Don’t look now, but President Trump is winning—bigly.
Because of tax reform, 125,000 Disney employees will receive a $1,000 cash bonus. The company will also make a $50 million investment into a new employee education program.
Disney is hardly alone. Under President Trump, America’s job creators are more optimistic than ever before, rewarding employees with greater take-home pay after seeing their taxes slashed. This year, American Airlines will give out $1,000 bonuses to nearly all of its 128,000 employees—a total payout of $130 million. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who “applaud[ed] and thank[ed] Congress and the administration for their leadership in seizing this opportunity to unleash economic energy,” recently announced $200 million for infrastructure improvements and workforce development, in addition to $100 million in charitable donations.
Further rebutting the Left’s narrative of “tax cuts for the rich,” Walmart has increased starter wages for all hourly employees to $11 an hour, as well as expanding maternity and parental leave. In Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon’s words: “Tax reform gives us the opportunity to be more competitive globally.”
He can thank President Trump, who signed the largest tax overhaul since the 1980s, for our now roaring economy. The S&P 500 has risen by 18 percent since January 2017, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average just reached a new record of 26,000. Consumer confidence, meanwhile, remains at a 17-year high.
The future looks even brighter: the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is expected to increase America’s GDP by nearly four percent over the long term, while creating almost one million full-time jobs.
Our bright future makes the Obama years—dominated by high taxes, burdensome regulations, and wasteful government spending—look even darker by comparison. Whereas President Trump jumpstarted the U.S. economy by returning $1.5 trillion to working Americans, President Obama never saw a government program he didn’t like. The Obama administration believed that economic growth came from Washington, D.C.— not the millions of job creators responsible for starting new businesses, growing them to unimaginable heights, and rewarding the employees who make their success possible.
The contrast is most stark when it comes to energy policy. While President Trump’s idea of a green economy is green in Americans’ wallets and retirement accounts, President Obama subsidized a score of energy companies like Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy after wasting more than $500 million in taxpayer dollars. In the end, the Obama administration’s clean energy loans left taxpayers in a roughly $2.2 billion hole.
Through the failed “Cash for Clunkers” program, Obamanomics wasted even more taxpayer money on junk cars with nothing to show for it. The program, which was supposed to jumpstart U.S. auto sales and remove gas-guzzling vehicles from our highways, actually decreased industry revenue by $3 billion.
Taxpayers lost $3 billion, making the program an all-time clunker itself.
Fortunately, brighter days are ahead. While President Obama financed insolvent green companies and put a dent in business revenues, the Trump boom has added trillions in value to U.S. markets in one year alone.
We can celebrate our larger paychecks and growing portfolios, but let’s not forget the failed policies of presidents past. The proper way to grow the economy is by shrinking government coffers and empowering working Americans. Each new tax-related wage hike or $1,000 bonus is just more proof in the pudding.
When we drain the Washington swamp, hardworking Americans can take care of the rest.
Shaun McCutcheon is an electrical engineer and successful plaintiff in the 2014 Supreme Court case McCutcheon vs. FEC.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.