Like that ear-crushing, obnoxious long version of “In a gadda da vida“, the Obama years were too long for those of us who live in the real world.
President Obama couldn’t help it, but he left us another one of his signature less than 2% GDP quarters:
The U.S. economy’s expansion slowed in the fourth quarter, and annual growth failed to reach 3% for an 11th straight year, reflecting the huge hurdles the Trump administration faces in trying to speed up a 7½-year-old expansion.
The article points out that a “wider trade deficit” was the biggest problem. It dragged the U.S. economy down, according to the experts. Wonder when President Trump pivots from Mexico’s US$ 50 billion deficit to the China’s really big one?
What does this mean now that President Obama is gone and President Trump now has to act?
Politically, it will certainly shut down all those Democrats who kept telling us that President Trump got an economic gift from Obama. Wonder if those glowing posts about the economy will now be amended? Will we hear that President Obama never saw the upper side of a 3% GDP?
President Trump will be under more pressure to energize the U.S. economy. He will recall President Reagan’s efforts from 1981. However, President Reagan did not have the crushing debt (US$ 20 trillion) that President Trump will have to take into consideration.
My hope is that the deficit hawks, of which I am a proud member, will understand that something must be done to pump the GDP into the 5-7% range as soon as possible. It is the only then that we will be able to put people back to work and pay down the debt.
In the meantime, let’s remember all those posts and articles about the great economy that President Obama left President Trump. It was good while it lasted!
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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