Joe Scarborough's One-Legged Arguments

America is doing just fine says TV news host Joe Scarborough. And few know like Joes knows. Read for yourself here as I did. Unfortunately for Joe I recognized several fallacies and/or deficiencies. First, Joe glibly states that America's GDP grew to $25 trillion last year as if the mere mention of a solitary absolute number needed no further explanation. But how does one know if the magnitude of the number has any significance without comparison with previous years or even decades? Moreover, when comparing years, one should recognize anomalous influences such as pandemics. One should also discuss long-term trends. Lastly and maybe most importantly one should recognize how the GDP was achieved ̶ pay as you go, short-term debt or long-term debt

Joe does the same with his comments about California. He writes “the fourth-strongest economy in the world.” Perhaps but size alone obscures California’s dismal 42^nd financial condition ranking discussed here. According to California’s most recent audit, the state is upside-down in its unrestricted fund. More on California’s financial condition in another blog.

Lastly, are we to ignore a recent poll indicating that 86% of Americans think the country is “going in the wrong direction”. No, a fact that even Joe cites in his article, albeit at the lower rate of 74%.