As interest climbs, polls are in Trump’s favor

As many Americans prepare to enjoy a holiday Monday honoring U.S. presidents, the current one is enjoying a spike in his approval rating. President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has risen to 44 percent after declining to 37 percent during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The latest results are from a Feb. 1-10 Gallup poll. The poll included a few days before and after

Trump’s Feb. 5 State of the Union speech. While views of Trump have improved, the public’s views do not extend to members of Congress. The

21 percent approval rating for Congress remains unchanged from January.

Gallup noted that the current results are one point shy of Trump’s personal best of 45 percent, which he has achieved twice thus far during his presidency — the first week of his term and in June 2018, after his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“The latest increase in approval is mainly the result of political independents’ improved opinions of Trump,” Gallup reported on its website. “Between the late January and February polls, independents’ approval of Trump rose six points, to 38 percent At the same time, Republicans and Democrats held steady at 89 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Trump’s higher approval rating also reflects an increase in Republican party identification from late January, which has expanded the base of Republicans.”

Gallup showed opinions on the economy that coincide with views of Trump.

“From June until early November 2018, an average 54 percent of Americans rated the economy as ‘excellent’ or ‘good.’ In January, that reading hit 49 percent amid the shutdown and a volatile stock market, but it has rebounded sharply in the latest poll, with the shutdown over and the stock market performing well again. Today, 57 percent of Americans rate the economy as excellent or good, the highest since January 2001.”

Trump boasted during his State of the Union address of an “unprecedented economic boom” since he was elected. Economic growth did climb last year as the tax cuts took effect, putting the economy on track to top 3 percent annual growth for the first time since 2005. But the initial stimulus from the tax cuts, which included cutting the corporate rate, began to fade in the second half of 2018.

After expanding at a 4.2 percent annual rate in the second quarter last year, growth slowed to 3.4 percent in the third quarter and the consensus fourth-quarter forecast was about 2.6 percent. The Federal Reserve is projecting 2.3 percent growth this year and 2 percent growth in 2020. Some economists say a recession could hit in 2020.

Interestingly, opinions on economic progress coincided with news that the national debt has passed a new milestone, topping $22 trillion for the first time. The Treasury Department’s daily statement showed Feb. 12 that total outstanding public debt stands at $22.01 trillion. It stood at $19.95 trillion when President Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2017.

Fox News, often cited favorably by the president for its accurate, non-fake coverage of him, reported that the debt figure has been rising since the passage of Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut in December 2017, and the action by Congress last year to increase spending on domestic and military programs.

Fox also reported that the Congressional Budget Office projects that this year’s deficit will be $897 billion — up from last year’s $779 billion. “In the coming years, the CBO said the debt is expected to keep going up, top $1 trillion annually beginning in 2022 and never drop below $1 trillion through 2029.”

The Trump administration maintains that its tax cuts will eventually pay for themselves by spurring economic growth.

But that hasn’t happened. The tax cut, passed in late 2017, is expected to cost the government $1.84 trillion over the next decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Congressional Budget Office. While faster economic growth is expected to generate about $570 billion in additional revenue, that will be offset by higher interest payments on a bigger national debt, the committee says.

If you are interested in reading more on those interest payments, which will eclipse other spending in years to come, this analysis explains it: http://www. crfb.org/blogs/debt-rises-interest-costs-could-top-1-trillion.

Interest will consume a larger share of total federal spending than other budget areas over the next ten years, the committee projects. Interest will cost more than Medicaid spending by 2020, non-defense discretionary spending by 2024, and defense spending by 2025.

So interest on debt is on course to be the largest government-funded program.