2019 College Grads Can Thank Trump for the Good Times

As springtime draws to a close, the college graduates of the class of 2019 stand ready to begin another chapter in pursuit of the American dream.

Their hard work has paid off, and they’re ready to enter the workforce as bright, young individuals set to tackle any problem and change America for the better. They’ve earned it, and America is glad to have the class of 2019 on board.

Like any other class, 2019 enters the labor force as free thinkers prepared to confront the challenges of tomorrow. This is thanks to having received an education from the American collegial system, one that millions of people cross oceans and continents to attend.

But what really sets the class of 2019 apart is that they have the great fortune of entering the workforce amid a resurgent American economy. The U.S. unemployment rate recently fell to 3.6 percent in April, what many economists consider to be full employment. While it’s certainly time for the class of 2019 to celebrate, graduates from a decade ago would caution them not to take today’s job market for granted.

Ten years ago, the unemployment rate was 8.9 percent. By June 2009, unemployment had risen to 9.5 percent. The federal unemployment rate peaked the following October at 10 percent, nearly triple what it is today.

The recession of 2007-09 killed job prospects, crushed the housing market, and plummeted consumer confidence. The heavy-handed government intervention that followed caused years of sluggish economic growth and delayed market recovery.

In some towns and cities, the financial devastation that occurred broke parts of their community — physically and psychologically — that still haven’t been fixed.

Ten years later, the Trump economy is finally restoring economic hope to these communities with record growth. The ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’ of 2017 (TCJA) gave the middle class a large tax cut by doubling the standard deduction and expanding the eligibility (and benefit) of the child tax credit.

For the first time in recorded history, there are more job openings than people actively seeking work. Wages are starting to rise, and the gig economy puts more power in the hands of the individual to create financial security, start a new business, and control their economic destiny.

Thanks to the TCJA, the Tax Foundation predicts that “long-run gross domestic product growth will increase by 3.9 percent above what it would have done otherwise, wages will rise by 3.1 percent higher wages, and we’ll create 975,000 more full-time equivalent jobs.” This will increase after-tax income for all those in the lowest and middle-income brackets.

The Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda has allowed the great companies of the United States, and the great businesses of our local Main Streets, to grow without the burden of excess regulations and increased operating costs.

Economic growth and free markets are the enduring tides that lift all boats, and allow Americans of all genders, races, and religions to achieve their own personal definitions of the American dream.

There are 74.9 million women in the workforce, the highest in recorded history. Of the 2.8 million new job openings since January 2018, almost 60 percent were filled by women. Forty percent of U.S. businesses are women-owned.

Minority unemployment rates are at historical lows across-the-board. Nearly 30 percent of classifiable U.S. businesses are owned by minorities, which are growing at twice the rate of non-minority businesses.

Recent data show minority-owned businesses employ over 6.3 million Americans and generate over $1 trillion in revenue. The workforce is more beautifully diverse than ever before. All Americans are benefiting from this booming economy.

In American today, if you want a job, you can get a job. This is great news, considering the average 2019 college graduate will have to pay off an average of $33,000 each in student loans.

You don’t have to enjoy the president’s Twitter account to agree the country needs more of this economic progress, not less.

The class of 2019, has spent the past four years learning how to operate as free thinkers and rational actors in today’s world. Looking at the data, which moment in history would you think they would have rather graduated into? The economy of 2009, or 2019?

Younger Americans will have some big decisions to make. Just as they currently face thousands of dollars in student loans, the U.S. is staring down a $22 trillion and growing national debt. We need to get the debt under control and protect the free-market policies that sparked America’s true economic comeback. Today’s college graduates are by and large open-minded, smart kids, and there’s good reason to be believe they’re cognizant as to what makes a healthy economy and human prosperity possible.