Tag Archives: Sahara Desert

Killing A Growing Economy One Law At A Time

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On January 4th, Investor’s Business Daily reported:

Since President Donald Trump took office nearly two years ago, some 4.8 million new payroll jobs have been created. That’s more than four times as many as created during President Obama’s first four years.

Hold on, you say, didn’t the unemployment rate jump from 3.7% to 3.9%? It did. Yes, but not because more people were unemployed, but because more people entered the labor force, seeking opportunities that didn’t exist before.

It’s actually a bullish sign. Some 419,000 people entered the workforce during the month, driving the labor force participation rate to 63.1%, up from 62.7% a year ago. That bellwether employment figure declined pretty consistently during the job-poor Obama years, from 65.7% when Obama entered office to 62.9% when he left. It stabilized under Trump. Last month’s 63.1% tied for the highest point since September 2013.

This rapidly improving economy is the result of President Trump’s deregulation and tax cuts. Cutting the corporate taxes and regulations resulted in manufacturing jobs returning to America (after President Obama told us they were never coming back). So why is the Democrat House of Representatives trying to undo this progress?

The Hill reported yesterday:

Rep. John Yarmuth, the new House Budget chairman, said his chamber’s budget blueprint will aim to claw back lost revenue by boosting the corporate tax rate from its current 21 percent to as high as 28 percent, with rate increases also possible for high-earning individuals.

The Kentucky Democrat said Friday he wants to mark up a fiscal 2020 budget resolution, which will outline his party’s vision for taxes and spending over the next decade, in time to reach the House floor in early April. Yarmuth said Democratic leaders have told him they want to be ready so they can set the procedural stage for passage of all 12 appropriations bills before the August recess.

Are they simply economically badly informed or is there another motive? Well first I would like to mention my favorite Milton Friedman quote, “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.” I think there are two forces at work here–first of all the Democrats love taxes. They believe that the more of everyone else’s money they have to spend, the more powerful they are. Second of all, Democrats with brains realize that increasing taxes will slow economic growth. Slowing the Trump economy is the only chance the Democrats have of taking the presidency in 2020. That is the plan. Hopefully the Senate will not pass the House of Representative’s budget plans. They will be harmful to average Americans. President Trump has helped average Americans economically. President Obama helped Wall Street but ignored Main Street. The House Democrats seem determined to go back to that model which ignored average Americans.

What Happens When Expectations Are Raised Too High?

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The Daily Caller posted an article today that illustrates the problem with teaching children to expect things they didn’t earn.

The article reports:

Nearly half of all America’s college students have deluded themselves into believing that the federal government will graciously forgive their student loans despite the fact that the federal government forgives only a very low percentage of student loans.

LendEDU, a student loan marketplace website, documented this startling disparity between belief and reality in a nationwide survey of 500 students currently attending America’s colleges and universities, reports the New York Post.

The survey shows that 49.8 percent of the students surveyed think they will be eligible for federal student loan forgiveness.

In reality, only about 10 percent of all college graduates will ever see any portion of their student loans forgiven under current loan forgiveness law.

Under President Obama, the government took over the student loan program in 2010.

Yesterday Fox Business reported:

According to the New York Federal Reserve, U.S. student loan debt has soared to $1.3 trillion becoming the second highest consumer debt category, more than both credit cards and auto loans.

In an exclusive interview with FOX Business’ Liz Claman, Washington College President and former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair Sheila Bair said the student loan debt crisis could spark next financial crisis, since it is a “tremendous drag” on the U.S. economy.

During the financial crisis of 2008–09, excessive mortgage debt collapsed consumer spending as more families opted to pay off debt. Bair said the same dynamic could be seen if the student debt bubble bursts.

When the housing bubble burst, there were assets that could be sold (although at a loss). There will be no assets to sell if the student debt bubble bursts–a lot of the people with the debt are living in their parent’s basements.

The Daily Caller reports:

Of the $1.31 trillion in outstanding student debt, some $31 billion, is “seriously delinquent,” meaning the debtors are at least 90 days past their payment dates.

Well known economist Milton Friedman is credited with saying, “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.” I think it’s time to get the government out of the student loan business and give that business to the banks. Banks are better judges of how to lend money and how to get paid back. I have a strong suspicion that the taxpayers may get stuck holding the bag on this one.