What Trump/Republican policy is working?

[Brain357]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

 

[AzogtheDefiler]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

 

[Brain357]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

Nice copy and paste. Jobs? Job growth was good before trump and we have the same low labor force participation rate. Most the rest I already touched on as not working .

 

[The Purge]

The Brain357 appears to have shot himself with a .357!....lolol

 

[AzogtheDefiler]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

Nice copy and paste. Jobs? Job growth was good before trump and we have the same low labor force participation rate. Most the rest I already touched on as not working .

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? American optimism is not working --- was not nearly as high under the prior administration? You asked for data and I provided it. Enjoy it.

 

[Brain357]

The Brain357 appears to have shot himself with a .357!....lolol

You have a policy that is working? Let’s hear it.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

You gave actions, not results. A QB can throw the ball 100 times in a game, that does not mean they won the game.

 

[Westender]

Registered Democrat, voted for Trump. Cant see myself ever voting for Dems, they have lost their way.

The Dems are the ones making border worse. If they helped protect our borders we wouldnt have these issues.

I dont care about government economy numbers, I have been killing it in my IRA under Trump. Property values on home and my rentals are exploding in my area.

America is built on pro guns, i love America. Criminals kill, me and my friends dont.

Hes opened dialogue with NK, baby steps. The little man is crazy

Any true America patriot would never raise their hand to give illegals free healthcare, that will make the border even worse.

Trump needs to have a barrage of commercials showing them asking the illegal healthcare question and those idiots raising their hand. This isnt the JFKennedy Democratic party I related to, Bill Clinton would be a Republican now. Even Obama wasnt that crazy.

 

[Brain357]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

Nice copy and paste. Jobs? Job growth was good before trump and we have the same low labor force participation rate. Most the rest I already touched on as not working .

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? American optimism is not working --- was not nearly as high under the prior administration? You asked for data and I provided it. Enjoy it.

An embassy in Jerusalem? Who the hell cares? That makes no Americans life better.

Optimism? Are you kidding? What can I buy with that?

 

[Brain357]

Registered Democrat, voted for Trump. Cant see myself ever voting for Dems, they have lost their way.

The Dems are the ones making border worse. If they helped protect our borders we wouldnt have these issues.

I dont care about government economy numbers, I have been killing it in my IRA under Trump. Property values on home and my rentals are exploding in my area.

America is built on pro guns, i love America. Criminals kill, me and my friends dont.

Hes opened dialogue with NK, baby steps. The little man is crazy

Any true America patriot would never raise their hand to give illegals free healthcare, that will make the border even worse.

Trump needs to have a barrage of commercials showing them asking the illegal healthcare question and those idiots raising their hand. This isnt the JFKennedy Democratic party I related to, Bill Clinton would be a Republican now. Even Obama wasnt that crazy.

The border is worse.

Dow is stagnant for a year and you are killing it? I doubt that.

 

[The Purge]

The Brain357 appears to have shot himself with a .357!....lolol

You have a policy that is working? Let’s hear it.

You have a huge list....because you are an Anti-American socialist, and don't like America finally winning after 8 years of socialist Surrender Monkey policies means nothing to the average American who sees more money in his pocket, and his out of work neighbor working again....Propaganda like your bullshit is easily TRUMPED by facts!

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

Nice copy and paste. Jobs? Job growth was good before trump and we have the same low labor force participation rate. Most the rest I already touched on as not working .

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? American optimism is not working --- was not nearly as high under the prior administration? You asked for data and I provided it. Enjoy it.

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? ---- what does that mean to me as an American? Why would I give a flying fuck?

The NFIB's index has been heading down for the last year. Optimism only goes so far without results.

 

[AzogtheDefiler]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

You gave actions, not results. A QB can throw the ball 100 times in a game, that does not mean they won the game.

Embassy in Jerusalem is a nice result. Low unemployment is a nice result. What do you mean?

 

[AzogtheDefiler]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

Nice copy and paste. Jobs? Job growth was good before trump and we have the same low labor force participation rate. Most the rest I already touched on as not working .

