Opinion: Trump’s economic hoaxes just collided with reality
By Dana Milbank Dana Milbank Op-ed columnist covering national politics Email Bio Follow Columnist March 5 Last August, President Trump went to Charleston, W.Va., for a “mission accomplished” moment.
Quarterly figures are volatile, but clearly, two years into the Trump presidency, both West Virginia and the coal industry remain in bad shape. Coal-plant closures nationwide reached a near-record in 2018, production was off sharply, and U.S. coal consumption hit a 40-year low. Jobs in coal have barely budged, from 51,000 at the end of 2016 to 52,700 today.
The main threat to coal, however, wasn’t a regulatory “war” but market trends favoring natural gas and renewables. Inevitably, reality overtook Trump’s hype. West Virginia’s coal industry has been a bit luckier because demand for its metallurgical coal has been healthier, but signs suggest that demand is now cooling. The state’s unemployment rate remains among the nation’s highest. Earlier GDP growth — the state’s 2.2 percent in 2017 matched the national average — reflected higher global prices for metallurgical coal and natural gas.
But last week, the government reported 2018 growth of 2.9 percent — despite the maximum stimulative benefit of Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut and a boost from massive deficit spending in an already expanding economy.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion | Democrats Hope Scandal Trumps Economic Growth in 2020Opinion: The Democrats plan to investigate their way to victory. Here’s why it won’t work, writes jasonrileywsj
Read more »
Apple CEO trumps Trump, reframing his name gameSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — To President Donald Trump, it was an awkward slip of the lip. To Apple CEO Tim Cook, it was an opportunity to poke some sly fun at a president who has often clashed with the...
Read more »
Awkward: How Trump’s past donations could haunt 2020 DemsDonations from Trump and his family add another wrinkle to a Democratic primary where candidates are trumpeting their distance from the president.
Read more »
Trump slams 'grandstanding' California governor on asylum shelters“I hope the grandstanding Governor of California is able to spend his very highly taxed citizens money on asylum holds more efficiently than money has been spent on the so-called Fast Train," Trumps said.
Read more »
Opinion | ‘Trump people’ are the ultimate victims of the president’s hoaxOpinion: 'Trump people' are the ultimate victims of the president’s hoax
Read more »
Opinion | Democrats Hope Scandal Trumps Economic Growth in 2020Opinion: The Democrats plan to investigate their way to victory. Here’s why it won’t work, writes jasonrileywsj
Read more »
Opinion | The jobs report shows why the White House should stop touting its ‘economic miracle’Don't celebrate the one-off good months if you're not willing to mourn the one-off bad months.
Read more »
Lynne Patton, a Trump housing official, says she has presidential OK for reality TVLynne Patton, a longtime Trump family associate who made a controversial appearance at last week's House hearing with Michael Cohen, says she has the President's blessing to follow in his footsteps as a reality TV star, even as she serves as a high-ranking federal housing official.
Read more »
Fact check: How the Trump administration is spinning economic growth numbersThe White House is spinning the numbers, focusing on a little-used measure to make the economy look a little more robust than it does measured the usual way.
Read more »
Trump’s Budget Sets High Expectations for Economic GrowthThe White House’s budget proposal assumes the U.S. economy will keep expanding as briskly as it did last year, when a tax cut and government spending increase boosted growth.
Read more »