USA economy is blasting off

[rasbridge]

• By TERRY MORAN 

Jan 26, 2018

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/analysis-economy-stupid-now-trump-economy-blasting-off/story?id=52632659

 

In conversations with business and political leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, there is almost zero mention of the controversies which consume coverage of Trump in America.

 

Instead, people talk about the real possibility now that growth in the U.S. economy could hit 4 percent this year — a positively Clintonian benchmark. The impact worldwide would be tremendous.

 

We forget what that kind of economy means. Clinton averaged roughly 4 percent GDP growth. Record budget surpluses. Record job growth. Real household incomes up across the board. A skyrocketing stock market.

 

Money in peoples’ pockets—for college, for retirement, for vacations. Businesses booming. New ones starting. And the USA once again the engine pulling the world economy.

We’re a long way from that, for sure.

 

And there are analysts who say the world’s economies are simply being boosted by all the easy money central banks pumped into them for years — and that’s a bubble that will burst.

But business types here disagree. And they give a lot of credit to Trump for the renewed strength and vigor they sense in the sinews of the global economy.

 

Deregulation is the first thing they mention. The cost of doing business has come down fast. That means margins will go up. That’s why so many investors see American companies as such good bets.

 

And that’s all Trump.

 

The tax cut is also—no surprise—hugely popular here. It seems the old US corporate tax structure was operating as a kind of logjam in the world economy, freezing up the flow of money and distorting investment decisions.

 

The dam broke. Trump broke it.

 

And now corporations are paying bonuses and boosting wages for American workers. All that money is just now beginning to hit the economy.

 

One example: J.P. Morgan says it will spend $20 billion over five years to raise hourly pay of its workers and open new branches in the U.S., as a direct result of the tax cut.

 

“I think it’s possible you’re going to hit 4 percent sometime this year,” CEO Jamie Dimon said here in Davos. “I promise you, we are going to be sitting here in a year and you all will be worrying about inflation and wages going too high.”

 

Needless to say, if the American economy is running at 4 percent growth later this year—Democrats can probably kiss goodbye to their dreams of a wave election sweeping them into power.

 

And if Trump and Congress pass a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that would pour more money into the US economy next year—2020 looks very different, too.

 

Trump may be benefiting from the hard work of the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve in recovering from the worst economic downturn in 80 years. But he is surely benefiting.

 

And it may be that he, like Ronald Reagan, is lucky in his timing in another, deeper way.

 

At the moment both men came to power, an economic paradigm had hit a dead end.

 

For Reagan, the New Deal approach to the economy had faltered, growth had dried up, inflation raged, working-class Americans were struggling and beginning to give up hope.

 

For Trump, the “neoliberal” approach that Reagan had helped to establish and Clinton had refined, had faltered. Growth had slowed, inequality had skyrocketed, working-class Americans felt abandoned and many despaired, turning to opiates and anger for relief.

 

Things needed to change. In 1980 and in 2016.

 

The direction of the change may differ profoundly, but maybe it’s just the jolt of change itself that counts. Maybe the economy just needs a good hard kick from time to time to get the engine to turn over and the thing going forward again.

[bpeddicord]

Why don't you wake up and look at what is really happening. Business are letting employees go, in huge amounts. 

[rasbridge]

1 hour ago, bpeddicord said:

Why don't you wake up and look at what is really happening. Business are letting employees go, in huge amounts. 

A 4.1% unemployment rate that’s projected to edge down further will make it even tougher for employers to find workers, forcing them to more seriously consider Americans marginalized by a lack of skills or opioid addiction, says Diane Swonk, head of DS Economics. That group includes prime age men hit hard when manufacturing and construction each lost about 2 million jobs in the recession. Swonk says some companies are even waiving drug tests for job applicants and providing treatment programs to addicted workers to reduce employee turnover. Others are bringing on workers who lack all the skills they’re seeking and training them to fill in the gaps.

Overall, employers’ struggles to find workers will continue to crimp hiring, experts say. Both Vitner and Swonk expect average monthly job growth to fall to about 160,000 in 2018 from 174,000 in 2017. Yet that’s well more than the 100,000 or so needed to continue lowering the unemployment rate.

 

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2018/01/01/economy-bust-out-2018/988606001/

 

 

[luisam]

Very nice. But when this clock will start to click  backwards?

