Fake news

To the editor:

With the Trump-Vance campaign lies regarding Haitian immigrants debunked, it is time to call out their other false claims — that Republicans handle the economy and crime better. 

Harvard macroeconomist Jeffrey Frankel calculated that, since World War II, Democrats have outperformed Republicans on annual job growth (1.7 percent vs 1 percent), GDP (4.23 percent vs 2.36 percent) and frequency of recessions per presidential term (1 of 16 quarters vs 5 of 16).  

The past five recessions began during Republican Administrations (Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, G.W. Bush twice and Trump). Since 1945, nine of the 10 recessions started under Republican presidents. Frankel also found that each of the five times the presidency transitioned from Democrat to Republican, economic growth dropped and the reverse happened during the five times when Democrats succeeded Republicans. No exceptions.

Crime data tells the same story. The “record high” crime that Trump cites during rallies actually occurred during the Reagan and G.H.W. Bush administrations, when soaring crime rates peaked in 1991. The largest single-year increase in murder rates ever recorded happened in Trump’s last year in office, 2020. Even the “dangerous Blue cities/states” narrative doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Numerous Republican-run cities — Miami, Jacksonville, Tulsa, Fort Worth, Colorado Springs, Fresno, Omaha, among them — have higher crime rates than New York City. Red states lead the nation in crime.

Regardless, crime isn’t rising, it’s been dropping for 33 years, even accounting for the post-pandemic increase. According to FBI data, the violent crime rate in 1991 (758.2 incidents per 100,000 Americans) was more than double the rate in 2022 (369.8) and rates have dropped even further over the last two years. 

If the economy and crime factor into your vote, great! But make sure you have the facts and not the hype.

Joseph Cannisi