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Trump Economy Accelerates, Leftists Hardest Hit

Posted on Monday, May 6, 2019
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by Outside Contributor
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59 Comments
Trump Economy

Remember how Barack Obama repeatedly rationalized the economic malaise that defined his presidency by scapegoating everything from the 2011 Japanese tsunami to ATMs?

This was Obama in 2011, when it was already clear that his economic policies were failing:

There are some structural issues with our economy, where a lot of businesses have learned to become more efficient, with a lot fewer workers.  You see it when you go to the bank and use an ATM – you don’t go to a bank teller.  Or you go to the airport, and you’re using a kiosk instead of checking in at the gate. 

Well, news flash:  We’ve added a lot more kiosks since that time, particularly in locales where liberals counterproductively hiked minimum wage requirements.  Yet somehow, America’s economy has turbocharged since President Donald Trump entered the White House.

In fact, the Trump economic acceleration has occurred despite real headwinds, such as an economic slowdown in Europe, China and elsewhere across the globe, as well as the federal government’s partial shutdown earlier this year and the Federal Reserve Board’s foolish rate increase last December, which Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged when the evidence of the error immediately accumulated.

The latest occasion for recognizing the stark contrast between Obama and Trump arrived last week, when the Commerce Department announced that the American economy grew an astonishing 3.2% in the first quarter of 2019.

That exceeded economists’ consensus forecast of growth well below 2%, with some banks forecasting 1.1% growth.  That growth rate also occurred despite such handicaps as the government report that the winter government shutdown artificially reduced growth by 0.3%, among other headwinds noted by The Wall Street Journal:

Yet the government shutdown took some 0.3% off growth and that won’t be repeated in the second quarter.  Auto sales took 0.49% off GDP in the quarter, but sales rebounded in March heading into the second quarter.  Overall consumer spending contributed a relatively small 0.82% to GDP, perhaps due to the fall in consumer confidence after the stock market swoon in the last months of 2018.  With job growth strong and wages rising, consumers should contribute more to the expansion the rest of the year. 

In other words, the Trump economy continues to flourish despite substantial headwinds, and promises even greater future growth, whereas Obama scapegoated insubstantial factors to excuse his economic malaise.

And for readers who don’t preoccupy themselves with quarterly U.S. economic data, here’s why our 3.2% growth number is particularly significant and symbolic.

Post-World War II, the U.S. has averaged 3.3% economic growth per year.  Then came the Obama Administration.  Not once during his presidency did we even reach 3% growth, let alone the post-war 3.3% average.  For the first time in our history, we completed ten years without reaching 3% during his tenure, and we averaged just 1.88% annual growth under Obama.

That wasn’t what Obama promised us, of course.  While selling his trillion-dollar “stimulus” package, the Obama Administration predicted that unemployment would never exceed 8%, and that economic growth would hit 4.3% for both 2011 and 2012.  Instead, unemployment exceeded 8% for the longest consecutive monthly period in recorded U.S. history, and as noted earlier we never even hit 3% growth.

By the end of the Obama Administration, he and his apologists predictably changed their tune.

Instead of promising superlative results from Obama’s economic policies, they began assuring us that 3% growth was no longer possible, due to “secular stagnation,” the new impossibility of productivity gains, Baby Boomer retirements and other various excuses.  Sub-3% growth was, according to them, the “new normal.”

In that vein, Obama and his apologists mocked Trump’s promises to return to 3% growth through deregulation, tax cuts and reversing Obama economic policies.  Lawrence Summers, Obama’s chief economic advisor, ridiculed the idea in May 2017:

Apparently, the budget forecasts that U.S. economic growth will rise to 3.0 percent because of the administration’s policies, largely its tax cuts and perhaps also its regulatory policies.  Fair enough, if you believe in tooth fairies and ludicrous supply-side economics. 

Or recall the words of New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, one of leftists’ favorite economists, who wrote in January 2018, “Expect a lot of boasting, but 3% growth is still nonsense.”

Well, we’ve achieved exactly that.

In just his first full calendar year as President, Trump’s economic policies of deregulation, tax cuts and more limited government brought us 3% growth for 2018, the first year in which his tax cuts took effect.

Additionally, median incomes are finally rising at a more respectable level after stagnating under Obama, and stock markets have reached new record highs.

And now, despite mainstream economists’ predictions of an economic slowdown, our economy actually accelerated to 3.2% in the first quarter of 2019.

So yes, Mr. Summers, we do believe in the supply-side economics that Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump have repeatedly proven effective, yet which you continue to label “ludicrous.”  The question is when people like you will smell the coffee and admit otherwise.

