Trump didn't get his 3%-plus economic growth for 2017, after all

Los Angeles Times
January 26, 2018
By Michael Hiltzik

...Trump's economic policy is built around the expectation of sustained growth better than 3%. Indeed, that's the bedrock of Republican economic policy — economists are almost unanimous in saying that the tax cuts enacted by the GOP-controlled Congress and signed by Trump in December as his only concrete economic policy "win" of the year will have to spur rapid growth if they aren't to open a gaping hole in the federal deficit.

The truth is that presidents seldom have as much influence over economic cycles as they think, or wish. The U.S. stock market has been strong, but so have the markets in other developed countries. The same goes for GDP. Trump hasn't actually enacted much in the way of policy that would influence economic growth one way or another, though some recent initiatives, such as placing tariffs on foreign solar panels, might actually suppress U.S. growth. His economic team in Davos communicated a totally confused message on the U.S. dollar — Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at first said the U.S. favored a weak dollar (which suppresses imports and spurs exports, but also could ignite domestic inflation), then walked back his remarks as Trump expressed support for a strong dollar. The ultimate goal of 3%-plus economic growth? It would be a grand achievement if it happens. But it's not the way to bet.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-gdp-growth-20180126-story.html


The ticking time bomb of large deficits was specifically inserted in the US economy by the GOP to dismantle the federal government.