Feb. 20, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement commenting on the newly released Economic Report of the President:

“The U.S. economy for the past three years under President Donald Trump has surged well past all historical levels of employment as a direct result of lower taxes, reduced regulatory burdens, the encouragement of energy innovation, and the America first trade policy with new reciprocal trade deals. While economists predicted that the labor force could not grow based on the aging out of Baby Boomers, the Trump economy have shown a 1.6 percent increase in the labor participation rate for 25-54-year-olds with millions of prime working age Americans entering the workforce who had previously been on the sidelines. It is this renewed hope of a better future not only for themselves but for their children that is restoring Americans’ positive outlook for the future. The just released Economic Report of the President provides hundreds of metrics explaining the current economic boom and challenges for the future. For me our prosperity comes down to two basic factors: 1) those who want a job can get a job; and 2) wages are rising, thanks to competition for workers, disproportionately benefitting those at the bottom end of the wage scale.

“There are problems that still need to be solved. While people with disabilities have a lower unemployment rate than before, many are trapped in poverty due to income caps imposed on disability benefits.

“Another challenge, that the Council of Economic Advisors wisely dedicated a full chapter to, is the economic impacts of the opioid crisis in America for the first time in the report’s history. On the labor front alone, many economists believe that hundreds of thousands of prime working age males are on the sidelines due to addiction. A 2017 survey of those prime working age males not in the labor force showed more than the double the rate of pain medication consumption within a 24-hour period as those in labor force.

“But even with these headwinds, the key takeaway from the 2020 Economic Report is the Trump economy is robust and the prospects for continued growth remain strong as Obama’s restrictive tax, regulatory, and trade regime continue to be dismantled.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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