Tax cuts already benefiting American workers

JUST over a year ago, President-elect Donald Trump delivered his first holiday message to the economy by saving close to 1,000 factory jobs from moving to Mexico just before Christmas.

Well, the president did not disappoint this holiday season — a week before Christmas, and on the eighth and final night of Hanukkah — Trump’s tax plan made its way through Congress, and almost on cue, corporate America began raining cash down upon workers.

Trump knows he was not elected for his parliamentary skills or his international diplomatic experience — those he would have to prove. He was elected to fix the economy for all Americans.

Most economists with a political bent cannot comprehend that a lower corporate tax rate is a good thing for US workers, but it is.

As most working Americans know, there has been very little movement in wages over the last 10 to 15 years, and utter stagnation under the Obama administration.

So more money in corporate America’s pockets ought to do several things, one being more wealth shared with employees.

And corporations wasted little time getting down to business, giving out raises and special bonuses literally right after the bill passed the House and Senate.

Companies including AT&T, Boeing, Comcast, Fifth Third Bancorp, Wells Fargo and others have set the opening salvo rather high.

Take the large regional bank Fifth Third: It is raising its mini- mum wage to $15 for all employees and giving a $1,000 special bonus to more than 13,500 employees. That’s one heck of a Christmas gift, and First Third said it was specifically due to the tax cut.

AT&T made a similar move, giving 200,000 employees a $1,000 bonus and investing an additional $1 billion in capital spending.

“This tax reform will drive economic growth and create goodpaying jobs,” said AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.

Comcast made a similar pledge to give $1,000 bonuses to 100,000 nonexecutive employees. That’s another $100 million in the economy, and the company said that it was “based on the passage of tax reform and the FCC’s action on broadband.” That’s a bonus based on tax cuts and deregulation.

No matter your opinion of him, the fact is that Trump is doing what he said he would do. He is increasing wages and cutting taxes for roughly 82 percent of Americans.

And economic growth as measured by GDP is already on the upswing, doubling Obama’s anemic 1.6 percent growth.

Happy holiday, America.