Of Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) avowed it must suck to be that dumb, because it is D-U-M-B to be the party pooper in a boom economy. As the good economic news keeps mounting, Americans keep jumping off the impeachment bandwagon. In fact, if Pelosi had done more research, she would’ve discouraged her party’s tomfoolery.
History shows a bad economy on top of a crime (Watergate break-in) forced Richard Nixon to resign, but a good economy on top of a crime (perjury) allowed Bill Clinton to remain. Ergo, a good economy on top of no crime dooms her impeachment plans, which are so absurd Bill Clinton called President Trump to lend moral support (it’s the economy, Donald, and my portfolio is crushing it!).
The polls suggest hers is a dumb endeavor. In Gallup’s latest, Trump’s unfavorable numbers (51%) are now lower than two years ago (60%), and his favorable numbers are 10 points higher, because his favorable rating reflects the approval numbers for “his” economy. As his favorable numbers climb, voter support for impeachment drops. As my late father observed, economics make politics.
In Quinnipiac’s latest, 73% of registered voters described the economy as good or excellent: optimism supported by forward-looking stock indices that reach new highs day after day. In 2019 alone, the Dow has risen 4,000 points to 28,455: that’s a lot of 401K Christmas cheer for 55 million voters. And if Pelosi has forgotten the seventies, money managers have not: after Nixon’s resignation, markets tanked and six years of economic misery began. Someone make dumb Nancy stop!
The 2019 housing numbers prove Trump did what Obama could not: fix the housing crisis. Annualized housing starts (1,365,000) are the highest since 2007, when the housing bubble burst. Potential existing-home sales (1.49 million) are the highest since 2004, the housing bubble’s peak. Household formations increased 151,000 and house-buying power rose 18.7 percent over 2018, and home-owner tenure in existing homes (11 years) set a new record. Because incomes are up and interest rates are down, millennials are stampeding into home ownership and lower-income families are not being forced out of their homes by lenders.
The numbers indicate income inequality is not all that. To wit, there were 485,000 new Hispanic household formations in 2018 (32.4% of the nation’s total) – because minority wage growth and employment rates are the best on record. The BLS reported 266,000 new non-farm jobs in November, and revised October’s new jobs up 156,000. Hourly earnings climbed 3.1 over last year, and 3.5% unemployment is the lowest since 1969. I don’t know why Democrats persist with the Scrooge talk, because the BLS reports wage growth for workers has surpassed that of their bosses!
Furthermore, this economic boom will get a boost in 2020 from Trump’s trade deals. The USMCA trade deal will add 200,000 new US jobs and protect US auto wages (foreign subcontractors must pay workers $16.00 per hour minimum). As part of US-China Phase I, China must increase US imports $200 billion over the next two years, and the US will reduce tariffs on many Chinese imports; thereby lowering costs to businesses and consumers.
I have this advice for Pelosi: get out in front of Republicans on the middle-class tax cut that is NOT needed today. The Trump boom has already boosted average taxable income $5,000 and increased retirement nest eggs by 50%. A Centrist should focus on business de-regulation and pro-America trade deals to maintain economic growth – and preserve higher tax revenues to reduce the deficit. As a political matter, this will appeal to older Americans (who actually vote). It’s the wise move, assuming Pelosi has a lick of sense.
