☀ The continuing case for an American Golden Age

There's still reason for Up Wing optimism

My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,

Yes, Donald Trump's bold Inauguration Day proclamation that "the golden age of America begins right now" has transformed into a punchline — a grandiose promise now regularly recycled as the setup for snarky news headlines, late-night monologues, and social-media zingers.

It’s the president’s own fault, of course. The now-evaporated burst of post-election optimism, along with a zoomy stock market, reflected widespread hopes that Trump’s Oval Office return would also mean the return of the robust pre-pandemic economy — helped along by a big dose of pro-growth, “time to build” deregulation.

Not expected: a shockingly aggressive trade war. As Goldman Sachs describes the changing vibes:

President Trump's 'Liberation day' announcement shifted the narrative away from US technology stocks towards a heightened risk of US and global recession. While the US equity market had been performing consistently with previous non-recessionary easing cycles, the market abruptly shifted its trajectory to a path more consistent with a recessionary outcome. … Hopes of further tariff reductions are running high but we should remember that, so far, China and the US, which together account for around half of global GDP, are still facing an effective trade embargo. While new trade deals may be announced, the details are likely to be complicated and could well drag on and it is unlikely that tariffs will be cut back to the previous lows. In the meantime, sufficient damage may well have already been done to trigger renewed fears of recession as hard data weakens.

But, hey, let's keep it Up Wing here, especially on a day that some on social media like to call White Pill Wednesday!