Six-Chart Sunday – True or False?

6 Infographics + 1 Podcast (Perino on Politics)

Think you keep up with news? Test your knowledge! Are the following six statements True or False?

1. America imports more food / agricultural products than we export.

2. More Europeans die from extreme heat / lack of air conditioning than Americans die from gun violence.

3. Due to falling fertility rates, America’s population is declining and will be smaller in 2100 than it is today.

4. The value of the top 10 stocks as a share of the total U.S. stock market is more concentrated today than ever before.

5. Global trade protectionism (import restrictions such as tariffs) began rising after Donald Trump first became U.S. President in 2017.

6. The state of the economy is the best indicator to predict which party will gain House seats in the midterm elections.

***Answers (& charts) below the podcast.

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PODCAST

Always fun to join the great Dana Perino for her “Perino on Politics” podcast.

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1. True. Ag imports > exports. After five decades of large agricultural trade surpluses, “the U.S. agricultural trade deficit hit a record high in the first half of 2025… [continuing] a historic reversal for the US agricultural sector.” (Bloomberg)

2. True. More Europeans die from extreme heat than Americans die from gun violence each year. It may get worse: “much of Europe is now experiencing longer periods of severe heat than it was just 40 years ago. So while many derided air-conditioning for years as an unnecessary — and awfully American — amenity, it is now increasingly seen as a necessity to survive scorching summers.” (NYT)

3. False. While America’s fertility rate has indeed fallen to its lowest ever, the U.S. population is predicted to increase from ~340 million today to 421 million by the year 2100. Note this anticipated U.S. population growth could fall if the U.S. prohibits or severely restricts legal immigration over this period. (McKinsey Global Institute).

4. True. The top 10 stocks today represent a larger share of the the S&P 500’s total market cap than ever before, and by a lot.

5. False. The number of global import curbs in force more than quadrupled from 2008 through 2016 (+451%) — before President Trump’s first term — catalyzed by the Great Recession. In the subsequent eight years (2017-2024) the number of import curbs grew another 75% (Global Trade Alert data in WSJ).

6. False. While “it’s the economy, stupid” for Presidential elections, for midterm elections “it’s the President’s approval, stupid.” Midterm outcomes correlate far more closely with Presidential approval than any economic data. (Mehlman Consulting analysis).