How Trump Will Double Growth and Jobs

When Donald Trump said last week that he will double the American growth rate, his skeptics scoffed. The left doesn’t think 4 percent growth is possible because they never came close to that target under President Obama.

But there’s no law of nature or economics that says America is doomed to anemic growth rates. We believe with the right policy fixes, fast growth is not just possible, but probable.

In the 1980s the Reagan agenda had quarterly growth rates of 6, 7 and even 8 percent. One month recorded 1 million new jobs. Now that’s a recovery. And Mr. Trump is right that if India and China can grow at 8 to 10 percent, surely we can aspire to half that growth rate.

Faster growth of the economy is imperative if America is to retain our world superpower status — especially given the new rivalry of fast-growing China. This requires the new Trump plan, which will take American competitiveness seriously.

Here’s how the president-elect will ramp up growth.

First, Mr. Trump will enact the biggest pro-growth tax cut since Ronald Reagan’s 1981 reform. He will simplify the tax code and significantly reduce marginal rates, encouraging investment and economic expansion. His proposed corporate tax rate of 15 percent would make it easier for American firms to repatriate earnings, bringing capital back to these shores.

The House tax bill is similar to Mr. Trump’s. We can get this through Congress in the first 150 days.

The Tax Foundation says this will add about $150 billion in higher output.