The U.S. economy recently set a record for the longest expansion in history and the measures across the board are off the charts.
Economic expansion crossed the 121-month threshold in July, topping the previous winning streak of 120 months from 1991 to 2001. Since President Donald Trump implemented his America First policies, unemployment has quickly declined to a 49-year low, and wage increases have seen their best gains in about a decade. Although the president’s agenda has stabilized the U.S. GDP that runs between 2 and more than 4 percent, the country appears to have been initially hamstrung by the Obama Administration’s anti-business policies following the recession.
“We didn’t get the usual snapback in overall economic growth that we normally have after exiting recession and entering expansion,” Wells Fargo Securities senior economist Sam Bullard reportedly said. “Normally you have 4 percent growth for a while.”
But the shift in leadership has spurred increased economic positives on numerous fronts. The S&P 500 set a new record-high following President Trump’s G20 meetings with world leaders and an announcement the U.S. and China would resume trade negotiations. The Trump Administration also touted a positive dialogue with the world’s second-largest economy, delaying $300 billion in new tariffs. The S&P 500 reached an unprecedented 2,977.
Under the Obama Administration, the unemployment rate had been in steady decline. But the confounding problem for Americans trying to make ends meet was that the job market continued to add mostly low-paying service sector positions. The GOP’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered corporate taxes to a level on par with other industrialized nations, opening the door for a revitalized manufacturing industry. According to reports, good-paying manufacturing jobs increased by more than six times the rate as the previous administration during its final two years.
“Over the past two years, with the encouragement of the Trump Administration’s red-tape cutting policies and the tax cut and reform law passed in December 2017, manufacturers added 467,000 jobs, more than six times the 73,000 manufacturing jobs added in Obama’s last two years,” Forbes magazine reported. “Looking at Trump’s first two years, the revised BLS data shows that more than two manufacturing jobs were added for every one job added in government at the federal, state, and local level. In contrast, under Obama, almost five government jobs were added for every one manufacturing job.”
A recent manufacturing survey demonstrated that the sector continues to consistently post a reading above the 50 mark that indicates steady growth.
“As long as you keep this team in place, we have a tremendous way to go,” President Trump said. “Our future has never looked brighter or sharper. The fact is, the American Dream is back.”
If Democrats in the U.S. House stop their resist and obstruct efforts, the renegotiated NAFTA deal — now called the USMCA — could usher in manufacturing jobs at an even faster rate.
Americans who follow the resurgence in domestic oil production may have noticed that July ushered in yet another record. Since the Trump Administration curtailed the red tape hampering the industry, America emerged as the world’s top oil producer. The latest reports indicate that the U.S. has now expanded its lead over all other countries, and exceeded 15.3 million barrels per day. Production was broken into 11 million barrels of crude and 4.3 million in natural gas daily. That output is up a stunning 3.3 million barrels daily from April.
States such as New Mexico are reportedly seeing budget surpluses from the improved tax revenue gained from oil expansion in the Permian Basin. The state added $290 million to its expected annual surplus. The unanticipated oil-driven revenue allowed lawmakers to increase education spending by $440 million.
And, the cost of gas at the pump remains relatively low despite OPEC cutting its production in an effort to drive up global prices. America enjoys energy independence for the first time in nearly half a century and will no longer be held hostage by foreign oil-producing countries.
Industry experts anticipate that the U.S. will achieve 20 million barrels per day in under five years. However, previous predictions have already been far exceeded under the Trump Administration.
The fake news media may try to minimize and mislead people about the economic renaissance the country currently enjoys. But there’s no way around the numbers. The economic measures are off the charts, and life is getting better for everyday Americans.
