Has Trump Set Up An Economic Boom?

We’ve seen already the news of the growing number of companies citing the corporate tax cut as the trigger to give bonuses, raises, and announcements of significant new domestic capital investment, which is ruining the Democrats’ day. Wait till they get a load of this news, from the Wall Street Journal this morning:

Less-Educated Workers See Biggest Weekly Pay Bumps

Americans with only a high-school diploma are seeing faster earnings growth than their highly educated counterparts, as employers in low-wage industries hungrily search for workers to fill job openings.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, median weekly earnings for workers 25 years and older with only a high-school diploma rose 2.3% from the same period a year earlier, new Labor Department data show. Meanwhile, pay for Americans carrying a bachelor’s degree edged up just 0.8% from the fourth quarter of 2016.

The trend has been ongoing, with year-over-year wage growth for high-school graduates outpacing wage growth for college graduates in each quarter of 2017.

That’s not how it’s supposed to happen! Wages are only supposed to rise if people attend liberal-dominated colleges! This is the worst possible news for Democrats.

Here’s some interesting political survey data to go with it. With all of Trump’s recent controversies, somehow his approval ratings are edging up. From Pew:

The public’s evaluation of the way Trump is handling his job as president is now roughly on par with views at the outset of his presidency, reflecting a modest rise in approval over the last month. Today, 37% of Americans approve of the job that Trump is doing, while 56% disapprove; last month, 32% approved while 63% disapproved.

And you know the “generic” ballot for the House of Representatives that show Republicans heading toward a wipeout in November? Guess what: the Democratic advantage has been cut almost in half. Wonder if the tax cut, whose popularity is steadily growing, might have anything to do with this? From the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll just out:

The poll has some potential good news for Republicans who are nervously eyeing their re-election prospects in November. The Democratic advantage on the generic ballot is down to six points, compared to 11 points last month. In December, 50 percent of Americans said they preferred a Democratic-controlled Congress after the 2018 election, while 39 percent favored one led by Republicans. Now, 49 percent say they want to see a Democratic Congress, while 43 percent pick the GOP to lead on Capitol Hill.

If the economy continues to grow solidly, with widely dispersed benefits, watch for Democratic panic and crazy rhetoric to grow along with it. Back in 1984, when Ronald Reagan campaigned on the slogan “It’s morning in America,” House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt said, “It’s getting closer and closer to midnight.” At the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco that summer (I attended as a reporter) Democrats decided not to play FDR’s favorite anthem, “Happy Days Are Here Again.” I’m guessing Democrats will adopt the same mood this year and again in 2020.

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