Right On: A tale of two presidents: Trump’s first year

January 24, 2018 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — With apologies to Charles Dickens, it was the worst of years; it was the best of years.

I refer of course to President Donald Trump’s first year in office. You either loved him or you hated him. Few were neutral.

For many of us, his thin-skinned tweets responding to the slightest perceived insult showed pettiness and a lack of political maturity. His often bombastic pronouncements even when partly true were tinged with braggadocio unbecoming a president. His outright lies were inexcusable.

All that and more were repeatedly condemned by the liberal media but not without spreading its own share of lies. Media lies were usually a result of failing to perform that most basic responsibility of a free press: independent fact-checking through multiple sources.

The liberal media pounced on any anti-Trump rumor from even the most unreliable sources. Worse, the media almost never retracted its own lies nor did it apologize when exposed. Here’s a recent example posted by Pulitzer Prize-winner Glenn Greenwald.

If you thought 2017 was the worst of years, 2018 isn’t likely to be much better.

While Trump’s antics drew attention and media fireworks, real progress was made in accomplishing a conservative agenda. Indeed, it was the best of years when compared with decades past.

Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and nominated four times as many judges to appellate courts as Barack Obama did his first year. He recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, withdrew the country from the Paris climate accord and rolled back the mandate forcing Catholic nuns and others to provide employees with contraceptives.

Judges who read the law, not the political tea leaves, may be his most lasting impact.

On the economic front, Trump rescinded a number of regulations with marginal benefits that hamstring business and cost the economy billions of dollars per year in compliance costs. With eight years of regulatory overreach disappearing, our economy started powering ahead last spring.

The Obama administration created a runaway regulatory state, stifling economic growth in the process. The Federal Register publishes new and proposed rules and regulations. In 2016 it totaled 95,894 pages, the highest level in its history and 19 percent higher than the previous year’s 80,260 pages.

Add to this the fact that Obama’s administrators, required to perform cost-benefit analyses on proposed regulations, consistently and often egregiously overestimated benefits and underestimated costs. Career bureaucrats know little about business costs.

Unraveling Obama’s massive over-the-top regulations didn’t happen by accident. Within 10 days of taking office, Trump directed federal agencies to reduce regulatory burdens by eliminating two existing regulations for each new one issued.

Agencies are now expected to regulate only when explicitly authorized by law. The Trump administration is fully complying with laws requiring public comment prior to issuing rules and regulations, a breath of fresh air after Obama’s eight years.

Little known but at the center of deregulation is Neomi Rao, Trump’s chief at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. All proposed regulations must cross her desk before approval.

She’s the one ensuring two regulations are rescinded for every new one. I’m happy to report she’s exceeding her goal: the Federal Register page count was down 35 percent in 2017.

Every Obama rule and regulation was intended to address a perceived or possible problem. As regulations are rescinded, liberal advocates will proclaim the end of Western civilization is near at hand. And their media water carriers will provide headlines amplifying impending doom.

We’ll see how many rescinded regulations actually result in major problems. Don’t hold your breath waiting for the world to end.

Trump’s first year will most likely be remembered for the first major tax reform in more than 30 years. Workers across the country can look forward to bigger paychecks in coming weeks and the stock market continues to reach new highs.

Walmart and Target responded with 10 percent increases in starting pay. Walmart is handing out bonuses of up to $1,000 based on seniority.

Apple announced that it is bringing back most of its overseas cash and will pay a tax bill of $38 billion in the process. It also announced plans to build a new campus, add 20,000 U.S. jobs, invest $30 billion in new capital spending and give each of its 123,000 employees a $2,500 bonus.

Over 200 companies have announced similar actions albeit on a smaller scale and the ball is just starting to roll. Holiday sales boomed, consumer confidence is at a 17-year high and unemployment is at a 17-year low.

The media will complain loudly when some companies use tax relief to increase dividends and stock buybacks. But competition will force most companies to make productivity-increasing investments and to lower domestic prices while leveling the playing field vis-à-vis their international competitors.

Liberals find themselves in the unenviable position of being “economy deniers.” Echoing Groucho Marx, Democratic politicians are saying, “Who are you going to believe, me or the increase in your take-home pay?”

The economy grew at a 2.1 percent annual rate over Obama’s eight years. In 2016, liberal economist Paul Krugman in the New York Times endorsed the Congressional Budget Office’s even lower forecast of 1.5 percent growth as the standard by which Hillary Clinton’s then-expected presidency should be judged.

Growth has averaged well over 3 percent in Trump’s first three quarters, all before the recent tax reform. The best is yet to come.

Trump’s personality and style have made it the worst of years. But for conservatives who prize results, it was the best of years.

Howard Sierer is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: hsierer@stgeorgeutah.com

Twitter: @STGnews