Trump Was Right to Highlight Economic Successes

COMMENTARY Jobs and Labor

Trump Was Right to Highlight Economic Successes

Feb 7, 2019 1 min read
COMMENTARY BY
Genevieve Wood

Counselor and Spokesperson, Donor Relations

Genevieve Wood is a leading voice for The Heritage Foundation as a counselor and spokesperson.
President Donald Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence applaud during the State of the Union address. Pool / Pool/Getty Images

Key Takeaways

America is better off now than it was two years ago and Trump was right to highlight those successes.

The country’s unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969 and the lowest in 65 years for women.

It’s not just jobs, workers are also keeping more of the money they earn.

There are some facts that are indeed facts, regardless of partisan affiliation or ideology. And one example is that America is better off now than it was two years ago and Trump was right to highlight those successes.

The country’s unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969 and the lowest in 65 years for women. No one has been left behind: Unemployment among African Americans, at 5.9 percent in May, is the lowest ever recorded. There are now more job openings in America than there are unemployed people.

But it’s not just jobs, workers are also keeping more of the money they earn. Americans in every congressional district in the country will pay less in taxes when they file their returns this year thanks to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Also, despite the administration’s advocacy in some cases for more protectionist trade policies, its efforts to roll back burdensome regulations contributed to the U.S. moving up six points, to 12th place, in the 2019 Index of Economic Freedom. That’s the highest the nation has ranked since 2011.

This piece originally appeared in NBC News

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