MAGAnomics continues to shower prosperity on all Americans. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released significant wage and salary data on July 30th. These data demonstrate remarkable numbers. There have been stunning upward revisions for 2017 and 2018.
Employee compensation rose 4.5% in 2017 and 5% in 2018. These numbers demonstrate incredible wage growth during a period of low inflation (1.4%). When the 5% wage growth in 2018 was combined with the tax reform package passed in late 2017, personal disposable income rose an astonishing 6.1% in 2018. And the primary beneficiaries of this growth have been blue-collar workers.
This growth trend has continued in 2019, with compensation increasing 3.4% during the 1st half of the year. Year-over-year increases were 5.3% for May and 5.5% in June. These increases are truly astounding.
Remember President Barack Obama lecturing the public for eight long years?
“Manufacturing jobs are gone and are not coming back.”
Regarding trade deals, Obama said, “He just says, ‘Well, I’m going to negotiate a better deal.’ Well, what, how exactly are you going to negotiate that? What magic wand do you have?
“Two percent real GDP growth is the new normal for the U.S. economy.”
It might have been nice if Obama could have achieved two percent annual growth. 1.64 percent was his achievement from 2011 through 2017. And keep in mind Obama became President near the bottom of the Great Recession. There should have been a good bounce that would have been favorable to his overall numbers.
How wrong Obama was! Was Obama ignorant about economics? Did he depend too much on advisors who were “Yes” men? Obama himself did very well economically while he was in office. He left office much richer than when he arrived. Not so much for the rest of America.
Just what is the cause of all of this improvement? Frank Hill notes,
Businessmen and women today exude optimism and enthusiasm when they talk about their economic prospects and plans for expansion, increased sales and hiring more people.
Is it the tax cuts passed last December? Is it the rescission of hundreds if not thousands of federal regulations that were strangling economic growth? Is it the prospect of not having to worry about more taxes or regulations until 2020 at least and maybe 2025?
It may be all of these. It may be the fact that American businesses, workers and investors know that the Obama years are finally over and they can operate in a new business environment where they can work hard and keep more of what they earn and not pay more of it to the government.
The Wall Street Journal notes,
The two dozen or so Democrats vying to run against PDJT want to undo all of this. They want to raise taxes to astronomical levels (70% to 90%). They want to shackle business with needless regulations. They want to put blacks and Hispanics back on the Democratic plantations in the inner cities. PDJT has shown some sunlight on this recently with his comments about Rep. Cummings’ House district. Let’s hope there is more of this disinfectant going forward.
Without a doubt PDJT has unleashed the economic might of America along with America exceptionalism. Let’s keep it going.