TRUMP: Careful with the credit

In a recent letter, the writer claimed President Trump is responsible for “the lowest unemployment in recorded history for minorities, especially Blacks!” So, I decided to fact check this statement through a few different sources where statistics are listed.

It is true that unemployment for Black people reached its lowest rate shortly before the pandemic hit, but here is the rest of the story:

During President Obama’s administration, the level of unemployment for Black people had the sharpest drop ever recorded. From a recession high of 16.8% in March 2010, it fell to 7.8% by January 2017 and continued to improve under Trump until the pandemic. Not all economic measures have improved, however. A Black household earned a median income of $41,361 in 2018 which is still below the year 2000’s peak of $43,380, according to the Census Bureau.

The bottom line is that I think we can all be better at critical thinking and fact checking. Fantastic claims from our government leaders, especially those trying to stay in power, saying that they are doing things so much better than anybody else in the history of our country always gives me pause.

“There are two sides to every story” is something my Grandma used to say and finding the “true story” can take some digging!

PEGGY SORENSON

Hayden