“MAGAnomics” is already fueling a second Trump economic boom.
President-elect Donald Trump’s first term was defined by a historic period of economic growth prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturing jobs came flooding back to the United States, the stock market climbed to record highs, wages soared, and various minority groups, including Blacks and Hispanic Americans, saw record-low unemployment.
Biden’s tenure, meanwhile, was defined by soaring inflation and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The 20 percent rise in hourly pay since the pandemic has been entirely erased by 30 percent increases in rent prices, 30 percent increases for a gallon of gas, and roughly 28 percent increases in the cost of electricity.
Trump’s central campaign promise in 2024 was to bring back the growth seen during his first term – not just through good policy, but through reviving the American people’s faith in themselves and their country. Even before Trump has officially taken office for the second time, he already seems to be fulfilling that promise.
Following Trump’s victory on November 5, the stock market jolted higher as investors celebrated the news. The S&P 500 rose 2.5 percent, its best day in nearly two years, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 3.6 percent and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 3 percent. These gains reflected firm confidence in Trump’s proposals to fuel new investment and economic growth.
“Most investors are optimistic as expensive equity prices indicate,” said billionaire investor Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, an alternative investment company. “People are optimistic, unworried, and anticipate positive outcomes.”
Robinhood’s chief brokerage officer, Steve Quirk, also said trading volumes on its platform “exploded” on election night. Brokerages preferred by retail clients and institutional powerhouses, including JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, noted similar trends.
“These are not short-lived sentiments,” retired Italian economics professor Gianbattista Aicardo told me. “The developments are impacting market asset performance in the long-term, creating a solid surge of optimism, not just a temporary wave.”
Investor confidence proved well-placed just over a month later when SoftBank Group announced plans to invest at least $100 billion in the United States over the next four years. According to The Wall Street Journal, SoftBank “estimates that its U.S.-based investments will create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.”
Other industry leaders are also increasing their investment in the United States. Enbridge Inc., a Canadian pipeline and energy company, has said it sees an opportunity to move “several hundred thousand” more barrels of oil per day within the U.S. over the next two to three years. The firm is also planning for an expansion of its U.S. operations to expand the transport of Canadian crude oil, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.
Meanwhile, Dubai-based developer DAMAC Properties has said it will invest at least $20 billion “over a very short period of time” in the U.S., primarily in data centers in the middle of the country – the region most affected by offshoring and job losses from globalist policies.
This sudden surge in investment is not the result of chance, professor Aicardo told me. “Unlike his predecessor, President Trump offers what businesses desire: tax cuts and deregulation.” The “pro-business mindset” that characterizes Trump’s industrial policies, Aicardo said, is “even more crucial for durable growth and market optimism.”
Other economists and fund managers interviewed for this column are confident that the industrial growth due to Trump’s plan will boost the value of American companies, from mining to steel plants and heavy machinery. Technical education and healthcare companies also stand to make gains. Overall, economic growth will help stabilize the housing market and reinforce consumer optimism.
Trump’s commitment to cryptocurrency has led to soaring confidence in that burgeoning market as well, with the price of Bitcoin surpassing $100,000 for the first time on December 5. Kris Marszalek, CEO of crypto exchange Crypto.com, has said that he looks forward to working with Trump to make the United States “a global leader in digital assets and innovation.”
But the resurgent optimism following Trump’s victory isn’t just due to conventional pro-growth economic policies. Trump has also displayed outside-the-box thinking like his proposal to build “Freedom Cities,” aiming to revolutionize American infrastructure and urban development. The plan involves constructing up to ten new cities on undeveloped federal land, utilizing advanced technologies to enhance living standards and stimulate economic growth.
“Freedom Cities will reopen the frontier, reignite American imagination, and give hundreds of thousands of people a new shot at homeownership and, in fact, the American Dream,” Trump has said.
President Trump’s industrial policies, which promote American manufacturing, create jobs, foster vocational education, and encourage innovation, will be the cornerstone of lasting American prosperity.
Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.
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