To read my op-ed on this topic, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/hrs8qzf.
Today, Real Clear Politics posted an op-ed I wrote following the first presidential debate which focuses on Hillary’s wrong-headed economic plan which doesn’t even contemplate economic growth and the great potential of Trump’s plan to generate economic growth. I start off by looking at the current economic situation which shows growth has been anemic since the end of the recession and I make the case that lack of investment due to taxation and overregulation have played a role in holding the economy back. I explain that Hillary’s big government policies will only make things worse. And, I conclude that unlike Hillary, Trump has a plan to generate real economic growth, create jobs, open paths to the middle class and reduce income inequality. The op-ed is entitled: Government Can’t Do It.
To read my op-ed on this topic, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/h9twocg.
Today, the WSJ published an op-ed I wrote regarding the challenges restaurants face due to increasing government mandates aimed at addressing stagnating wages associated with anemic growth. In the op-ed, I discuss the latest challenge embodied in the Labor Department’s issuance of its new overtime rule which more than doubles the salary threshold for employees to $47,476 from $23,660. I also point out that the rule will result in higher labor costs which restaurants will mitigate by eliminating positions, reducing employee hours, accelerating automation and slowing expansion. The op-ed is entitled: The Touchscreen Will Take Your Order Now. If you’re on Twitter, I encourage you to check out the graph related to this op-ed that shows the unintended consequences of government regulation: https://twitter.com/AndyPuzder/status/779338233561817088. Please consider re-tweeting it to your followers. The chart is worth a 1,000 words.
To view the CNBC interview on this topic, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/gs6uae3.
This afternoon, I joined CNBC anchors Sara Eisen and Bill Griffeth during Closing Bell to discuss Trump and Clinton’s economic plans. Pro-Clinton renewable energy businessman David Crane and I were asked about the merits of each plan. I made it clear that Trump’s plan is better because it cuts taxes, eliminates regulations and unleashes the energy sector. I also added that Trump’s plan, along with 3.5 to 4 percent economic growth, will pay for infrastructure spending and military buildup. Weak growth won’t help us any. The problem is 1 percent doesn’t pay for anything, it doesn’t create jobs, it doesn’t lift Americans out of poverty; it leaves us right where we are which is in a terrible economic circumstance. The segment is entitled: Businessmen disagree on Trump, Clinton economic plans.
To view the segments associated with this interview, please scroll to the end of this post.
Earlier today, I joined Fox Business Host Stuart Varney and Steve Forbes during Varney and Co. to discuss the latest presidential poll numbers which show a dead heat race between Trump and Hillary. Varney asked my thoughts on what has led to the surge and I told him that Trump has done a good job with his recent speeches and that Hillary’s “deplorables” comment have hurt her more than people admit. Towards the end of the hour-long segment, Varney also asked me if slapping a 35% tax on cars made in Mexico to prevent companies from moving out of the U.S. was a good thing. I explained that Trump is using the tariff as a negotiation tool and that he is taking the kinds of positions that a businessman would in order to get a good deal. While the show is not available in its entirety, these two links will take you to the respective segments:
To watch my interview on this topic, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/j2nt2n9.
Yesterday, I joined Fox Business Host Neil Cavuto to discuss Trump’s presidential tone in his recent speeches and his improving poll numbers. During the segment, Neil asked me whether Trump needs to release his tax returns given the Clinton campaign’s secretive handling of Hillary’s medical records. I told Neil that if Trump releases his tax returns while he’s under audit, the daily headlines would be all about his taxes and less about important issues like how he’s going to grow the economy, fight poverty, foreign policy, etc. In other words, there’s no upside for Trump. Plus, the last thing the IRS wants to do is make a decision due to public pressure. The segment is titled: CKE Restaurants CEO: Trump’s tax return is much to do about nothing.
To watch today’s interview on this topic, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/hmh2xd4.
Earlier today, I joined the Opinion Journal’s Mary Kissel to preview Trump’s upcoming tax speech which he will deliver at the Economic Club of New York this Thursday. As I shared with Mary, the speech will build on what Trump said in Detroit and will include more details regarding tax policy and how to generate economic growth thru tax, regulatory and energy reform. I also told Mary that Trump would discuss bringing back overseas income, deductions and tax breaks that will help working class and middle class Americans. My segment starts at the 8:27 mark and is entitled: Trump’s plan to Super-Charge Growth.
