Nevada unemployment when Trump took office: 5.2 percent
Nevada unemployment now: 13.2 percent
On Sunday, President Donald Trump will travel to Carson City, Nevada, to hold a rally in an airplane hangar at Carson City Airport. The event will be the 10th of 12 scheduled in-person rallies, following the revelation of his COVID-19 diagnosis on October 2. Rather than quarantine for the two-week period recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Trump has continued to downplay the pandemic and put Americans at risk by holding eight in-person rallies this week — and hosting an in-person event at the White House this past weekend. After risking the health of Secret Service members to take a joyride outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he told the country not to let the virus “dominate your lives,” despite the more than 217,000 lives lost in the United States due to the president’s failed pandemic response and his lies to the American people about the true danger of the virus since February. This week, Trump falsely claimed to be immune to the virus despite failing to disclose when he last tested negative. This past Thursday, in an NBC town hall, he continued his disregard for the truth by attacking the effectiveness of masks with an inaccurate claim, discouraging his supporters from wearing masks.
With Nevada passing more than 88,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,700 dead, Trump’s recklessness and lies are putting Nevadans at risk. In the first 2020 presidential debate, Trump claimed that there has been “no negative effect” from his rallies. However, at least two have been linked to surges in cases: His rally in Tulsa was tied to a record increase in COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma as well as the death of Herman Cain, while his rally in Bemidji, Minnesota, has been linked to 16 people infected with COVID-19, two of whom have been hospitalized. Trump himself likely contracted the virus at an unsafe event with supporters at the White House.
As a result of Trump’s failure to control the virus, the unemployment rate in Nevada was still at 13.2 percent in August, compared with 5.2 percent when the Trump presidency began. In the absence of federal leadership or any national testing plan, the virus continues to spread, and uncertainty has created wildly unstable economic conditions in the state. Amid this economic instability, Trump cut federal unemployment insurance by $300, leaving Nevada’s single-parent families with one child on a modest budget facing a shortfall of $1,666 per month, according to a recent Center for American Progress analysis. More than 173,629 Nevadans are still receiving some type of unemployment benefit. In total, 136,500 fewer Nevadans were employed in August compared with February — a 9.6 percent decline.
Instead of leading the country out of the pandemic, Trump has continued his long-time assault on Social Security by calling for the termination of a large portion of its dedicated funding source: payroll taxes. Trump’s proposal, according to Social Security Chief Actuary Stephen Goss, would wipe out the Social Security Trust Fund by 2023. More than 552,000 Nevada residents — 17.9 percent of the state’s population — are Social Security beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued his attack on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). After revealing a panicked health care executive order that does nothing to protect preexisting conditions, Trump maintained his commitment to striking down the ACA in court. If the Trump-backed lawsuit to repeal the ACA succeeds, 282,000 state residents could lose health coverage, and 1.3 million Nevadans with preexisting conditions could face higher premiums or be barred from coverage during the pandemic.
Learn more about how the Trump administration’s policies have hurt Nevada families and put them at risk below.
Health care
Claim: “We will … have health care that is so good and so much less expensive.” — Donald Trump in Las Vegas, October 30, 2016
Reality: The Trump administration is trying to repeal the ACA through the courts with no replacement. If successful, the Trump administration will strip coverage from millions of Americans, raise premiums, and end protections for people with preexisting conditions. In Nevada:
- 1.3 million residents with preexisting conditions would lose protections if the Trump-backed lawsuit to repeal the ACA succeeds.
- 282,000 residents could lose coverage if the ACA is repealed.
Profits and wages
Claim: “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. … [O]ur poorer citizens will get new jobs and higher pay and new hope for their life.” — Donald Trump in Henderson, Nevada, October 5, 2016
Reality: President Trump promised voters that he would prioritize the interests of the middle class. Instead, he’s prioritized the wealthiest Americans and corporations.
- President Trump has the worst jobs record in history and is the only president to have lost net jobs on his watch.
- Trump blocked a federal minimum wage increase for Nevada workers. Approximately 555,000 state workers were denied a pay increase, resulting in more than $1.7 billion in lost wages.
Taxes
Claim: “We are going to massively cut taxes for the middle class.” — Donald Trump in Reno, Nevada, November 5, 2016
Reality: Eighty-three percent of the Trump administration’s $2 trillion tax cut goes to big corporations and the rich. Many Nevada families are getting stuck with the bill.
- 73,900 Nevada families paid more in taxes last year due to the Trump administration’s tax bill.
- For the 2019 tax year, the average tax cut for the wealthiest 1 percent of Nevada earners was $89,980. The average tax cut for the middle 20 percent was $730.