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? American optimism is not working --- was not nearly as high under the prior administration? You asked for data and I provided it. Enjoy it.

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? ---- what does that mean to me as an American? Why would I give a flying fuck?

The NFIB's index has been heading down for the last year. Optimism only goes so far without results.

I care because it shows we stand with our allies in the ME. Low unemployment is an excellent result.

 

[Brain357]

The Brain357 appears to have shot himself with a .357!....lolol

You have a policy that is working? Let’s hear it.

You have a huge list....because you are an Anti-American socialist, and don't like America finally winning after 8 years of socialist Surrender Monkey policies means nothing to the average American who sees more money in his pocket, and his out of work neighbor working again....Propaganda like your bullshit is easily TRUMPED by facts!

No results. GDP is weak. Trillion dollar deficits. NK still testing missiles. Border worse ...

 

[AzogtheDefiler]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

Nice copy and paste. Jobs? Job growth was good before trump and we have the same low labor force participation rate. Most the rest I already touched on as not working .

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? American optimism is not working --- was not nearly as high under the prior administration? You asked for data and I provided it. Enjoy it.

An embassy in Jerusalem? Who the hell cares? That makes no Americans life better.

Optimism? Are you kidding? What can I buy with that?

I care. My paycheck is higher due to the economy. I care.

 

[The Purge]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

You gave actions, not results. A QB can throw the ball 100 times in a game, that does not mean they won the game.

non sequitur as usual!

 

[AzogtheDefiler]

The Brain357 appears to have shot himself with a .357!....lolol

You have a policy that is working? Let’s hear it.

You have a huge list....because you are an Anti-American socialist, and don't like America finally winning after 8 years of socialist Surrender Monkey policies means nothing to the average American who sees more money in his pocket, and his out of work neighbor working again....Propaganda like your bullshit is easily TRUMPED by facts!

No results. GDP is weak. Trillion dollar deficits. NK still testing missiles. Border worse ...

How is the border worse? How is GDP weak? I agree on the deficits. IDC about NK.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

You gave actions, not results. A QB can throw the ball 100 times in a game, that does not mean they won the game.

Embassy in Jerusalem is a nice result. Low unemployment is a nice result. What do you mean?

Unless I am visiting a country, I could not give a fuck where the embassy is.

UE has been going down for 9 years, has very little to do with who is sitting in the White House, before or after Jan 2017.

 

[Brain357]

Border seems to be worse than ever.

trump has not won the trade war with China. Stock market stagnant for a year.

We were told getting rid of regulations would be great for economy. GDP growth weak.

Tax cuts were supposed to bring down deficits and grow economy. We have trillion dollar deficits.

Pro gun. Lots of mass shootings. Homicide rate 4-5 times higher than countries with strong gun control.

North Korea still testing missiles.

Is there something actually working?

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
  • African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
  • Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
  • Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
  • Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
  • July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
  • 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
  • Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
  • Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
  • Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
  • NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
  • SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
  • 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
  • Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
  • ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
  • Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
  • ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
  • ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
  • ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
  • Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
  • Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
  • DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
  • DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
  • These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
  • ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
  • Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
  • Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
  • Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
  • Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
  • Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
  • Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
  • Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
  • Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
  • Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
  • Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
  • Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
  • Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
  • Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
  • Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
  • American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation..

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
  • Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
  • Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
  • All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
  • The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
  • North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
  • Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
  • Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
  • Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
  • Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
  • Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
  • ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
  • ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
  • All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
  • Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
  • Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
  • Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
  • Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
  • Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
  • Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense spending.
  • Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
  • NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
  • Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
  • Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
  • Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
  • Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
  • Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
  • Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
  • Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

Nice copy and paste. Jobs? Job growth was good before trump and we have the same low labor force participation rate. Most the rest I already touched on as not working .

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? American optimism is not working --- was not nearly as high under the prior administration? You asked for data and I provided it. Enjoy it.

Embassy in Jerusalem is not working? ---- what does that mean to me as an American? Why would I give a flying fuck?

The NFIB's index has been heading down for the last year. Optimism only goes so far without results.

I care because it shows we stand with our allies in the ME. Low unemployment is an excellent result.

Shame he’s pissed off all our other allies. Must be the Israel lobby political donations...