Trump presidency hurts economic growth

I disagree with the general sentiment that the Trump Administration is good for economic growth. While certain economic policies might be mildly positive, these are overwhelmed by negative economic and social policies, and by Trump’s disdain for democracy. The Wall Street Journal’s survey of economists neatly sums up the conventional wisdom, concluding that the long-term growth rate of the economy could increase modestly –from 2% to 2.3%– if all of Trump’s agenda were implemented. The policies they focus on include infrastructure spending, rollback of regulations, and tax cuts. Even if we accept that these are the right things to consider, there are problems with the analysis: Infrastructure spending, which if done right could provide the biggest boost, is unlikely to be enacted Rollback of regulations may speed growth, but eliminating environmental regulations –as Trump has done– causes negative impacts on the environment that GDP doesn’t measure But beyond this, we need to consider a variety of growth killers: Dismantling Obamacare’s progress on universal coverage leads us back to “job lock” –where employees fear leaving their positions to start new businesses because they are worried about whether they or their dependents will be able to get insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions. I started my business in 2001, well before Obamacare. When prospective entrepreneurs called me for ad...
Source: Health Business Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Economics Policy and politics Source Type: blogs