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Doug Warner
Doug Warner
4 years ago

The economy is like the sun rise and the sun set meaning that the economy was cooling down with the Bush administration because of the Bank Bailout and the bundling of mortgages caused by Barney franks Bill in the legislature to give the poor and minorities a better chance of owning a home which caused the mortgage industry to explode and criminal behavior within the industry of writing faulty loans then the big banks bundling bad loans with AAA loans to make a substandard loan package to unsuspecting buyers which would be banks and investors that are holding these loans. The bailout was a quick fix and the deal propped up the banks that made these deals. So,Obama decided to go with the FDR solution instead of the Donald Trump solution .We were taxed more and then taxed again on the money that went to infrastructure . All we need was more jobs and a revised tax table so private money could be used instead of government money . Next we needed to send home all the illegals coming across the border that took money out of our welfare coffers and make the job less dependent on low wage workers . Now I know this isn’t true in all jobs but it did keep wages low and stagnant. Next was to bring back American jobs from over seas but this is going to be hard due to cheap labor in Asia. Next was to bring a balanced trade market with no tariffs or very little tariffs to protect American trade. China was making a bundle on the USA and we got Walmart cheap coming back . Americans have to wake up and stop being so complacent and start understanding that these problems were the ideology of Globalism and to bring us to our knees and stop over consuming. The Paris Climate Agreement was going to do nothing to stop GREENHOUSE GASES from polluting the earth in fact it would have been worse because developing countries and China ain’t one of them now , would have just moved the problem to another country with now environmental laws and no technology to scrub the smoke stacks of all pollutants like we did in the USA because of ACID RAIN which killed off forest and streams in the eastern seaboard and Canada. The Cap and Trade agreements are bogus just another way to collect taxes and use any way the government wants. Climate change has more to do with a natural occuring system than carbon in our atmosphere but it may have more to do with possibly stripping the Amazon rain forest and our ocean currents which is the biggest exchanger of heat and moisture. It has been said that we are now in a carbon deficient atmosphere. Look what I’m getting at is that we have been fooled by politicians and elitist to have a Global economy which would be great except here’s the kicker we have to many people on this planet to save everyone. Tell me why we have corn growing for ethanol instead of food for the people of hunger .You really can’t tell me the fucking environmentalist have it all down pat ….they don’t all they do is weaponize political issues of environmental concern and make sure that the facts are eschewed to fit the issue and run with the narrative. There ain’t one thing we can do as ghuman to fix what we screwed up .Building a few feet above water levels is the one thing that stands out in my mind .How stupid we are to think we can better mother nature when she is on a rampage and rampage she does but we never learn because we think we can beat her …..NOOOO way. Solar flares come and go glaciers grow and recede nothing stays stable but it looks like since I was in grade school 5 decades ago this well intended environmental learning turned into a whole economic shift and now we have the NEW GREEN DEAL. Trillions of dollars spent and no guarantees except to put a whole new society together and the elitist making trillions of dollars on our backs and making sure we have no CONSTITUTION left in America. In other words look at Agenda 21 coming out of the Un and now another agenda with the same globalist agenda .Sorry I want to say it’s 2025 or 2030 but my memory is slipping what it is so happy researching

Sam
Sam
4 years ago

The Dumbassocrats are are now telling us Barry ‘s economic programs are the reason we have this economy. To hear them tell it, everything we now have is because Barry started that ball to rolling. Yeah. Uh-huh. You betcha.

LE Acosta
LE Acosta
4 years ago

#Lexit …. Hispanic Americans from across the Nation for Trump’s MAGA !!! MAGA result = lowest unemployment rate of Hispanic Americans in records and current 3+ GDP. The economy is going to get better for US workers and businesses with the new South Korea Trade Agreement and the North America wide acceptance of the new international multibillion trade agreement USMCA replacing the bad NAFTA (… the indirect way that Mexico and Canada will more than pay for the Border Wall). Thus thousands are exiting the Democrat Party #WalkAway … #Demexit …. #Blexit … #Jewexit … #Lexit …. and many others.

LE Acosta
LE Acosta
4 years ago

For eight years, the Obama/Biden administration kept promising “bottom-up growth,” while telling the country that tax cuts and deregulation would only benefit the rich. But his policies — Dodd-Frank, ObamaCare, higher taxes, a regulatory tsunami — produced economic stagnation. As it always does, that stagnation hurt the working class most. For eight years under Obama/Biden leadership, job growth was well below the average of previous recoveries.
Trump went in the opposite direction. His pro-growth tax cuts, deregulatory campaign and pro-energy policies fueled huge increases in economic optimism and turbocharged the economy. And now we’re seeing real job growth and strong wage gains for the first time in more than a decade.

