OPINION:
President Trump delivered major trade deals with Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines this week. The agreements open Eastern markets that have long been closed to U.S. manufacturers and farmers.
For the first time, Arkansas growers will be allowed to sell rice to Japanese customers and Ford can offer U.S.-made cars and SUVs without going through extra “safety” regulations designed to deter overseas competition. Japan will also place orders for 100 Boeing airliners.
Businesses are already gearing up for the good times ahead. General Motors on Tuesday announced a $4 billion investment in American factories. “This will help us satisfy unmet customer demand, greatly reduce our tariff exposure, and capture upside opportunities as we launch new models,” CEO Mary Barra wrote in a letter to shareholders.
So much for tariffs destroying the economy. The president’s strategic use of this tool tackles the most pressing problem that voters, especially those younger than 30, asked him to fix.
Tufts University pollsters earlier this year found that 68% of young men who voted in the November election were motivated by the cost of living, inflation, unemployment and immigration — in that order.
Overall unemployment last month stood at 4.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For teenagers, the figure was 14.4%. Traditionally, teens have used the bottom rung of the economic ladder to learn the value of hard work and enterprise.
When cheap, illegal immigrant labor snaps up the low-level gigs, the result is idle youths. Their prospects will improve as factories expand and the migrant tidal wave subsides. The remaining threat comes from Wall Street.
Investment managers at BlackRock are candid about replacing homeownership with a new model. The firm’s website explains: “Most recently, we began investing in new construction, purpose-built for-rent housing developments that add supply to the market and address the increasing demand we see for this property type.”
Americans aspire to own, not rent. Liberals hate ownership because it gives citizens a stake in their community and country, and they might start to think for themselves. By converting single-family abodes into a source of endless monthly payments, land barons deny an entire generation the chance to build equity.
In May, the California Senate voted 28-10 in favor of legislation authorizing Los Angeles County to acquire burned-out lots at bargain-basement prices from the cash-strapped residents devastated by January’s wildfires. Although the measure failed in a state Assembly committee last week, the proposal illustrates the Democratic mindset.
Instead of removing red tape so disaster victims can restore what they lost, state and local authorities wielded bureaucratic rules to dash the area’s hopes for renewal. The California bill would create a “Resilient Rebuilding Authority” to “Purchase lots at a fair price” and throw up “multifamily affordable housing projects” using techniques that “prioritize strategies for accelerated and cost-effective rebuilding.”
Liberal lawmakers want to substitute cheaply constructed properties packed to the brim with illegal aliens for the beautiful L.A. neighborhoods that once were.
By focusing on jobs, immigration and inflation, Mr. Trump is working toward repairing the American dream. He still needs to coerce the Federal Reserve into lowering interest rates, making mortgages affordable again.
The president should also follow through on his campaign suggestion to free up federal land for new construction, with one addition: The deeds should guarantee that individual families own the houses that are built.
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