It’s time to retire the old trope that Democrats are anti-business. Perhaps it’s Republicans that are bad for business?
The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s comprehensive annual update published Thursday revealed that the U.S. economy grew $294.2 billion more in the five years ended in 2023 than previously reported. What’s really striking is how well corporate America has done. The report now shows pre-tax profits soared 90% to $4.09 trillion in the second quarter from $2.15 trillion in mid-2020. More than half of the increase, or $1.34 trillion, has come since 2020. Not only that, but profits have risen for six straight quarters, the longest stretch since 2005-2006.
What about during the Trump administration? Profits by that measure struggled, advancing a meager 6.3% from the end of 2016 through 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the worst recession since the Great Depression. As a percentage of GDP, earnings topped at around 11.5%, compared with record highs of more than 13% currently.
So much for Trump’s claim of overseeing the greatest economy ever.
These gains came despite the highest interest rates in a generation. They show how the Biden administration’s signature policies — the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Inflation Reduction Act and Chips and Science Act — have made the country’s economy more resilient by fueling consumption and job growth following the pandemic and ensuring domestic business investment now and well into the future.