LE Acosta
LE Acosta
4 years ago

While the Democrat Clown Leaders, like US Rep Nadler (D-N.Y.) and US Rep Schiff (D-Calif.) continue the witch-hunt circus shows in US Congress, Trump’s MAGA keeps improving the USA economy, as it is now recognized internationally. In 2018, the United States was named the world’s most competitive economy by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

martha e karmann
martha e karmann
4 years ago

While I am very happy with most of our new economy, I am still struggling, as are most of our older Americans. Our utility bills have increased significantly along with the rise in wages. Only we have no wages to rise, when we were working the wages were much less, so our retirement is way below todays expenses. We are struggling, and we are from a prouder generation that does not want to be considered “Leeches” so we will not take the handouts offered by the States who want to Lien on our property when we die and leave our kids with nothing from their family home that their Mom and Dad worked so hard to aquire. It’s tough to be old in today’s society. And this BS about Social Security running out of money is just that. They are giving it to people who never worked a day or paid a dime into it, and I have many friends who worked their whole lives and died before they ever drew anything. It has been grossly mismanaged, and squandered.

Phillip Garrison
Phillip Garrison
4 years ago

Democrat liberals are now and will always never admit to the facts no matter hor telling the truth is!

Todd Wingard Taylor
Todd Wingard Taylor
4 years ago

The moment the socialistic “Red Coats” cross the line it is a call to arms. We must stand, defend and protect our Constitution; to preserve American ideals, guaranteed by our Bill of Rights and the blood of those who willingly laid down their lives throughout history to preserve or freedoms; freedoms once lost is not easily regained! Lets leave a lasting legacy of sacrifice for the freedom we have enjoyed for our grandchildren and to generations to come. We must resist socialistic ideals at every turn; we must reject it and see it for what it is pure evil; let us make our declaration to fight for what is right, honorable and true.

Silas Longshot
Silas Longshot
4 years ago

Amazing how President Trump has accomplished more that any president before him, never mind a economically clueless moron like 0bama who blamed every fault in his reign on Bush, said jobs were never coming back (that he chased out of the USA), etc. And all this in the face of 100% democrat opposition, 98% negative, hate filled gossip rag level MSM coverage, RINO sabotage of bills and mediocre republican congressional action. Imagine what could have been done with some cooperation and respect by the media!

Thomas H.
Thomas H.
4 years ago

Unfortunately, the “unbiased” media line is that ObeyMe still had a higher percentage growth than Trump, and, by the way, there’s that coming economic collapse which is always just around the corner (which they themselves are trying to bring about).

dino
dino
4 years ago

But the democ rats continue to bash the man that we,the AMERICAN people elected.This judiciary committee is almost a bigger joke than NObamba,but its not a joke because barry is still continuing to divide AMERICA.He is NOT a person that was born in AMERICA.If this was any other country they would not put up with his bull exhaust.And this Nadler character is an idiot with power.

Neal Christensen
Neal Christensen
4 years ago

Remember when Obama was talking about jobs that went overseas or just disappeared? “Those jobs are gone; they’re not coming back”.

Steve Greenwell
Steve Greenwell
4 years ago

For all the left’s belittling the economy, or giving Obama credit for it, the economy is doing mostly well. The American people, pursuing their semi-enlightened self interests, deserve the credit. What Pres. Trump deserves credit for is getting the government out of the way of the pursuit. Now if the labor participation rate can be improved…..

Garland
Garland
4 years ago

The Democrats would rather do business with the Devil than admit that Pres Trump is probably the Greatest Pres in my lifetime and I will be 85 in 3 months

Press ONE for English
Press ONE for English
4 years ago

This is a very sloppily written article, although the general message is spot-on. From the article:

“…when the Commerce Department announced that the American economy grew an astonishing 3.2% in the first quarter…”

Really? Up 3.2% in the first quarter? I have not specifically looked up the figures but a 3.2% change in one quarter amounts to a 12.8% annualized rate. I seriously doubt we are doing THAT well. He could have said that the economy grew at a 3.2% annualized rate in the first quarter, and that is an unambiguous statement. This all might not have made such a big difference if the writer had not started throwing ever more percentages at us. The 0.3% attributed to the partial “shutdown” – it sounds like that is an actual number not an annualized rate, if you read the things written about it in the WSJ quote.

This article is predominately about percentages. Without clearly defining the terms being bandied about it is useless unless you are taking the most high-level, abstract view.

I guess quality proofreaders were one of the jobs that got the ax in the obama job massacre.

Dick
Dick
4 years ago

The illusion is not working former President as we know better and are fed up with the whining. Go, President Trump!

1

Martha Beimer
Martha Beimer
4 years ago

The Obamanation promised in his campaigns to change America. He did. For the worse. We have needed a ruthless businessperson in the Oval Office for many decades. Ronald Reagan was pretty good but he was still an actor turned politician. Actors act. Politicians kiss behinds. Ruthless and serious business people know how to grow finances. It is their job. Good job, Mr. President, Donald Trump. Glad you are on our side and not the side of changing our nation into a third world country. God bless America and God bless you. God is good.