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[Jogs]

This growth and slowdown are artificially created by some people to make extra money. Just think in the recession time where does all the money goes and then how does it reappears in time of growth. This up and down in the economy makes it easy for a handful of people to pocket a lot of money and the common people are left in their place.

[flitox]

one the one hand, it's about time economy is starting to go well again, 8 years after the last wall street crash

on the other hand, how many americans are living on food stamps?? it think it's somewhere between 1/4 to 1/5

[rasbridge]

32 minutes ago, flitox said:

one the one hand, it's about time economy is starting to go well again, 8 years after the last wall street crash

on the other hand, how many americans are living on food stamps?? it think it's somewhere between 1/4 to 1/5

"The Congressional Budget Office estimates that SNAP participation will drop by about 1.3 million people each year over the next 10 years as the economy continues to strengthen."

source:  http://freebeacon.com/issues/food-stamp-rolls-decline-2-million-fy-2017/

[rasbridge]

2 hours ago, Jogs said:

This growth and slowdown are artificially created by some people to make extra money. Just think in the recession time where does all the money goes and then how does it reappears in time of growth. This up and down in the economy makes it easy for a handful of people to pocket a lot of money and the common people are left in their place.

How Donald Trump, America's Salesman-In-Chief, Won Over CEOs At Davos

Source: https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/how-donald-trump-americas-salesman-in-chief-won-over-ceos-at-davos/

 

Think Donald Trump doesn't know how to sell? Take a look at how he did in Davos, Switzerland, with the world's wealthy, left-leaning elites. As anyone in business will tell you, a great salesman needs a great product. Trump has that: America.

 

Trump told the assembled billionaires, tech giants, CEOs and political grandees at the World Economic Forum on Friday that America was "open for business." Having just signed a law that would cut the top marginal tax rate on U.S. corporations from 35% to 21%, he had some credibility for that remark.

 

Of course, whenever Trump says anything he's accused of lying or engaging in rank jingoism. But much of what he told the congregation of  business and political leaders in defense of his "Make America Great Again" economic policies was convincing.

 

A sampling:

• "When the United States grows, so does the world. American prosperity has created countless jobs around the  globe and the drive for excellence, creativity and innovation in the United States has led to important discoveries that help people everywhere live more prosperous and healthier lives."
•  
• "After years of stagnation the United States is once again experiencing strong economic growth. Consumer confidence, business confidence and manufacturing confidence are the highest they have ever been in many decades."
•  
• "We have dramatically cut taxes to make America competitive."
•  
• "There has never been a better time to hire, to build, to invest and to grow in the United States. America is open for business and we are competitive once again."

But did the world's CEOs buy into his "America First" message? Trump's dinner on Thursday night with 15 of the world's most powerful and respected business leaders at companies — ranging from Siemens AG and Nestle SA to Volvo and Bayer — suggests the answer is yes. And that's because they've seen that, by following through on his pledges of deregulation and tax cuts, he means what he says

 

As The Daily Caller reported, "In a stunning moment, one by one, European titans of industry from companies like Adidas, Siemens and Bayer went around the table to thank Trump for the passage of tax cuts and the easing of corporate tax burdens. Almost every CEO had a new U.S.-based investment or strategic business to announce."

 

"The president of Siemens, Joe Kaeser, said, 'since you have been so successful in tax reform we have decided to develop the next generation gas turbines in the United States.' "

 

Not surprisingly, Trump has been harshly criticized by the left for failing to embrace "globalism." That criticism seemed a bit misplaced in Davos, however, simply with Trump's appearance there. He was the first president in 18 years to go to Davos, a gathering that President Obama gave short shrift.

 

Given what looks like a coming flood of foreign investment in the U.S., maybe "Make America Great Again" is the best kind of globalism there is.

[flitox]

22 hours ago, rasbridge said:

"The Congressional Budget Office estimates that SNAP participation will drop by about 1.3 million people each year over the next 10 years as the economy continues to strengthen."

source:  http://freebeacon.com/issues/food-stamp-rolls-decline-2-million-fy-2017/

thanks for the link, so that means the number of people on food stamp has decreased by 4.5%.

 

but it seems the rate i gave was wrong (don't remember too where i got it). so now it's makes about 7.7% of the total population on food stamps. sounds way less catastrophic.