Poor Donald Trump. Twice elected president only to have to clean up the economic messes left to him by Democrats.

In 2016, he groused about inheriting “a disaster” from Barack Obama. On Thursday, just four days before his second inauguration, he sent out a fundraising email claiming for the gazillionth time, “During my first term, we made the economy stronger than anyone ever thought possible. And then, Joe Biden came in and destroyed it.”

Except that — no surprise — neither Trump claim is true.

In fact, it was Obama and Biden who were bequeathed messes, from former Republican presidents George W. Bush and Trump himself. Obama took office after what Ben Bernanke, then the Federal Reserve chair, called “the worst financial crisis in global history, including the Great Depression.” And four years ago, Biden confronted a nation mired in a pandemic and economic distress exacerbated by Trump’s response. Even Trump’s pre-pandemic economy, as good as it was, was far from “the greatest economy in the history of the world,” as he still contends. By various metrics, it was either no better or not as good as under Obama.

As for the handoff in 2017: “Trump inherits Obama boom,” said one headline ahead of his inauguration. And now he’s inheriting even better. “Biden is leaving a stellar economy,” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, wrote as 2024 ended.

Zandi expanded in October: “The economy is at full-employment, no more and no less. Wage growth is strong, and given big productivity gains, it is consistent with low and stable inflation. One couldn’t paint a prettier picture of the job market and broader economy.” In a letter to clients on Friday, UBS Financial Services declared this a new “Roaring ‘20s.”

And here’s another expert take that might come in handy while listening to Trump’s inaugural address Monday, should he resort to talk of “American carnage” as he did four years ago. Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, president of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, and Stephen Henriques, a fellow there, recently wrote, “As Trump bellows to crowds, ‘Are you better off economically than you were four years ago?’, the answer should be a loud YES!”

The problem for Biden, and for his replacement on Democrats’ losing 2024 ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris, many voters’ answer to that question was a loud “NO!”

For one thing, the pain of pandemic-spawned high inflation lingers in what Americans pay for groceries, goods and services. And yet, it’s worth establishing the facts as a baseline to counter what are sure to be Trump’s claims that he not only revived a destroyed economy but topped his own (nonexistent) world record.

The latest good news came Friday, when the International Monetary Fund forecast that the U.S. economy would grow faster this year than recently projected, given gains in employment and investment. The United States is buoying the global economy. “The big story is the divergence between the U.S. and the rest of the world,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told reporters.

But the fund’s forecast also echoed U.S. economists’ concerns that Trump’s agenda — more deficit-financed tax cuts, wholesale deregulation, across-the-board tariffs, immigration crackdowns and challenges to the Fed’s independence — could reignite inflation and add to the nation’s already unsustainable debt load.

In other words, Trump could break what’s not broken.

Inflation peaked at 9% at the midterm of the Biden administration, and as much as any issue, that helped elect Trump. It’s largely subsided, and good thing: After winning, Trump fessed up that, contrary to his campaign boasts, there’s not much he could do about inflation. “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up,” he told Time magazine.

What’s worse is that his proposed tariffs — “my favorite word,” says Trump — could raise costs for a typical family about $1,700 a year, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. And U.S. trading partners could raise those costs even more if they retaliate with tariffs on American products: “Of course we will,” Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Melanie Joly, told CNN on Thursday.

Economic growth was 3.1% on an annual basis in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported, making 2024 “yet another shocker year in which the U.S. economy surprised to the upside,” as Axios put it. Last month the Fed cut interest rates for the third straight meeting, but indicated fewer reductions ahead amid the Trump-generated uncertainty over what’s coming. The unemployment rate is at 4.1%; it was 6.4% when Trump left office. Job growth in Biden’s final full month of December was a higher-than-expected 256,000 positions, and job openings exceeded the number of unemployed job seekers. In Trump’s first three years as president, before the pandemic, the number of U.S. jobs increased by nearly 6.7 million; Biden’s four-year total is nearly 17 million. And wage growth, though stymied initially by inflation, now is greater than under Trump.

