West Wing MHI Daily

Another Booming Quarter, and Even Democrats Can’t Complain About the Economy

“Last Dec. 22, President Trump signed the tax reform bill — you know, the one that all Democrats loudly decried (but only a few decry now) as the ‘tax scam.’ That bill came on top of several major deregulatory measures during Trump’s first year,” the Washington Examiner editorial board writes. “On Friday, we saw the results for the second quarter since the ‘tax scam’ went into effect. And guess what? Its unexpectedly strong 3.5 percent annualized growth is a strong follow-up to the 4.1 percent growth in the second quarter of the year. Together, that makes for the best two-quarter stretch since 2014.” Inflation is down to a 1.6 percent annual rate. Consumer spending is up by 4 percent. Unemployment is down — especially black and Hispanic unemployment — and nearly 4 million new jobs have been created since January 2017. Real wages have risen in each of the last five months in a row.Forecasters now project that the next quarter’s report will show 3 percent growth, which would make for the best three-quarter period since before the recession and financial crisis of a decade ago. That’s a lot of evidence of success. But if you really want to see the effect that tax reform is having on the economy, then just look at this year’s election and the rhetoric surrounding it. Yes, Democrats and their partisans in the media are attacking President Trump loudly and all other Republicans with him. They decry Trump as a ruthless fascist and racist who is killing millions of people and will destroy the planet using nothing but his mouth. But listen all day long and you won’t hear a single one complain that he’s done a bad job on the economy. The Democrats refrain from that complaint because they know that it’s no use — no one will find them credible. The absolute and complete silence on the economy as an issue is astounding to those of us who have covered elections since the turn of the century. The last time there was so little focus on economic problems during a political election campaign was probably 2000, when the economy was nothing beyond an unambiguously positive factor for Al Gore’s presidential campaign. To be sure, Trump has made some very bad decisions as president. His tax hikes — tariffs — are currently working against the forces of prosperity that were otherwise unleashed by lower tax rates. But if he is serious about using tariffs only as a negotiating tactic, and further about getting U.S.-U.K. and U.S.-China trade deals in place during the next term, then there might be some very good economic news ahead. All voters have to do is refrain from electing a Democratic Congress that will impeach Trump and do nothing useful. Bringing American politics back from the brink “My Democratic colleagues have grown desperate. In the two years their party has sat on the sidelines, our nation has thrived under Republican leadership. That must be why, month after month, on issue after issue, Democrats and their far-left allies have tried to replace inconvenient facts with pure partisan scare tactics,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell writes in The Washington Times. “When facts fail, the far left ratchets up the fear.” Exhibit A was the recent Supreme Court showdown. Democrats were intent on sabotaging Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation for partisan reasons, but they lacked any factual basis for doing so. We all know what came next: A shameful spectacle of character assassination, fueled by uncorroborated allegations and outlandish smears. Fortunately, senators saw through to the facts. But the far left was just getting started. Drawing on explicit encouragement from leading Democrats, angry protesters tried to make elected officials personally afraid. Over the past days and weeks, United States Senators and their families have been subjected to death threats, driven from restaurants, harassed at their homes, followed through airports, and chased through the halls of the Senate. Screaming activists have stormed up the steps of both the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Or think back to last December, when “the resistance” demanded that Democrats try to sink the historic tax cuts and tax reform that Republicans were delivering to American families. Out came the scare tactics, right on cue. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi proclaimed that our bill would bring about “Armageddon” and laughably declared it “the worst bill in the history of the United States Congress.” Here in the real world, the facts are quite different. Republican tax reform and regulatory reform have helped grow our nation’s incredible economic momentum, to the great benefit of American workers, small business owners, and middle-class families. Consumer confidence stands at an 18-year high. We’ve clocked the fastest year-on-year wage growth since 2009 and the lowest unemployment rate since 1969. Our nation currently boasts more than seven million open jobs — more than the entire population of the state of Massachusetts. For the first time in our nation’s history, there is more than one job opening for every American who’s looking for work. These are the facts. While my Democratic colleagues have urged on angry mobs, this unified Republican government has been helping to deliver one victory after another for American workers and families. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NIELSEN PROMISES MIGRANT CARAVAN WON’T CROSS US BORDER: THEY’RE ‘NOT GETTING IN’ “Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the migrant caravan headed for the U.S. southern border will not cross over into the United States, on ‘Fox News Sunday,’” Nick Givas writes in The Daily Caller. “There is a legal way to enter this country. Those who choose to enter illegally will be stopped,” Secretary Nielsen said. “We are working with our partners in Mexico. They have taken unprecedented efforts within their territory to ensure an orderly flow and that those who have no legal right to be there are removed,” she continued. “We intend to do the same but my general message to this caravan is do not come. You will not be allowed in. There is a right way to immigrate to the United States and this is not it.” Nielsen called the caravan a “crisis” and said President Donald Trumpis exploring every option to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible. “We have a crisis at the border right now,” Nielsen said. “We are stopping between 1,500 and 1,700 people a day trying to cross illegally into this country. This caravan is one iteration of that, but frankly we eventually see caravans every day with these numbers.” “So I think what the president is making clear is every possible action, authority, executive program is on the table to consider to ensure that it is clear that there is a right and legal way to come to this country and no other ways will be tolerated,” she added. “Every American now has an opportunity” “Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump and adviser to his administration, visited Morehead State University on Friday afternoon during her tour of three job centers in eastern Kentucky,” Brad Stacy reports in The Morehead News. “For us, today was about looking at all the pathways of the American dream,” Ms. Trump said. Noting she and others on a tour of the facility witnessed a showcase of the university’s 21-M Space Tracking Antenna. “There are multiple paths and we want to celebrate and equally honor those individual paths.” The adviser said right now is a great time to look at these routes because of the transition the country has seen in terms of a better, more efficient economy. “The economy is booming,” Ivanka said. “There have been tax cuts, deregulation, and a climate of optimism has taken hold in our country because of the President’s leadership, along with the support of members of Congress.” Trump said because of this revitalized, strong economy, “every American now has an opportunity.” “Those who have been on the sidelines and those who are just now getting started in their careers are going to be our future leaders,” she said. Ivanka complimented Morehead State and its ongoing efforts in terms of education and the progressive approach to workforce development. “It’s remarkable what this school is doing. Keep up the great work,” she said. “Just know we are deeply motivated to ensure everyone has a chance to learn, grow, and get great jobs and this university is definitely doing their share.” Trump concluded by asserting her next trip to Kentucky will be while she’s on vacation. “This area is absolutely beautiful,” Ivanka said. “The next time I come back it’s going to be on holiday. It’s so beautiful, I don’t want to leave. These mountains are amazing. I can’t imagine it getting much better than this.”

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