A President's Control over the national economy

Today I am going to write about what control a President, any President, has over our national economy.
You will find most non-political economists will tell you a Presdent has very little direct control over our economy.
He can propose to congress but a congress controlled by the democrats is going to pay very little attention to what a Republican President proposes. I expect the same is true of proposals by a Democrat President to a Republican controlled congress.

The President can also sign into law or veto economic laws passed by congress but congress has the perogative of overriding his veto. If it goes into law either way, a President is required to administer and carry out those laws regardless of how he feels about them.

A Presdent can urge the various committees concerned with the economy to take certain actions but he has no direct control over whether they follow his advice or not.

He can also urge action by the Federal Reserve Board but again, he had no control over them so can only recommend and advise.

He can go before the public and try to aleviate their concerns but this only works if the news media will carry his message. Democratic Presidents seem to have no problem here but Republican Presidents have great difficulty in getting their message heard.

When an economic downturn is caused by a single situation such as a shortage of oil, a President can order oil to sold off from our country's oil reserves. This usually is only a very temporary fix and involves great dangers if a national emergency develops right after the reserves have been depleted.

A President can order an investigation into a situation causing econmic problems but most of the time all this accomplishes is to postpone any actions which might improve the situation. It also takes the burden off of Congress which is usually where the problem needs to be fixed in the first place.

In most cases a President does not have the power to start issuing orders and the problem is solved. This is just not the way it works. It doesn't matter whether the President is a Republican or Democrat, I repeat, their powers to control the eonomy, for good or bad, are very limited. Again I say, "The President Proposes; Congress Disposes"'.