CNN Rebuts Right-Wing Media Narrative That Economy Has Done Poorly Under Obama
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From the July 19 edition of CNN's CNN Newsroom:
CHRISTINE ROMANS: The focus; “Make America Work Again.” What you are going to hear from Republicans, and you started to hear a little bit last night, is how the economy isn't working for everyone, and under this Obama economy there's a lack of opportunity, and a lack of upward mobility. But when you look at the numbers, sort of the mile markers of the economy that you feel, Carol, we do know the unemployment rate has dropped dramatically since the last time the Republicans were meeting in Tampa four years ago. The unemployment rate now just 4.9 percent down from 8.1 percent. But you will hear Republicans say that there are too many people who have been left out of that statistic who aren't working or would like to be getting a raise. In particular, last night I think you heard a foreshadowing of that from Senator Jeff Sessions, who pointed out that the American working family is bringing home less money. Listen:
[START CLIP]
JEFF SESSIONS: Fellow Republicans, we must understand that the incomes of middle-class Americans today are $4,000 less per year than in 1999. This is an economic disaster.
[END CLIP]
ROMANS: You know Carol, we ran those numbers and it is true. I want to show you a chart of household income, and you can see since 1999, that was a record by the way in 1999, just above $58,000 in median household income, but then it started to decline. But it began declining actually under George W. Bush, and then we had that terrible recession where you really saw it take a hit. But more recently, it has started to climb again. But wages are a big part of this problem and how to fix that, very different between the Democrats and Republicans. The Democrat, Hillary Clinton, would like to help American workers by raising the minimum wage, putting a package of supports around them like paid leave, and child care benefits, and the like. Donald Trump wants to bring better paid jobs back. That's what he'll be talking about. But this is the core of it, Carol. The low economic self-esteem, this feeling that the American middle class has not gotten a raise. And they haven't. But sometimes the blame here, Carol, is misplaced.
Previously:
Fox News Blasts Obama On Household Income, Fails To Mention Incomes Are Going Up
CNN's Christine Romans Fact-Checks Donald Trump's False Unemployment Rate Claims