RUTHFULLY YOURS

In spite of the nasty negative press, the Democrats and the RINOs, President Trump’s achievements are truly remarkable.

Years from now, history will note a major event that occurred in 2016, an event that significantly altered the course of the country and the world. At the time, the U.S. was in the last year of a 10-year economic slump. It was, in fact, the only 10-year period in history where the economy did not achieve 3 percent annual growth in any year.

From 2007 to 2016 economic growth averaged about 2 percent. That subpar growth rate led to fewer opportunities for Americans. That led to poor employment prospects and stagnant wages. Many Americans had no opportunity. That led to resentment.

Wary citizens were beginning to reject capitalism in favor of socialism. The country was headed in an un-American direction.

On the world stage, a number of threats existed. There were numerous and long-term problems in the Middle East.  Russia and China were going on offense, and North Korea was getting serious about displaying their strength. As for America’s foreign policy, it was as if someone gave the “stand down” order to every conflict, which resulted in the U.S. taking very soft, and ultimately weak, positions.

Many Americans began to place security above freedom. They wanted the government to pay for their health care, their higher education, their basic income, and even their housing. Of course, the government gets the money by taxing income earners.

Had the election in 2016 gone differently, spend-and-tax government actions would have been implemented. Those actions permanently slow economic growth. The reason is very simple.

All income transfer programs take income away from people who earned it and give it to people who, for whatever reason, have not earned it. That means income earners have less incentive to earn and income receivers have no incentive to earn.

Both groups will contribute less and that will slow economic growth. The spend-and-tax philosophy, as well as the increased social responsibility direction, needed to be changed.

So Donald Trump came along. He was a very, very successful businessperson and TV personality. Although elected president, he was not a politician. But Trump’s message was welcomed by Americans. He told people to look in the mirror. He asked them to see where they were and what they had.

He then asked, “What do you have to lose?” Many Americans saw they had little to show for the last 10 years. For those who were very disappointed with what they had, he promised he would “Make America Great Again.”

He emphasized being great, winning, and returning to prosperity. His vision was always clear. Unfortunately, his unpolished and politically incorrect communication skills were not as clear, which allowed the strong Trump opposition to make things extremely difficult for the president.

So far, in his first term, he has endured a two-year special prosecutor investigation that concluded he did nothing wrong in Russia and wasn’t guilty of anything. Then he was impeached, also for doing nothing wrong.

During that same period, he tried to get economic growth to increase. But the Federal Reserve raised interest rates eight times from the end of 2016 to the end of 2018, thereby stifling growth.

In spite of that, he got economic activity to increase significantly.  That resulted in record-low unemployment, long with low inflation and much more opportunity for every American.

On foreign policy, Trump takes a much tougher stance. His aggressive “peace through strength” philosophy is working. Although there is risk when he gets tough with things like tariffs, sanctions and military actions, the results so far have been very positive. When imposed, countries have responded in a manner favorable to the U.S.

History will note that Donald Trump was remarkable. In spite of more than 90 percent of media coverage of him being negative, in spite of every Democrat consistently opposing anything he wants to do, and in spite of some members of his own party being against him, he has managed to change the direction of the country.

He is moving toward more individual freedom, more individual responsibility, lower rates of taxation, and a smaller role for government. Those are the principles that allowed our country’s economy to increase from birth to the largest, most prosperous in the world in less than 150 years.

Today he sits with the weight of the world on his shoulders.  The nation’s personal health and economic well-being are at risk.  The president will soon have an extremely difficult decision to make regarding when the economy should reopen.  He said, “I have to make the biggest decision of my life. I hope to God I make the right one.”

A remarkable person is likely to make a remarkable decision.