Global economic times are tough — especially for the corrupt and inept

The latest data shows the U.S. economy is continuing to slide alarmingly, as Alan Austin reports.

GOVERNMENTS DREAD updates from the statutory authorities showing a deteriorating economy. This is happening routinely in the United States under President Donald Trump’s bizarre mix of fascist and socialist interventionism.

Almost all current U.S. economic news is negative, despite Trump having sacked senior statistician Erika McEntarfer early last month after she released the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) data showing the U.S. economy added a puny 93,000 jobs in June and lost 260,000 in July.

Trump accused McEntarfer of “faking” those job numbers for “political purposes” and installed a right-wing Trump supporter in the BLS top job.

This has now cast doubt on all U.S. economic data, not just from the BLS. This may well have reduced marginal investment in the U.S. economy – we don’t know for sure without reliable data – and kept interest charges higher than normal. This will likely make most Americans a little bit poorer.

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As the world deals with the turmoil of Trump’s erratic tariffs, the latest data shows Australia is among the winners on exports.

Living costs sneaking up

Inflation increased from a satisfactory 2.31% in April this year and 2.35% in May to 2.67% in June, then 2.7% in July and up to 2.92% in August. The real number is, of course, unknown, but probably higher.

GDP growth struggling

Annual GDP growth has declined since the 2024 Election. In the election quarter last year, it fell from 2.7% to 2.5%. In the first quarter this year, it fell further to 1.99%, then increased marginally to 2.06% in the second. These are all historically weak figures.

Employment going backwards

This year, 501,000 jobs were lost between January and August, lifting the jobless rate from 4.01% to 4.32%.

The main point of Trump’s bizarre tariff crusade is to increase local production. He is failing spectacularly, with manufacturing jobs down from 12,770,000 at the 2024 election to 12,722,000 in August. That’s 48,000 fewer jobs.

Federal government debt

Since Trump’s inauguration, US$1.303 trillion (AU$1.97 trillion) has been added to the debt. That’s an extra US$3,750 (AU$5,687) owed by every man, woman, child and baby.

Total debt owed by the USA is now US$37.510 trillion (AU$56.8 trillion), equivalent to $108,000 owed by every resident.

After the Biden boom comes the Trump tragedy

The latest statistics confirm the U.S. economy is entering the rapid deterioration phase.

Exports in reverse

Exports in the three months to April this year averaged US$285.4 billion (AU$432.8 billion). Then came the backlash against Trump’s tariffs. In the following three months – May, June and July – average exports tumbled to US$280.2 billion (AU$424.6 billion).

Stock exchange fluctuations

Stock market values reflect expectations of future earnings over the period of two to ten years from now. Most market analysts expect Trump to be impeached, imprisoned or dead by then.

Trump was not seen in public between Tuesday 26 August and Saturday 30 August, prompting speculation he was incapacitated or deceased. On Wednesday 27 August, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped to 45,565, then rose further on Thursday 28 August to 45,637.

By Tuesday 2 September, after Trump had reappeared in apparent health, the Dow Jones index fell back to 45,292.

Global conditions propitious for the prepared

We can confirm that America’s economic woes are not due to external factors by observing comparable economies thriving under the same conditions.

Good examples include Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland and Australia.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has just released a document highlighting seven features of Australia’s economy revealed by this month’s quarterly annual accounts.

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They were as follows:

1. Economic growth rebounds

Australia’s economy grew in the June quarter by 0.6%, up from the dismal 0.26% in the March quarter, which the Bureau noted had been weather-disrupted. The annual increase from June 2024 to June 2025 was 1.82%, up from 1.34% in the previous quarter.

Although those are weak by local historical comparisons, both the quarterly and annual GDP growth numbers are well above the OECD averages. Of the 37 advanced OECD members for which we have June data, eight are in negative annual growth.

2. Living costs easing

Annual inflation eased in the June quarter to 2.09%, the lowest since March 2021.

On a quarterly basis, the CPI rose 0.71%, with the most significant price rises in housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages.

3. Positive wages growth

Annual wage growth stayed steady at 3.4% in June. This was lower than the 4.1% growth one year ago, but higher than any quarter from September 2013 to June 2022 under the Coalition.

4. Labour demand increasing

The proportion of vacant jobs increased to 2.1% and filled jobs rose 0.2% to 16.0 million, reflecting strong demand for workers across the economy.

Australia’s jobless rate has been below 4.4% for a record 45 months, with the female jobless rate below 4.15% for that period.

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5. EVs hitting the roads

Australians bought more hybrid and electric vehicles in the June quarter, as well as more utes, as is usual for June.

Although Australia is gradually increasing its sales of EVs, it still lags much of the developed world.

6. New home loans reach record-high

The average value of new home loans reached a record $678,011, up 7.5% on the same time last year.

Of the 38 OECD members, Australia is one of only six with strong growth in housing permits and construction. The others are France, Hungary, Iceland, Slovakia and Spain.

7. Luxury spending up

Household spending increased 0.9% in the June quarter, with discretionary spending up 1.4%, as Australians splashed out on hotels, restaurants and recreation over the Easter and ANZAC Day long weekends.

This confirms the Coalition’s cost of living crisis is well and truly over.

Who is elected to manage the economy clearly matters. How they go about it makes a big difference to people’s lives.

While Australians are dining out, Americans are learning this the hard way.