Personal Finance King

A Personal Finance Money Blog from a Christian Perspective

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Recommended Sites
You are here: Home / Politics & Finance / Trump’s Effect on U.S. Personal Finances Likely to Be Mixed

Trump’s Effect on U.S. Personal Finances Likely to Be Mixed

January 6, 2017 by Barnaby

Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, I’ve been asked by lots of people (OK, 2) what I think about his administration’s potential effect on U.S. household and government finances. So here goes. I consider myself pretty moderate, so hopefully this is a balanced look at things.

ECONOMY & JOBS
I anticipate Trump’s tax cuts, increased spending, and free market reforms (less regulation and more private sector outsourcing of government) will continue (and perhaps accelerate) the economic expansion begun under President Obama. Given the moribund state of most of the world’s economies, that’s pretty amazing.
Cautionary note: The individual worker will suffer under Trump: Less safety net (e.g. Obamacare repeal), stagnant minimum wage, and fewer protections. The environment will deteriorate as well. Question is whether the economic rising tide will be enough to offset these losses.

INVESTMENTS
There is no denying the Trump Effect, which has pushed the stock market to new highs, despite pre-election predictions of a decline if Trump won. Inversely, bonds have tanked.
Cautionary note: Part of the market reaction is related to promised tax cuts and an infrastructure stimulus, both of which will add to the national debt. Also, the stock market is a long play for most investors, so a run up now won’t mean much if there is a plunge later on in Trump’s term.

TAXES
Trump plans to simplify the corporate and personal tax code (good), while cutting taxes mostly for the wealthy (not good). Lower corporate taxes that are better aligned with the rest of the world and with U.S. interests will help keep companies (and jobs) stateside.
Cautionary note: The rich-poor divide increases every year, while the middle class continues to shrink. We aren’t in French Revolution territory yet, but we’re headed that way.

WILD CARD
Like many people, I think Trump is highly erratic, dangerously thin-skinned and narcissistic, ignorant about a lot of the world, seriously compromised by conflicts of interest, and not a very good Christian in word or deed. I’m not hopeful any of this will change, but perhaps his advisers can protect him (and us) from a lot of his worst impulses.
Cautionary note: Pre-election, many people (including Jill Stein) thought Hillary Clinton was a greater risk to start a war, but I disagree – her hawkishness would’ve kept things at a high simmer, but Trump’s unsteady approach is likely to rapidly boil over. The human and financial cost could be immense.

Agree or disagree? Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Filed Under: Politics & Finance Tagged With: personal finance, trump christian, trump economy, trump investments, trump jobs, trump stock market, trump taxes

Comments

  1. James says

    January 24, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    Interesting take on Trump. The reality is that we are probably going to have a couple of years of solid growth. A lot of this will likely be infrastructure and manufacturing. sectors which typically provide working class job growth. So, the assessment here might be too pessimistic.

    Also, Trumps campaign pledge was to lower taxes across the board, not just for the rich. Where are you sourcing your information?

    • Barnaby says

      January 24, 2017 at 9:33 pm

      With Trump you never know – he tends to be all over the map. But this Washington Examiner article says that both the Trump plan and the House GOP plan favor higher incomes: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/what-we-learned-about-trumps-tax-plans-from-mnuchin/article/2612370

  2. Valerie Mendenhall says

    January 29, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    I predict his actions will stimluate the economy in a hearty way (the rise we’re seeing is the premonition of just that). Lower taxes to the individual (irrespective of tax bracket) and to corporations is a good thing as long as the President’s Budget (spending plan) can also be held in check and the national debt decreased. If we as individuals need to have financial responsibility & accountability, why not the U.S. Government?

    What’s wrong with being rich? The rich, because of their annual income, contribute a great deal to the tax base.

    • Barnaby says

      January 30, 2017 at 7:17 am

      In the US being rich is celebrated, but the bible singles out rich people as having a particularly hard time winning salvation. Not impossible, but it’s definitely a stumbling block.

About Me

About Barnaby King Welcome to the Personal Finance King blog, which explores issues of Money, Faith, Work, and Family. I am Barnaby King. More
Subscribe to Receive New Posts by Email:

Check your inbox or spam folder now to confirm your subscription.

RSS RSS Feed

  • Quick Takes: Riding Greyhound, Winning Mega Millions & Human Composting
  • Know Your Value
  • My Tiny Bitcoin Investment Lost 64% of Its Value

Most Popular Posts

1. How Should We Respond to Needy People on the Street?
2. We Ported Our Landline Phone to Google Voice, Saving $46 Per Month
3. What Is the Role of Faith in Personal Finance?
4. 9 Life and Finance Lessons from “Alexander Hamilton” Biography by Ron Chernow
5. Top 8 Free and Offbeat Historic Things to Do in Baltimore
6. Why We Live in Baltimore Despite Its Problems
7. How a Prized Pocket Knife Was Imperiled on a Trip to See the Rockettes
8. Is 16 Too Old for a First Phone?

Categories

  • Earning Money
  • Faith & Finance
  • Kids & Finance
  • Love & Finance
  • Misc Finance
  • Politics & Finance
  • Saving Money
  • Travel & Finance
  • Uncategorized
  • Work & Finance

Archive

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in