For all Trump’s talk of “drill, baby, drill,” energy production already is at a record high, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The number of Americans without health insurance is at an all-time low, though Republicans aren’t likely to renew the tax credits that helped make the reduction possible.

Biden used his farewell speech Wednesday for a pre-buttal to Trump’s inevitable attempts to usurp credit for good times — assuming they remain good. The outgoing president hailed the post-pandemic revival on his watch and suggested that the laws he got passed for infrastructure, clean energy and semiconductor investments would keep delivering: “The seeds are planted, and they’ll grow and they’ll bloom for decades to come.”

Zandi, the Moody’s economist, expects the United States economy to continue to lead the world: “Of course, this assumes there will be no policy errors going forward.” And then he added: “Hmmm…”

@jackiekcalmes

Dear Liz: I’m 80 years old and my wife is 76. Our only retirement income is Social Security, and we have less than $50,000 in savings. We have about $600,000 equity in our house, which we bought in 1971. We presently have property taxes deferred, at 6% interest. The house is in disrepair.

We have two neighbors who are willing to buy the house after one or both of us die. The neighbors are willing to postpone occupancy and contribute to mutually agreed-upon home repair costs, which will be deducted from the selling price. Details will all be in the contract. These payments will greatly improve our lives. What could go wrong?

Answer: Well, a lot, which is why you need an experienced real estate attorney to represent you if you go ahead.

It’s not clear from your letter if your neighbors are locking in a sale price now, which would mean you and your wife (or your estates) would give up future price appreciation. Are the payments simply contributions toward the repairs or are they purchase payments? Also, what happens if you need to tap your equity to pay for long-term care? If you or your neighbors want out of the deal, would that be possible? Those and many more details need to be thought through.

But your situation, and your proposed solution, are not that unusual, says Los Angeles estate planning attorney Burton Mitchell. Many older people with highly appreciated properties don’t want to sell their homes and trigger taxable gains in excess of the $250,000-per-owner home sale exclusion.

Another alternative to consider is a reverse mortgage, which could allow you to tap your equity while you remain in the home. You wouldn’t have to make payments on this loan, and the balance would not be due until you and your wife die, sell the home or move out.

That Social Security check is in the mail. Or will be someday.

Dear Liz: I was previously denied a portion of my husband’s Social Security because I received a government pension, and the offset rule made me ineligible. Now that the law is being changed, I’m wondering if I would be eligible to receive survivor benefits from Social Security, as my husband is now deceased.

Answer: The Social Security Fairness Act, which did away with the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset, was signed into law Jan. 5. These two provisions affected people who earned pensions from government jobs that didn’t pay into Social Security.

Social Security says that no action is needed if you have previously filed for benefits that were partially or completely offset, but that you should make sure the agency has your current address and direct deposit information. You can do that by creating or updating a mySocialSecurity account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. People receiving government pensions who haven’t applied for Social Security can do so at www.ssa.gov/apply.

Social Security is still working on implementing this major change, but you can look for updates at www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html.

More on those lost home improvement receipts

Dear Liz: You recently answered a question from a home seller who had lost documentation about improvements. The improvements most likely required building permits, which would have indicated the scope of improvements and, possibly, the cost as well. The local building department will have copies of those permits on file, and they can be obtained at a modest cost.

Answer: Thank you. The original letter writer had lost their documents in a house fire, a circumstance now shared by far too many in the Los Angeles area, thanks to the recent wildfires.

To recap, the value of qualifying home improvements can reduce the taxable gain when a house is sold. But if audited, sellers probably would need some kind of proof the work was done.

Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, suggested asking any contractors that were hired to provide verification of the projects and to check with the property tax assessor to see if the improvements were reflected in the home’s assessment. Photos of the home reflecting the improvements could also help in an audit, Luscombe says.

Liz Weston, Certified Financial Planner®, is a personal finance columnist. Questions may be sent to her at 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the “Contact” form at asklizweston.com.