To read my speech on the above topic, please click on this link: www.tinyurl.com/z3moc3p.
Last month, I delivered a speech in Chicago before Archbishop Jose H. Gomez and members of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL) on the following topic: Free Enterprise Empowers Individuals and Strengthens Societies Better than Government Ever Could. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to all those who attended and taking questions from the audience which clearly understood the benefits of a free enterprise system for individuals. You can read my speech by clicking here and downloading the PDF. I hope you’ll enjoy it and share it with others.
To watch a recent interview on this topic, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/z4k7v3o.
Earlier today, I joined Fox Business host Stuart Varney to discuss Donald Trump’s assertion that the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates historically low to help President Obama. Varney asked what I thought and I explained that while there’s a lot of talk on the Left about full employment and a strong economy, GDP and labor participation numbers tell a very different story. I also told Varney that if the economy were doing well, the Fed would not be so concerned about raising interest rates a mere 0.25 of a point. Varney then played a clip in which VP Joe Biden says Trump thinks American workers are lazy. I told Varney that Trump does not believe American workers are lazy and that his policies will help create better paying jobs for them which is why he is getting so much support from working class and middle class Americans. The segment is entitled: Andy Puzder on the Fed, Trump’s economic policy.
- Virtually all of the improvement in the unemployment rate since the recession ended has come from people dropping of of the labor force. When the Recession ended in June of 2009, the unemployment rate was 9.5% and the labor participation rate was 65.7%. Had the labor participation rate simply remained the same, unemployment in August would have been 9.1% instead of 4.9%. In other words, all but 0.4 of a percentage point of the unemployment rate’s improvement from 9.5% to 4.9% since June of ’09 has come from people dropping out of the labor force. Not surprisingly, 9.1% is much closer to what many economists consider the real unemployment rate (the U-6 rate) which stood at 9.7% in August.
- But, hasn’t the increase in the total number of people working been a major contributor to the unemployment rate’s decline? No. While it is true that 11.6 million more people were employed in August than in June of ’09, the employable population increased by 18.2 million people. In other words, the economy has created too few jobs even to keep up with population growth. For example, in August, the number of people employed increased by 97,000 while the employable population increased by 234,000. At a minimum the increase in the number of people employed should keep pace with the increase in the employable population. Had the economy created fewer jobs, the unemployment rate would be worse but too few people have found work to reduce the unemployment rate materially absent the decline in labor participation.
- How bad is labor participation? Because the economy has failed to create enough jobs even to match the increase in the population, the labor participation rate has been at or below 63% for 29 consecutive months. It was last at 63% in April of 1978, over 38 years ago during the Jimmy Carter’s economic malaise.
- But, isn’t it really demographics (Baby Boomers retiring) that explains the poor labor participation numbers rather than Obama’s poor economic performance. No. The majority of the decline has come from people dropping out because they can’t find good paying jobs or other aspects of a slow recovery (both negative reflections on the economy) or because they have retired (neither a positive nor a negative reflection on the economy). https://www.cbo.gov/publication/45011. No matter how you look at it, people dropping out of the labor force is not a positive reflection on the economy. In a growing economy, the labor participation rate goes up or holds steady while the unemployment rate goes down.
- The economy is as weak as the GDP numbers demonstrate (1.2 GDP growth over the past four quarters). The jobs numbers are a reflection of this continuing weakness. The American people, who live with theses number, get it. Hillary Clinton intends to “defend and build on this abysmal economic “legacy”.
To read my op-ed on this topic, please click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/z3drrkv.
Earlier this week, Real Clear Politics posted an op-ed I wrote entitled, Obamacare’s Economic Assumptions Collapse, in which I discuss why major insurance companies are dropping out of the Obamacare exchanges and examine the economics behind the Obamacare death spiral. Its clear consumers are not getting what they were promised. Americans deserve quality affordable care, not more bureaucracy. It’s past time to do something that makes sense.
