Trump Defies Odds With ‘Miraculous’ Economic Growth

Contrary to the forecast of nearly every economist, GDP grew at a 3.2% rate in the first quarter of this year.

The consensus view was that first quarter growth would be about 2.3%. Even with the first quarter number, most economists believe that growth for the entire year 2019 will be less than the 2.9% growth recorded last year.

For the past four years, the first quarter of the year was the slowest growth quarter. It is likely that the economy could see 4% or more growth in the second and/or third quarters of this year. That means for the first time since 2005, annual economic growth will exceed 3%.

Fortunately, the Trump administration has put growth as the number one economic policy goal. This contrasts with the prior administration. The Obama administration’s top economic goal was to cure perceived social injustices. However, each time President Barack Obama took a social injustice corrective action, burdens were placed on economic growth.

Obama perceived it was an injustice that all Americans did not have health insurance. He convinced Congress to pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which ended up benefiting 6% of the population or about 20 million people. The ACA raised the portion of the population with health insurance from 85% of Americans to 91%.