There are numbers that the president likes to tout, such as the unemployment rate, which is the lowest it’s been in some time. He claims, of course, that this is his doing and evidence of how great he is — or whatever — when in fact, the unemployment rate has been solidly declining since the Obama era.
But hey, who needs nuance, right?
There are now some new numbers out from analysts with Morgan Stanley that the president most certainly does not want to talk about — at all.
The analysts state that in their estimation, only — wait for it — about 13 percent of American company savings accumulated because of the new tax law will be passed onto workers. According to the experts, 43 percent of those same savings will go to investors.
Looking at the numbers for the manufacturing industry in particular paints an even grimmer picture. According to the Morgan Stanley experts, only about 9 percent of the savings accumulated by businesses because of the tax law will be passed on to workers. Conversely, about 47 percent of manufacturing industry savings will go to investors.
Morgan Stanley analysts expect companies to pass only 13% of Trump tax cut savings directly to workers, vs 43% to share buybacks.
For manufacturers, it’s 9% / 47%. pic.twitter.com/J3RCJjPJhr
— Jim Tankersley (@jimtankersley) February 9, 2018
The president came into office promising to look out for the interests of the “forgotten” people of the United States, and even still, this is what we’ve been left with.
The president signed the new tax reform plan into law late last year, with it representing the first major legislative accomplishment of his administration. The plan had the opportunity to claim that title after the failure of GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act earlier in the year.
It’s not as though the plan, in its favoring of corporations, is unique among the president’s policy moves. Other Trump administration undertakings, like the systematic dismantling of regulations meant to protect the environment, also prioritize corporate interests above all others.
The Trump administration has already gone after rules ranging from the so-called Waters of the United States rule, formally establishing government regulatory control over small offshoots of waterways and the like, to the Clean Power Plan.
The president, also, of course, moved to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord last year, taking his push for corporation-centric deregulation to the world stage.
It is not as though no one could see these particular dismal numbers from Morgan Stanley coming.
After all, the tax reform plan slashes the corporate tax rate, and as the incident with Gary Cohn being surprised at a lack of hands being raised makes clear, it’s not as though every corporate head is some kind of benevolent altruist who only looks out for their workers.
Through all of this, the president has a lot less control over the economy than he claims, and as long as he keeps pouring gasoline everywhere, it’s not as though we can expect the economy to get any less volatile any time soon.
Just recently, the stock market went on a wild ride up and down proving this point, losing thousands of points in a short period.
Featured Image via Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images
