The LuLac Edition #4,127, August 21st, 2019

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

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This week’s “Write On Wednesday” deals with the impending (some say) recession. For years the GOP has run against the previous Democratic administration saying the economy that was saved in 2009 was “a tepid recovery”. Well now the policies of the Trump administration will be coming home to roost and we promise you it will not be pretty. Here’s the take on the recession and all the words about it from Times Shamrock.

TALK WILL NOT STOP A RECESSION

The Trump administration has sought to reassure the country that the economy will remain strong but many economists don’t buy it because of accumulating economic data that point to recession.
One of the foremost indicators is a slowdown in manufacturing, which is critical not only to the larger economy but to President Trump’s political fortunes in 2020.
Trump won in 2016 by securing narrow victories in manufacturing-rich Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, which he likely would have to do next year to be re-elected.
Manufacturing shrunk by 1.9% in the first quarter and 1.2% in the second quarter. The third quarter ends Sept. 30 but the federal government’s estimate for July is another contraction of 0.4%.
One way that Trump could give meaning to the White House’s reassurances would be to end his unproductive tariff war. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently reported that tariffs adversely had affected 79% of manufacturers in its region and that half of those companies had raised prices in response.
Tariffs aren’t the only issue. Several foreign markets for U.S. goods have slowed for an array of reasons.
To goose manufacturing and diminish the prospects or the impact of a recession, Trump should rescind a host of tariffs that hurt the manufacturing sector or Congress should reclaim tariff authority.