<p class="p1">Often people argue that the credit of the economic performance during the first year of any president&#8217;s term should be given to his predecessor.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Within the first year of a presidency, both Democrats and Republicans claim that it was their policies that were responsible for any of the recent growth</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">But most of the 68 economists surveyed in a recent <em>Wall Street Journal</em> poll, suggest that President Donald Trump, not Obama, is responsible for fostering the recent booming economy.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&#8220;A majority said the president had been &ldquo;somewhat&rdquo; or &ldquo;strongly&rdquo; positive for job creation, gross domestic product growth and the rising stock market,&#8221; writes <em>The Hill </em>about the <em>WSJ</em> report. &#8220;The pros cite the White House&rsquo;s push for lighter regulation and the recent tax bill as critical to a pro-growth environment; more than 90 percent of the group thought the tax bill would boost GDP expansion over the next two years.&#8221;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Last year, in the same survey, Obama received mixed responses about if his policies encouraged GDP growth and long-term growth. ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In the first three quarters of last year, spending on capital goods increased, along with wage hikes&ndash; all because companies were optimistic that the Trump administration would de-regularized and cut taxes drastically. ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Since January, the Trump administration has rolled back or delayed 1,600 planned regulatory actions. Obama, on the other hand, had plans to introduce thousands of business-halting regulations. ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&ldquo;We have spent the past dozen years or longer operating in environments that have had an increasing regulatory burden,&rdquo; said Michael S. Burke, the chairman and chief executive of Aecom to the <em>New York Times.</em> &ldquo;That burden has slowed down economic growth, it&rsquo;s slowed down investment in infrastructure. And what we&rsquo;ve seen over the last year is a big deregulatory environment.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">As the <em>New York Times even ;</em>said, in terms of business there has been a &ldquo;wave of optimism&rdquo; during Trump&#8217;s presidency that has been &ldquo;beginning to translate into the sort of investment in new plants, equipment and factory upgrades that bolster economic growth, spurs job creation &mdash; and may finally raise wages significantly.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">However, Democrats continue to belittle the bonuses and raises that are being given in response to the new GOP tax bill. Over two million workers have already received raises and bonuses and it&#8217;s just the beginning. ;Not to mention, the stock market has had its best-ever first year under a new administration since the 1940s.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&#8220;Some industries have seen particularly clear changes in fortune. The Trump administration has reversed a number of environmental protections that would have imposed significant costs on energy companies. Mr. Trump&rsquo;s appointees to the Federal Communications Commission voted last month to repeal so-called net neutrality rules, which treated internet services as a regulated industry, like power lines, and prohibited broadband providers from charging for faster internet service or from blocking or slowing some websites,&#8221; writes the <em>New York Times. ;</em></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Ultimately, the tax plan &ldquo;will increase the level of gross domestic product in the long run by 2.2 percent. To put that number in perspective, the increase in GDP translates into an increase of just under $3,000 per household,&rdquo; according to The Heritage Foundation&#8217;s predictions. ;</span></p>
<p class="p2"><strong>Author&#8217;s note:</strong> ;As Americans continue to reap the benefits of the Trump presidency, Democrats soon won&#8217;t have a leg to stand on. Belittling the recent raises and bonuses given by businesses in response to the GOP tax plan only makes them look petty. Trump&#8217;s election gave businesses the confidence to increase spending that influenced the current economic boom. Businesses crave predictability and Trump gave it to them, along with a favorable tax plan and consistency in policy. While Obama inherited a recession, he proved to be inept in handling it. It took so long to get any kind of recovery. Most of Obama&#8217;s policies were not business friendly and only halted their growth, which also helped keep the recovery slow-moving. ;</p>
<p class="p2"><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> I don&#8217;t know about you guys, but $1000 is still a nice chunk of change. Very unsettling of the Democrats to say that is insignificant.</p>