8. The "swamp" is still teeming with lobbyists.
One of the president's most popular mantras throughout his 2016 campaign was his promise to "drain the swamp!" of Washington lobbyists. Lobbyists argue for specific legislative decisions every day to bodies such as U.S. Congress, and their broader impacts are often unclear and self-serving. At least, that is what Trump spent months claiming in 2016. But Trump hasn't gotten rid of them; he's put them in charge of health, safety, and environmental protections—which has endangered most Americans while increasing corporate profits even further. Political operatives and lobbyists continue to take spins through the so-called "revolving door" between government and the private sector, despite Trump's pledge to "drain the swamp."
7. The economic state has pushed companies to move production to foreign countries.
Trump promised to keep jobs in America and crack down on companies that ship jobs overseas. Instead, his tax law has created financial incentives for corporations to expand their operations abroad. Trump's trade wars have also encouraged companies to move production overseas. Harley Davidson, for example, responded to retaliatory European Union tariffs by raising its own tariffs on imported U.S. bikes to 31% from 6% on June 22, 2018. This means each motorcycle will cost an average of $2,200 extra. That's expected to add up to a burden of $90 million to $100 million annually, which Harley-Davidson will absorb rather than pass the extra costs on to customers. In the meantime, it planned to increase production in international plants into 2019.
6. America's trade deficit is at an all-time high.
Trump promised to bring down America's trade deficit "as fast as possible." Instead, the trade deficit has risen to its highest level in history last year. America is now purchasing more goods and services from the rest of the world than we sell abroad than at any time in history. Last year the United States imported a record number of products, widening the deficit to $891.3 billion.
5. Trump's tax cuts have raised the trade deficit.
The relative strength of the United States economy is a large factor in the widening deficit, and the $1.5 trillion tax cut Mr. Trump signed in 2017—which has been largely financed by government borrowing—accelerated growth last year. Money from the tax cuts helped Americans buy more imported goods than ever in 2018. And to finance the tax cuts, the government needed to borrow more dollars, some of which came from foreign investors. Foreigners primarily get those dollars by selling more goods and services to Americans, which will, in turn, widen the trade gap.
4. Exports of heavy machinery have taken a double hit.
While most of the U.S. economy is insulated from trade, the manufacturing taking place inside the United States' borders is strongly linked to the economic demand of many other countries throughout the world. This is especially true of exports of U.S. heavy machinery, which have been taking a double hit from tariffs. This raises the cost of the manufacturer's materials and also reduces foreign demand from trade-driven economies such as China, Germany and Japan.
3. U.S. agriculturists have suffered.
Retaliation from China has hit U.S. agriculture hard. China is pulling back on the amount of agricultural trade they want to do with America. Commodity prices have taken a plunge and demand for new equipment is losing steam because of these poor prices. Just as the slump in 2015 was driven by falling demand for oil and agriculture products as the Chinese economy slowed, so this current one is propelled by the trade war.
2. Wages have been, for the most part, stagnant.
Trump promised to boost the wages of American workers, including a $4,000 pay raise for the average American family. However, wages for most Americans have been flat. Despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today's real average wage (that is, the wage after accounting for inflation) has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago.
1. He failed to follow through on his promise to cut taxes for middle-class families.
"The largest tax reductions are for the middle class," Trump announced in his plans following his election. "A middle-class family with two children will get a 35% tax cut." Instead, corporations benefited most strongly from tax cuts and most Americans will end up paying more by 2027.