[Hot Air] Donald Trump couldn’t have asked for better timing for a #MAGA victory lap. With his schedule full of midterm-campaign rallies, the president has extolled his record on the economy as a reason for voters to back Republicans and stay the course. The World Economic Forum agrees, vaulting the US to its top spot among competitive economies for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession.The U.S. is back on top as the most competitive country in the world, regaining the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2008 in an index produced by the World Economic Forum, which said the country could still do better on social issues.
America climbed one place in the rankings of 140 countries, with the top five rounded out by Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. All five countries’ scores rose from 2017, with the U.S. notching the second-biggest gain after Japan’s.
The top spot hasn’t gone to the U.S. since the financial crisis stalled output and triggered a global economic slowdown.
"Economic recovery is well underway, with the global economy projected to grow almost 4% in 2018 and 2019," said the report, published Tuesday by the organization that produces the Davos conference on global politics and economics.
Trump has long argued that he pulled the US out of the economic doldrums in which Barack Obama arguably left it with the least-dynamic recovery of the post-World War II period. Critics argue that Trump is simply riding the same economic recovery wave that Obama left. This report, however, notes that the US had the biggest improvement in competitiveness over the past year of the nations it rates, improving almost twice as much as second-place Singapore. If nothing else, Trump can claim credit for his policies amplifying growth and competitiveness with those results.
That may just serve as confirmation for Americans, who increasingly perceive that better days have arrives. A CNBC poll published Monday indicates that a blue wave may have stalled in large part because of growing confidence in the economy. In fact, economic confidence hit an 11-year high ‐ a big plus for Trump and Republicans: