The State of the Union offers Trump a rare opportunity to cut through the partisan filters of the mainstream media and speak directly to Americans about how policies that favor growth and workers, such as trade deals, tax cuts, and deregulation, are padding the pocketbooks of workers across the nation. Although his economic successes do not usually generate many front page headlines, they certainly should be trumpeted.
According to a recent survey by Gallup, confidence in the economy is now at the highest point in two decades. Wages rose by 3 percent last year, nearly 50 percent faster than the average under President Obama. Wages for blue collar employees have risen at an even faster rate, and wages for the lowest 10 percent of American workers are growing about twice as fast, helping reduce income inequality. Finally, wages for black employees have also grown faster than those for white workers.
Take home pay adjusted for inflation for the average middle class family has risen to a record of $66,000 under this administration. Democrats in Iowa may have not gotten the message, but Trump has addressed wage stagnation. Wages are rising partly because of the tight labor market. The unemployment rate is at a half century low of 3.5 percent. There are one million more available jobs than the number of unemployed people.
Job opportunities are drawing people off the sidelines and into the labor force. Prime age labor force participation has risen by over two million people under Trump. Seven million people have come off food stamps and the poverty rate has fallen. Our economic growth is the fastest in the developed world, and the stock market continues its incredible run, up more than 50 percent since Trump was elected. Almost two-thirds of Americans over age 35 invest in the stock market, meaning that their retirement and college savings accounts have grown substantially.