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Washington Report: SenatorThune
Washington Report: An Economy That’s Only Getting Stronger
By Senator JohnThune
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After nearly a decade of economic stagnation, the economy has been regaining its footing and is getting stronger by the day –welcome news for South Dakotans and Americans aroundthecountry.
While there’s no doubt the economy is heading in the right direction, I always believe it can be even stronger, particularly in certain areas that are critically important to South Dakota. That’s why I’m going to keep pursuing the kind of pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda that’s already helped move the country toward greater prosperity and freedom.
Our agenda is pretty straightforward: reduce burdensome government red tape that’s unnecessarily getting in the way of South Dakotans’ lives and businesses; pass legislation that spends tax dollars more efficiently, which, in turn, allows hardworking taxpayers to keep more of whattheyearn;andpartnerwith,andkeeppressureon,the administration so they make positive decisions that will benefit our state.
The Republican-led Congress has already slashed numerous Obama-era regulations that were hamstringing growth. We passed first-in-a-generation reforms to the U.S. tax code that lowered rates across the board, nearly doubled the standard deduction, and doubled the child tax credit. And I’m personally keeping the administration’s feettothefirewhileitnegotiatesnewtradedeals,because our agriculture industry – the lifeblood of our state –depends on it. I’m also continuing to pressure the administration to approve the year-round sale of E15 fuel, which would both lower costs at the pump and increase U.S. energy dominance – a win-win for South Dakota.
In many cases, the results of this agenda have been historic. Last year, middle-class income in the United States grew to an all-time high. For the last five months, jobopeningshaveexceededthenumberofpeoplewhoare looking for jobs, the first time that’s happened in the historyofthesenumbersbeingtracked.InJuly,thenumber of job openings hit an all-time high, andAmericans filing for unemployment bottomed out to its lowest level since 1969. This underscores the importance of supporting our rebounding economy by pursuing federal and state efforts to grow and train a modernized workforce.
Onthebusinessside,smallbusinessoptimismhasreached historiclevels–thehighestever,accordingtotheNational Federation of Independent Business. Business investments, which allow companies to expand and help them hire more workers, have increased by more than eight percentage points since before the 2016 election.
The economy has responded by growing at a strong rate. In the second quarter of 2018, it grew by 4.2 percent, which exceeded many expectations. Since the landmark Tax Cuts and JobsAct became law at the end of last year, nearly 1.7 million jobs have been created nationwide, and 4 million have been created since the Republican-led Congress and the president joined forces in 2017.
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