Some people seem to believe that recessions are unpredictable. After all, if we could predict them, why would we let them happen? But recessions are predictable. They follow economic policies that are near-sighted. Policies that use deception to sell them to the citizens. Recessions happen because you can fool some of the people all of the time.

Recession:  The Shadow That Follows Republican Leadership

Republicans and recessions are inseparable. This was true in the 1980’s after Ronald Reagan made massive tax cuts for the wealthiest, while gutting domestic programs. President George Bush (41st) averted a recession when Democrats in Congress forced him to restore government revenues and increase government spending. The 2001 recession came after Republicans forced Bill Clinton to accept tax cuts and dismantle domestic programs after they took control of Congress. George Bush (43rd) used tax and domestic program cuts, along with massive military spending, and stripped down oversight of banking, to lead us into the Great Recession.

The pattern is simple. Republicans cut taxes, primarily for the extremely rich, and cut spending on domestic programs, taking away jobs and money from the economy. Minor tax relief is short-lived and is countered by an economy that is collapsing.

In addition to gutting the country’s economic foundation, Republicans favorite vice is to pour money into the military, which creates spending in small geographic areas, but it doesn’t support the broader sections of the peaceful economy. This type of spending for destruction fails to build lasting infrastructure that promotes the future economy, and creates a flow of government revenue for expenses outside of the United States to finance bases, logistics, and support troops. This money leaves our economy and doesn’t flow back into it.

Trump’s Plan To Destroy the Economy
Government spending is the fuel of the U.S. economy. Specifically, government domestic spending. Military spending is usually burdened with unethical practices of the private military industry that tend to overcharge and under perform.

Donald Trump’s plan is to combine the economic errors of past Republican fiascoes and leave a middle class with low paying service jobs. Spending in the military is only effective if the United States is at war, so it is likely that Trump’s aggressive war of words with the rest of the world is designed to generate violent acts that can be manipulated into an air and ground war.

The result of Trump’s revival of failed Republican economic policies will bring on a recession in 2018, that may last for years.

Government Domestic Spending:  Real Jobs, Good Jobs
Growth in our economy has one common denominator:  Government domestic spending. Money spent by the government pays for both public and private sector jobs. Spending on programs that create new infrastructure and new technologies have the lasting effect on our economy. Spending on dams and hydroelectric programs, highways, and the space program all infused money and technological advances that moved our country into the economic leadership role that it has held for over a century.

When government fails to invest in internal programs it empties the pipeline of money that flows through the economy and that prevents money flowing back to the government, choking off the recharge of tax revenue that keeps the economy going.

Who’s Not Paying?
We are in a wealth crisis. As of 2012, the wealthiest ten percent (10%) of the United States own just under eighty percent (80%) of the wealth. The distribution of wealth in other affluent countries in 2012, showed that the top ten percent (10%) owned fifty to sixty percent (50-60%) of their country’s wealth.

Since Ronald Reagan, Republicans have successfully sacrificed the U.S. economy to make the wealthy, wealthier. Trump plans to put those efforts on steroids as he leads us to a recession that may resemble the Great Recession.

Can It Be Avoided?
No. The election of Donald Trump proved that there is no popular will to identify the problems caused by Republican economic self-pleasuring, and change course to put our country back toward a healthy economy. The best we can do is brace for impact and hope that our least educated citizens will finally see the consistent failure of Republican leadership.