Can Trump Deliver on Economic Promises?

Today is the 139th day that the Republican Congress has not repealed nor replaced Obamacare.
In fact, Congress hasn’t moved forward in any substantive way on any of Pres. Trump’s ambitious economic agenda. There is no sign of tax reform. No sign of significant regulatory reform. No infrastructure spending bill. And of course, we still have Obamacare.
This raises an important question: can Trump deliver on his economic promises?
This isn’t to say the president hasn’t accomplished any of his goals. He’s done what he can to move his agenda forward through executive action. But substantial reforms will require the cooperation of Congress, and that seems pretty iffy at this point. Trump has found imposing his will in Washington D. C. isn’t quite the same as exerting control over the boardroom in Trump tower. The political process is a whole different animal. The president’s difficulties are exacerbated by constant media harping, a divided GOP, political pressures stemming from’Russian ties’ allegations, and some would argue his own Twitter account.
The stock market soared after Trump’s election. Most analysts say expectations of economic reform were big drivers of what many have dubbed the ‘Trump-bump.’ Investors expected a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, substantive tax reform, America-first trade policies, infrastructure stimulus, and an easing of regulatory the burden. But whether or not these broad policy changes will ever happen remains pretty iffy. In fact, economic and financial analysts Jim Rickards said implementing Trump’s Economic Plan is ‘Sheer Fantasy.’

This post was published at Schiffgold on JUNE 7, 2017.