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The lie that won’t die is that Republicans are better for the economy than Democrats. By every measure possible, that is just not correct. Republicans break shit, Democrats fix it, and voters reward them by ushering Republicans back in power. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Now, the stock market is not “the economy,” and even boom times have seen economic decline for a significant percentage of people in the United States, particularly in its decaying rural regions. But the market is a proxy for strong economic performance, however inequitable it might be distributed.
At that very least, there’s no scenario in which we have economic development without a strong market. If companies are to create jobs, there has to be a strong market—or investors, in anticipation—pumping money into that job growth. Just take a look at Wall Street’s 10 worst crashes:
1) March 12, 2020
Republican Donald Trump was president, and the emergence of a deadly pandemic and ensuing shutdowns signaled a period of economic uncertainty. Rather than calm jittery markets, Trump suggested that people inject bleach (April 24, 2020) to cure COVID-19. The markets had every reason to panic. Too bad they didn’t remember those lessons in 2024.
2) Nov. 20, 2008
Republican George W. Bush was president when the subprime mortgage crisis took down the global economy. Years of Wall Street deregulation—cheered on by Republicans—created the conditions for this mess.
3) April 4, 2025
Trump is president again, and here we are in a completely self-created and enabled crisis because Wall Street didn’t learn from the lessons of 2020, and their greed overrode all evidence that Trump is a disaster to not just our democracy but to global order. Congratulations, assholes. You voted for this.
4) Nov. 6, 2008
Bush done f’d stuff up.
5) October 15, 2008
Same as #2 and #4, courtesy of Bush and his merry cabal of deregulators.
6) October 7, 2008
Same same.
7) March 9, 2020
Trump again.
8-10) October 9, 10, and 22, 2008
Bush really made a mess of things, which makes it particularly maddening that people walked away thinking that Republicans knew anything about running an economy. Eight years of manufactured scandals against Democratic President Barack Obama really did a number in the United States, ushering in the age of Trump.
It’s quite obvious that, once Trump’s tariffs have fully left their mark, 2025 will occupy far more than just one spot on this list.
Other notable crashes?
Black Friday in October 1929, with Republican Herbert Hoover as president.
Post-9/11 market crash, with Bush as president.
Black Monday on October 19, 1987, with Republican President Ronald Reagan.
It’s a Republican. Every. Single. Time.
They're better at the game because they aren't required to operate truthfully. "A lie will spread halfway across the world before the truth has its shoes on." A robust propaganda network combined with a willingness to lie right straight to the faces of your constituents means that reality can be whatever you want it to be, and the evening news will back you up on it. That's all that most people need in order to believe something - authority figure says X, the news agrees, that's now a fact.
I don't see an effective way to combat this especially with folks who are already immersed in the Fox News environment. They have been heavily conditioned to reject information that disagrees with their official story. How do you fight that?