Jobless claims at lowest point since 1969

Washington Examiner Editorial:

Jobless claims haven’t been this low since 1969. President Trump is taking the credit, and he isn’t all wrong. Bills he has signed and regulatory actions he has taken have helped unleash businesses to hire more, pay more, and in the end make life better for workers.

Where Trump errs is in taking direct credit. Trump’s interventions in the economy, his tariffs to protect favored manufacturers, and the subsidies he has advocated for some industries or employers have boosted fortunes in the short term for a few jobs. But they haven’t on the aggregate improved the jobs picture. That’s because government intervention generally can only reshuffle resources and jobs, while only economic growth can enrich and empower the working man.

Tariffs can protect certain employers from competition, thus giving them more room to raise prices and thus possibly hire more and increase wages. If we look narrowly at aluminum jobs, then tariffs can be considered a success. But that’s how the Left views economic policy. They look at a narrow, politically favored slice of the economy, like wind turbines or a friendly labor union, and figure out how government can help that segment. In the process, they stultify the broader economy by dragging capital away from more productive activities.
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The tariffs are a high-risk strategy in an attempt to lower barriers to US goods and services elsewhere in teh world.  It is an open question whether those outside the Trump administration have the political will to stick to his policy long enough to force trading partners to lower their own tariffs in a reciprocal agreement.