• We cut our deficit by two-thirds.
• Stocks have never been higher.
• Under Obama we’ve had over 81 straight months of record job growth and added 15.1 million private sector jobs including 161,000 in October. Under Bush we lost 0.5 million net jobs.
• Unemployment is 4.9% which is better than what economists call “full employment.”
• In another good sign, a broader measure of unemployment known fell to 9.5% from 9.7%, touching the lowest level since May 2008. The so-called U6 rate includes part-timers who can’t find a good full-time position and discouraged jobseekers who’ve recently given up looking for work.
• Middle class incomes rose in 2015 by 5.2 percent, their fastest growth ever on record.
• Gas prices are around $2 per gallon, when critics predicted before Obama took office to reach over $6 per gallon or $10 per gallon for his re-election.
• Airline industry is back to their highest profitability since before the recession.
• The housing market was pulled all the way back from total collapse.
• Consumer Confidence Index is 96.2 in March 2016, up from 37.7 when Bush left office.
• The number of uninsured Americans is below 10% for the first time ever thanks to millions of people having access to affordable health insurance when they didn’t before.
• Crime has dropped to historically record lows, down over 50% from the 1990s.
• We lead countries of the world towards a historic deal to stop climate change at Paris COP21.
• Cubs won the World Series.
• We took home 121 medals at the Rio summer Olympics, almost twice as many as the 2nd most country.
• Osama Bin Laden: DEAD
• Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, ISIS 2nd in Command: DEAD
• Hafiz Saeed Khan, ISIS leader: DEAD
• Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, ISIS leader: DEAD
• Abu Sayyaf: DEAD
• Mummar Guddafi: DEAD
• Hosni Mubarak: DEPOSED
• Al Queda: DESTROYED
• Iraq War: ENDED (But we’ll be there for a while.)
• Afghanistan War: ENDED
• Auto Industry: SAVED
• Leo finally won an Oscar.
• Iraqi Army took back Ramadi from ISIS.
• Iraqi and Shiite forces took Tikrit.
• Kurdish YPG took back Kobani from ISIS.
• Exports of US goods are at an all time high.
• Making peace with Cuba.
• Making peace with Iran.
• We didn’t elect Mitt Romney.
• We don’t torture anymore.
• Sweeping overhaul of No Child Left Behind.
• Love won and same-sex marriage is recognized and protected by the federal government.
• Federal highway bill was passed.
• Anti-human trafficking bill passed.
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
• Rescued Captain Phillip’s life from Somali pirates.
• American homes are turning to solar.
• Peyton Manning retired with a Super Bowl win.
• We’re the #1 producer of oil.
• We’re the #1 producer of maize oil.
• We’re #1 in most prisons and incarcerations. (U-S-A! U-S-A!)
• We’re #1 in most women’s Olympic figure skating gold medals.
• We’re #1 with more super rich citizens than any other nation. (Suck it Malawi!)
• We’re #1 in wine consumption.
• We’re #1 in practicing plastic surgeons.
• We’re #1 in breast augmentation surgeries.
• We’re #1 in horse exports.
• We’re #1 in death-by-violence.
• We’re #1 in small arms exports.
• We’re #1 in spiny-tailed lizards.
• We’re #1 producer of cheese.
• We’re #1 in pigeon imports.

And while we’re adding more and more to this list, it all adds up to a whole lot of winning.

Where We Don’t Win

• We’re #2 in alfalfa exports. So close!
• Only 4th place in employees faking illnesses. C’mon guys, pick up the pace!
• Still 3rd place in surface area.
• We’re actually 2nd in countries that like America the most. No really. Kenya likes us more.

But…But…But…

Those of you who want a “change candidate” have to contend with the fact that:

1. The evidence shows things are going pretty well.
2. Of course things can *always* be better but…
3. Can you guarantee change you want will be for the better? Because Republican ideology of de-regulation got us into the Great Recession in the first place.

Now, I know we’ll see the tired old trope from Trump supporters that “Obama gave us the slowest growth since World War II.” Like what we see in this WSJ article.

But the only other economic event that 2008’s Great Recession could be compared to was the Great Depression, which occurred from 1929-39, a few years BEFORE America’s entry into World War II in 1941. So if you cherry pick your dates, pull some shenanigans like only looking at GDP growth without considering other factors, ignore the effects of the sequester and other cuts in government spending, or completely ignore America’s only other economic collapse, then yeah you can have a point.

But if you want to intellectually honest, and have a debate based on actual evidence, then you’ll have to contend with the full story.

That we win all the time.