Just the facts
Dear editor:
Mr. Noah Little, you lost me at the deficit ballooning from $17 trillion to $22 trillion by the end of the next fiscal year. President Obama left office after raising the deficit from $10.7 trillion to exactly $19.947 trillion. It was not $17 trillion when President Trump took office as you stated. The current deficit is $22.1 trillion. When President Obama left office the projected deficit for the foreseeable future was $850 billion annually due to his policies. It was already cooked into the books. Now if the left would get out of the way and let the American engine run you might be surprised what President Trump's pro-growth policies do to President Obama's legacy and deficit reduction. President Obama gave us a deficit of $9.2 trillion on his watch.
You asked why we support President Trump. I can tell you in three words: "because you don't." Were you aware that under President Trump the federal deficit between January's inauguration and July of his first year fell by $102 billion? His policies will work if you would get out of the way! How many years did it take for President Obama to get a 2.6 percent growth in GDP? Eight years! He never saw growth in the 3.0 range. President Trump has! President Obama's GDP average growth rate was 1.48 percent and the only president to never have a 3.0 percent rate during his presidency.
Stock buybacks help investors. Do you have a 401(k)? If you do not invest, I apologize. It is good for me! Take-home pay has risen by over 3 percent since President Trump took office. I call that giving employees a raise. This is a direct correlation with job creation and competition for employees created by a low unemployment rate and lack of workers in the job market. All of this due to tax rate cuts! Wages were flat the entire Obama presidency.
Noah, you got me on the prices of consumer goods rising 3 percent. I just thought we were paying the same price for a smaller package. The whole eight years President Obama was president they kept telling us there was no inflation. Ask all of the Social Security recipients about their cost of living increases for that period. Actually, they reduced the contents of every food item you purchased. Almost every purchased item is smaller in volume and weight. Like I said earlier, payroll increased 3 percent. A concept on which liberals should focus, is that usually when payroll for employees go up, so do the prices. They kind of work hand in hand. Most businesses have a profit margin that they must maintain to make payroll and all other operating costs. If, as an employer, I am paying more for payroll, I am charging more for my product. This is the reason most conservatives do not like forced increases in minimum wages. Liberals believe they are sticking it to the man! You are actually sticking it to yourself in increased consumer prices negating your pay raise.
Edward K. "Rick" Cherry
Hot Springs
Editorial on 03/25/2019