The Trump Boom Lifted Black Americans

Before the pandemic, the economy grew in ways that mostly benefited low-income and middle-class households

By Jason L. Riley. Excerpts:

"One of the most underreported stories of the Trump presidency is the extent to which black economic fortunes improved."

"black economic advancement occurred to an extent unseen not only under Barack Obama but going back several generations—until the pandemic shutdowns brought progress to a halt."

"Over the first three years of Mr. Trump’s presidency, blacks (and Hispanics) experienced record-low rates of unemployment and poverty, while wages for workers at the bottom of the income scale rose faster than they did for management."

"financial situation of millions of working-class black Americans improved significantly under Mr. Trump’s policies."  

"simply noting that unemployment already was falling, and incomes already rising, when Mr. Trump took office obscures the significance of what happened over the next three years. These trends not only continued but accelerated"

"During Mr. Obama’s final year in office, 2016, economic growth slipped to 1.6% from 3.1% in 2015. The rate at which the economy was expanding declined by almost half over a single year. Mr. Trump inherited a U.S. economy that was slowing down"

"For 2017, 2018 and 2019, the Fed had projected that unemployment would hover between 4.4% and 4.9% and wouldn’t fall below 4.1%, and that economic growth would remain between 1.7% and 2.2%.

Instead job growth accelerated, unemployment kept falling, and economic growth improved."

"He nominated Kevin Hassett, who had published research showing how corporate taxes depress wages for manufacturing workers, to lead the Council of Economic Advisers."

"Along with the push for tax reform, the administration reduced regulations that it argued were weighing on economic growth."

"The top corporate rate fell to 21% from 35%"

"Taxes on wages and investment also fell."

"By the end of January 2018, more than 260 businesses—including major employers such as Walmart, FedEx, and 3M—had announced wage and salary increases, bonuses, and 401(k) match increases going to at least three million workers because of the new law."

"Gross domestic product, which had grown only 1.6% in 2016, climbed 2.2% in 2017 and 2.9% in 2018."

"gross private domestic investment . . . declined by 1.3% in 2016, but grew by 4.8% in 2017 and 6% in 2018."

"The economy grew in ways that mostly benefited low-income and middle-class households"

"Between 2017 and 2019, median household incomes grew by 15.4% among blacks and only 11.5% among whites."

"pay for those at the lower end of the wage distribution rising at nearly double the rate of pay for those at the upper end."

"the “trend began in 2018”—the first year that the corporate tax cuts were in effect"

"during the first 11 quarters of the Trump presidency, wages for workers at the bottom rose more than twice as fast as during Mr. Obama’s second term"

"Giving Mr. Obama most of the credit for the better economic outcomes that occurred after he left office is a stretch."

"The story of black economic advancement in the Trump years deserves wider notice."

"Racial inequality narrowed on Mr. Trump’s watch"