Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Trump State of the Union: I Am the Master of the Economy


With Vice-President Mike Pence sitting behind him, grinning like a frat boy going into a final exam where his frat brothers had stolen in advance the answers to the test, President Donald Trump took credit for pretty much everything that has occurred in the economy, except for the invention of the blockchain. Trump is apparently not Satoshi Nakamoto.

But he is the key to everything else going on in the economy according to him in his State of the Union address.

On Tuesday night before a joint session of the House and Senate and before a nationally televised audience, Trump took credit for the current low unemployment, climbing wages and the rising stock market.

Of course, he had little to do with any of the above. The current low unemployment, climbing wages and the rising stock market are the result of Federal Reserve monetary policy, specifically aggressive money printing. In other words, this is a manipulated boom that will eventually end badly, as it has in the past (SEE: The Fed Flunks).

He did not mention at all things he could actually have influence over that would really help such as shrinking government spending or eliminating government agencies.

He talked about gimmicky opportunity zones but not once mentioned eliminating the Federal minimum wage which would actually give those with low skills an opportunity to enter the workforce.

Bottom line: Trump thinks he has masterly steered the economy when he hasn't moved at all in the direction of fixing things where he could actually have an impact. He is like a guy playing the slot machines who is up after an hour and who thinks he is a genius.

The only good thing about Trump is that he is unlikely to mess things up as much as the Democrats, but overall he is terrible and clueless. And he showed it Tuesday night.

-RW


2 comments:

  1. 75 million people, each acting purposefully, independently in their own best interest, day after day, and not directed by anyone---and which activity collectively is the national economy in the aggregate---and He would take credit. Meh.

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  2. Yeah, we should have libertardian open borders with every low IQ rapist and criminal coming to America. We should hand over our entire manufacturing base to the Chinese because of libertardian purism.

    Trump also made some inroads to repealing a number of Obama era regulations that were there to make things costly and difficult. We don't benefit from mass immigration despite libertardian ideas to the contrary so I like the fact he got Mexico to kick back those caravans.

    I would not mind eliminating minimum wage laws and some of the other points you make, but he also has to work with congress to do this.

    He has also made some much better federal judiciary appointments which will help until the even worse party gets into power.

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