The Patriot Post® · The Left's Strategy to Undermine the Economy

Back in July, consumer confidence in the economy soared to the highest level of 2019. The Leftmedia, propaganda arm of the Democrat Party that it is, couldn’t abide such optimism, so over the last three weeks American consumers have been inundated with stories designed to undermine that confidence. Lo and behold, the latest consumer confidence numbers show it falling steeply to the lowest level since January.

Just because Patriot Post readers see the media’s bias and agenda clearly doesn’t mean our family, friends, and neighbors do. The mainstream media remains a very powerful influencer. The necessary caveat is that the Leftmedia has been touting economic doom and gloom for the last two years. One confidence survey plunge doesn’t a recession make.

But here’s the bottom line: Democrats want a recession (as do their supporters) and their path to make it happen is to undermine consumer confidence by undermining President Donald Trump while insisting a recession is coming. Mark Alexander wrote over a decade ago that while there are threats to the U.S. economy, it is floated first and foremost on consumer confidence. Alexander now says, “The Left’s impeachment threat has always been a political charade to undermine confidence in the continued success of Trump’s economic policies by undermining confidence that he would not win a second term to continue those policies. And notably, while consumer confidence is very high right now, it is all about perception, and perceptions are fragile in the sense that they are subject to erosion by threats and fear.”

One story Monday that threatens confidence was a National Association for Business Economics survey of 200 economists. Some 38% of those surveyed see a recession coming in 2020, while 34% say it will arrive in 2021. For those economists — and for consumers if media reports are accurate — tariffs and trade negotiations with China are the elephant in the room. We certainly concede that Trump’s tariff escalation is economically painful, though we’ve also said numerous times that he’s fighting a trade war he did not start.

We’d also add that the global economic picture reveals other reasons for concern. Germany, Great Britain, Mexico, and several other nations are either in recession or teetering on the edge of one. China’s powerful economy is slowing significantly due to the pain of American tariffs. Can the U.S. economy remain strong in the face of global weakness?

Another drag on the economy is our massive national debt, which Trump and Democrats just agreed to run up even higher. Can the U.S. economy remain strong when the federal debt equals $69,000 for each American — or $240,000 if you include unfunded liabilities?

That all notwithstanding, no economy or outlook is ever perfect. But many indicators in the U.S. economy are strong. Unemployment is historically low, wages are growing, Wall Street is trending up (with bumps along the way), and consumers are still confident. While Trump has insisted that “our economy is very strong,” he’s also calling for and preparing actions to stave off any weakness. CNN claims he’s testing a “materialistic message,” which is elitist-speak for how Americans should just learn to live with less. If the economy does turn south and a Democrat wins the White House in 2020, Americans may indeed be faced with living with less.