PCR Interviewed About the Trump Economy
https://houseofinterview.com/paul-craig-roberts-trump-economy-has-done-nothing-to-recover-the-jobs/
House of Interview
Paul Craig Roberts: Trump Economy Has Done Nothing to Recover the Jobs
Congress is basically a captive body, and it has to serve the forces that supply the campaign funds that elect the House and the Senate.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2026
Paul Craig Roberts is an American economist, author, and former government official. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan administration.
We spoke with Paul Craig Roberts about the economy and politics. He is an American economist, author, and former government official. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan administration and later became known for his writings and commentary on economics, U.S. foreign policy, and international affairs. Also He has authored several books and has contributed to various publications on economic and geopolitical issues. Here we ask him about the Reagan-to-Trump economy.
1- Since you have served both in government and as an advisor to the House Budget Committee, how do you think the executive branch and Congress differ in how they confront economic challenges?
Well, they don’t. You see, the United States government is mainly in the hands of the powerful economic interests who make political campaign contributions. So the members of the House and the Senate, they represent the powerful economic interests that provide the money that elects them.
Those interests are often at odds with the interests of the public, and so the United States government basically serves special interests such as the military-security complex, the Israel lobby, the pharmaceutical industry, Agribusiness, and energy. These powerful groups write the laws and determine the economic policy of the United States. So Congress is basically a captive body, and it has to serve the forces that supply the campaign funds that elect the House and the Senate.
2- You serve as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in Ronald Reagan’s administration. How do you assess the administration’s economic performance?
Well, the Reagan performance was superb because it stopped the simultaneous increase in inflation and unemployment, and restored a normally functioning economy that continued for some years. So the economic situation under Reagan’s eight years was a successful time.
Now, since the time of Reagan, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the result was to cause China and India to give up on socialism, and they opened their economies to foreign capital. And as a consequence, American firms relocated their production for the American market in Asia. This wiped out a significant percentage of the American middle class who were earning good incomes in manufacturing.
The jobs were simply moved to China, for example, Apple Computer. Apple makes its products in China, brings them back to the United States to sell. But the Americans no longer have the incomes associated with the production of those goods and services.
And when Apple brings in its goods from China, they come in as imports, and they worsen the trade deficit. So what really hurt the American economy was the collapse of the Soviet Union, because it caused the Chinese and the Indians to give up on socialism. Once they opened their economies to foreign capital, Wall Street pressured American manufacturers to relocate to Asia because labor costs were so much lower; firms’ profits would be much higher.
The most devastating blow to the American economy
So this was the most devastating blow to the American economy. It has not recovered from that blow, because when you lose the manufacturing jobs, you lose the tax base for the manufacturing cities and states. So what were once powerhouses of American manufacturing became cities losing population, running down, and building debt.
So you have to look at these changes. They are beyond any particular administration. It’s true, Reagan’s policies are better than Trump’s. But Reagan was not affected. The Reagan economy was not affected by the Soviet collapse. That came later.
And the Soviet collapse led to the relocation of American production, largely to China. So you have to look at the world more broadly than the policies of a particular administration. It wasn’t the United States’ fault that the Soviet Union collapsed.
It was the fault of the hardline Soviet Politburo that arrested President Gorbachev. So it’s always important to look at a broad picture and not just look at the economic policies.
3- If we compare the economic performance of the Reagan and Trump administrations, which do you think performed better?
Well, of course, the Reagan economy. Reagan stopped the stagflation and unleashed a long period of economic growth while the inflation rate fell. Now, with Trump, the economy really is contracting.
It looks like it is performing because the artificial intelligence corporations, their stock prices have been high. But that’s about the only reason that the stock market seems to be performing. It’s a handful of companies that are favored at the moment by investors.
The Trump economy has done nothing to recover all of the jobs the United States lost when it offshored its production to Asia and to Mexico, and now faces additional loss of jobs from the advent of artificial intelligence, which replaces people in many occupations. So the outlook for what is called the Trump economy is not good.
4- U.S. government debt has reached a record for $40 trillion. What are the reasons for this and what solutions exist to reduce it?
The main impact of the conflict, if it continues, will be on the price of oil. And as the price of transportation is in every product, the inflation will rise substantially.
And that will make the problem of the American debt worse because the interest charges will rise and because countries who accept American debt as reserves in their central banks will become more uneasy about accumulating a debt, the interest rate on which is rising. So that is the main impact financially, economically, of the war, or that could be the main impact if this conflict continues.
5- In your opinion, what effects did the endless wars and the policies pursued by neoconservatives in George W. Bush’s administration have on America’s economic situation?
Well, the wars in the Middle East that began under the George W. Bush regime were wars for greater Israel. They were wars in support of the Zionist agenda of greater Israel. Originally, greater Israel was from the Nile to the Euphrates. More recently, it’s been enlarged. It’s from the Nile to Pakistan.
So we see the United States destroyed Iraq, Libya, Syria, and currently is involved with Israel in trying to destroy Iran. So these are wars not for American interests. They were wars for Israel, and of course, they allocated resources away from the private economy into weapons, and they built up additional national debt that adds to the interest burden.
And therefore, this type of operation cannot serve the American economy. It can’t help in any way the real problems which are neglected because of the focus on wars in Israel’s behalf. So the agenda of the Israelis Zionists is a great drain on the resources of the United States.
6- You have written many books. Are you currently writing a book? If so, what is its subject?
Oh, currently, no. I’m not writing a book currently. I’m focused on the website, and I’m trying to explain events outside the official narratives.
So many events today have official explanations that serve some agenda, not the truth, but the explanation is to advance a cause, to advance an agenda, and I try to show what the real effect of the policy is. So this is a full-time job, and also writing a book is a full-time job, and you can’t do two full-time jobs at the same time.