If wishing for a recession could make it so, then the economy would be headed over a steep cliff. The hate-Trump left’s drumbeat for a hoped-for R word has been growing louder and more persistent with every passing day.
They point to polls of economists predicting a 2020 recession and never mind that this is the same crowd of academics who told us that Trump election would cause a “global economic calamity.”
These are the people who said the economy was overdue for a recession three years ago.
These are the very same prophets who said the Trump tax cut wouldn’t work to create jobs and higher wages.
These were the academic whiz kids who said the economy couldn’t grow faster than 2 percent (“the new normal”) and who said that manufacturing and mining jobs weren’t coming back.
Taking these people’s financial advice would be like going back to a surgeon who amputated the wrong foot.
Could a recession happen in 2020? Sure. The trade war with China has knocked down growth, the global economy is anemic, and the Fed keeps “yinging” when it should be “yanging.”
But all of this pessimism from Trump’s political enemies — especially in the media — has grown tiresome and cynical. The good news of the economy keeps rolling in — obliterating the nattering nabobs of negativity.
Just this week, new polls have found that Americans’ assessment of economic and financial conditions climbed to the highest level in almost 19 years. Voters now rate the job market as very healthy. Consumers are spending like it’s Christmas in July and August. Retailers report record earnings.
The left’s criticism of Trump’s economic policies might have some legitimacy if they had any — a single one — ideas on how to boost growth. The latest policy prescription is the more than $10 trillion Green New Deal, which aims to wipe out mining, oil, gas, and most auto and airplane jobs across America.
It’s the left’s new addition by subtraction. Meanwhile, almost every Democrat has a plan to sock it to the rich with higher taxes. Extracting more money from employers is the magic wand to getting employers to hire more workers. And by the way, if a recession is really right around the corner, what kind of nutcase economic model concludes it’s time to raise taxes?
The real story of the Trump economy is one of widespread prosperity. We have record wealth of more than $100 trillion; record numbers of people working; record high wages (the average U.S. wage is now $27 an hour, which is wildly rich in most nations); and the largest number of surplus jobs in the history of America.
All that could end the boom time is the prospect of a President Warren, Sanders, Biden or Harris.
Stephen Moore served as a senior economic adviser to Donald Trump. He is the coauthor of “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.” He is also an economic consultant for FreedomWorks.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.