One of the ironies of trade protectionism is that, with tariffs and import quotas, we do to ourselves in times of peace what foreign nations do to us with blockades to keep imports from entering our country in times of war.
The Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress have passed one of the best pro-growth tax bills ever. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ranks in the all-time hall of fame along with former President Reagan's 1981 and 1986 tax acts, and former President Kennedy's posthumous tax cuts in 1964. The announcements by Apple, FedEx, AT&T, Fiat Chrysler and over 300 companies with multibillion dollar investments in the United States are early lead indicators of good things to come from the tax-rate cuts.
"America is open for business, and we are competitive once again." That was just one of the key lines in President Trump's highly successful speech in Davos, Switzerland, last week.
There were two big money-and-politics stories in the first week of the new year: The Dow Jones industrial average soared 577 points, and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon ended his political career.
With President Trump's signing of the big tax cut bill, the Republican Party snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Suddenly, the political and economic landscapes have changed. The GOP has turned the tables on the Democrats.
Republicans are supposed to be the party that cuts the job-killing capital gains tax, not raises it. But because of a quirk in the Senate-passed tax bill, the tax on capital gains may go up -- and for some types of long-held assets, fairly substantially.
Warts and all, if I were a voting member of Congress, I would certainly cast a yea for the tax-cut plans passed by the Senate and House that are headed for conference (to work out minor differences) in the weeks ahead.
As the House and Senate work their way through the tax cut and reform effort, let me make one thing clear: Both plans are pro-growth, with the economic power coming from the business side. And where it comes from the personal side, there will be very little growth. That was always been the bet.
President Trump's new chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Kevin Hassett, walked into the lion's den last week with his first official speech. He used the moment to pound the leftist Tax Policy Center. It was a wonderful sight.
Much as he did in his command performance before the United Nations, when he took back control of U.S. foreign policy, President Donald Trump has seized and energized the tax cut issue. Almost daily, he is pounding away on the themes of faster economic growth and more take-home pay, arguing that his plan will make America's economy great again.
Financial markets and most media pundits are missing the new writing on the wall. For a variety of reasons surrounding shrewd moves by President Trump, the chances for significant tax cuts in the next 10 weeks have risen sharply.
President Donald Trump's pledge to "Make America Great Again" requires nothing less than reigniting economic growth and prosperity. Wealth creation is essential. As Congress pivots to tax reform -- which is crucial to the wealth creation -- the president could take matters into his own hands by issuing an executive order to index capital gains for inflation.
I participated in perhaps a bit of radio history last week when Steve Forbes and Art Laffer joined me on my syndicated radio show. It may have been the first time these supply-side economics giants were ever together over the airwaves.
What is the Fourth of July? It's a wonderful time. We're outdoors. We're with family and friends. We're playing golf or fishing. There are barbecues and baseball games and fireworks and all that good stuff.
And beneath it all, supporting it all, there is freedom. Freedom. The Fourth of July is about freedom, if nothing else. America's freedom, of course. But a freedom that extends to all people. One that leads to greatness and prosperity. A freedom that has become the backbone of the world.
Now that former FBI Director James Comey's hearing is complete, it's time for everybody to roll up their sleeves and go back to work on returning the country to prosperity. The most populist policy would be to restore a long-lasting deeply rooted prosperity for every single American.
If the smart money folks on Wall Street think a special counsel to oversee the Russian probes spells defeat for business tax cuts, they're leaning well over their skis.
"Drain the swamp." It was one of President Trump's most powerful messages on the way to victory. Shake up Washington, D.C. Break a few eggs to create a new omelet. Overturn the establishment.
After the breakdown of health care reform, both President Trump and the Republican Congress need a W -- a win.
The good should never be the evil of the perfect. House Speaker Paul Ryan's health care bill is a very good first step. Massive repeal of Obamacare tax hikes will be great for the economy. Getting rid of the Affordable Care Act mandates will be great for health care. Private-sector competition and choice are always better than government-run anything. The Republican Party has to practice bipartisanship within itself.
The mark of great presidents is optimism -- visionary optimism and transformational optimism. During Tuesday night's remarkable speech before Congress, President Donald Trump was brimming with optimism from start to end. My guess is that his marvelous speech will imbue and inspire new optimism and confidence throughout the entire country.
