Impeachment In a Time of Prosperity

The Democrats insist that President Trump is a threat to the republic, although no one can explain why. Meanwhile, their mantra has gone from “It’s the economy, stupid” to “Economy? What’s that?”

The Labor Department issued its November jobs report this morning, and it is spectacular. CNBC reports:

The jobs market turned in a stellar performance in November, with nonfarm payrolls surging by 266,000 and the unemployment rate falling to 3.5%, according to Labor Department numbers released Friday.

Those totals easily beat the Wall Street consensus. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for solid job growth of 187,000 and saw the unemployment rate holding steady from October’s 3.6%.
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Average hourly earnings rose by 3.1% from a year ago, while the average workweek held steady at 34.4 hours.
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In addition to the robust November gains, revisions brought up totals from the two previous months. September’s estimate went up 13,000 to 193,000 and the initial October count increased by 28,000 to 156,000. …

“This is a blowout number and the U.S. economy continues to be all about the jobs,” Tony Bedikian, head of global markets for Citizens Bank said in a note. “The unemployment rate is at a 50-year low and wages are increasing.
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“Today’s job report, more than any other report in recent months, squashed any lingering concerns about an imminent recession in the US economy,” said Gad Levanon, head of the Conference Board’s Labor Market Institute. “Employment growth also shows no signs of slowing further despite the historically low unemployment rate.”

The Democrats have mostly avoided talking about the Trump boom, while hoping for a recession to give them something to run on next year. A recession is still possible, of course, but there is no obvious end to the economy’s strong run in sight. The main variable on the horizon, I think, is the potential for a trade deal with China, which would boost the economy, not to mention the stock markets.

So it seems likely that the Democrats will have to keep talking about Ukraine, which is a poor substitute for issues the voters actually care about.

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