RE: Do Dems ever take responsibility?
People like to pretend like the president has a dial in the oval office to turn one way to make the economy grow and to turn another way for the economy to tank. It really doesn't work that way. The president has limited means to affect the economy. Taxes . . . but wait, taxes are levied by congress!!! Interest rates . . . but wait, interest rates are controlled by the federal reserve board, and the president doesn't have any direct control over their decisions. Most people concede that the federal reserve board sets interest rates apolitically. So what does the president control in terms of the economy? If our economy is doing poorly here in the US and it is doing poorly in the rest of the developed world, is this the president's fault or other global economic factors at play? Same goes for when the economy booms.
But presidents claim credit when the economy booms; and their opponents blame them when the economy tanks. This is a little theater that is commonly played involving the temporary suspension of disbelief for some folks who ought to know better.
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