Phyllis Poole
Phyllis Poole
4 years ago

These people who admonish our president Trump are not grown up. They are children in adult bodies and clothes. I just would hope for some kind of test we should have to take to qualify anyone to vote! Age is not the answer.
Since that’s not going to hdppen then we had better pray hard because if another dem or socialist gets in power we are doomed again for failure. I also have been made aware that the Muslims aim is to declare Sharia law and they are being voted in to our gov offices.
Michigan has one!
Start talking about this! It’s time to get scared and PRAY!!!!

des
des
4 years ago

so now we need liberal demos to be voted in to screw things up,
demos just hate success it takes away their power

Big Al
Big Al
4 years ago

At some point we all realize that the Left has nothing to offer.

Kim
Kim
4 years ago

Over 40 years of owning a small business, my most difficult years were those during the Obama administration. Many of my colleagues couldn’t make enough income to prevent losing their businesses. Several went bankrupt and lost everything. A few were lucky to find part-time jobs or low-wage full time jobs that paid the mortgage.
In the high cost-of-living blue state that I was living in, my sales dropped to unsustainable levels for several years. When sales are a large portion of our income, our personal “GDP” is much more dependent on consumer spending than the economy is as a whole. But in a shaky economy, sales on not-absolutely-essential items come to an abrupt halt. I was lucky to have savings and a retirement account that I could raid.

We’ve survived recessions before, picking up the pieces and continuing to earn a living. But Obama—who didn’t build my business, by the way, but did destroy it—and his burdensome tax and regulation policies caused that dismal economy. He did nothing, since he was never a businessman and never heeded advice given, to implement policies that would benefit small businesses or any commercial enterprise. When he spoke, his disdain for business and competition was very clear. He thought that government would make everything better. Most dems still believe that, and are amping up the promises of “free” stuff in return for votes.

Obama’s economy bounced along the bottom of the trough until, finally, my house regained enough value to sell. So I moved to a low-tax state that has now…. turned purple. Higher taxes are in the works here, and I’m looking to relocate. When those “experts” like Krugman, Summers (“women can’t do science and math”), and Goolesbee can’t read the signs that point to prosperity, we must rely on a smart businessperson to lead the way.

The economy under President Trump, thank goodness, is soaring. But if all the new businesses and renewed prosperity are to endure for years to come, we have to make sure that fiscally responsible Republicans take back the House, keep the Senate, and re-elect President Trump. Otherwise, there will be a re-do of the abject misery we suffered when Obama was in office. And I wouldn’t want to see that again.

Rick J.
Rick J.
4 years ago

Obama and Summers are socialists who are globalists. They have no idea how real economics work.

Emmett
Emmett
4 years ago

I wish the insane, liberal losers would get real. I guess they’ve got to protect their riches at the cost of everyone else. Come on Dems quit being suckers and see your Reps for what they are: spineless scumbags who care nothing about you and who would abandon you at the drop of a hat. DJT is doing a bang up good job. MAGA or doomsday. Which do you prefer?

CHERYL FITZGERALD
CHERYL FITZGERALD
4 years ago

God bless America… ??
Daniel 2:21

Frank S.
Frank S.
4 years ago

Another hugely important issue, yet not reported on enough, is how Trump is standing up to China and their ridiculous trade policies/cheating. Clinton, Bush ’43 and Obama just buried their collective heads in the sand and hoped China would one day start playing fair and become a “team player.” Idiots! We had a saying in the military…”Hope does not a good strategy make.” When Trump and his economic team finally get a deal BOTH sides can live with (remember, China needs to “save face”–it’s an Asian thing), just watch the economy take off. Of course, Congress needs to approve and pass the USMCA deal too. Imagine where the US could be if we had a Congress that put the country first versus partisan politics. Maybe then we could pass some balanced budgets and begin to formulate a plan to deal with the $22,200,000,000,000 deficit.

PAUL
PAUL
4 years ago

IF PRES. TRUMP WOULD LIKE 4% GROWTH , HE SHOULD STUDY THE FAIR TAX.

Jack
Jack
4 years ago

President Trump is the best thing that has happened to this country since Ronald Regan. Even with the Left pushing and prodding everything and every statement he makes, he and the citizens of this great nation are succeeding. With all the good that has and continues to be done how could anyone in their right mind not support our President? I guess I answered that myself.

Wayne D Peterkin
Wayne D Peterkin
4 years ago

What President Trump and conservatives have proven once again is that fewer regulations, modest interest rates, and lower taxes can stimulate and sustain an economy like nothing else can. Government interference and mandates are counter-productive. It should be logical and intuitive, but Democrats and liberals in general just have never grasped basic economics. Obama couldn’t spell “economics”. Keep external business operating costs as low as possible and it allows businesses to flourish. Doesn’t seem that complicated to me.

Phillip Pucher
Phillip Pucher
4 years ago

They never will because they can’t stand being wrong.

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