Tracking Trump - Direction of the Country for December 29th:
Bottom Line: For years, despite generally favorable approval ratings for President Obama, we'd collectively been unhappy with the overall direction of our country. In much of the first year of the Trump Presidency we've seen the scenario reversed.
Where we stood on Inauguration Day:
Right Direction: 30%
Wrong Track: 59%
Net: -29%
December 8th (last update):
Right Direction: 34%
Wrong Track: 58%
Net: -24%
And Today:
Right Direction: 38%
Wrong Track: 54%
Net: -16%
Change: +13% since Inauguration Day & +11% from the previous update
We'd been increasingly less pessimistic over the past couple of months but the passage of the new tax law along with continued economic momentum has led to the biggest one month rise in our perception of the direction of our country in years. While still in negative territory, we're the most optimistic we've been since May and significantly more optimistic than we were under the Obama administration. Of course, there's plenty of reason for that optimism...
Economic growth over 3% for the first time in 12 years
Base unemployment rate is the lowest in nearly 17 years
Real unemployment is the best in eleven years
Corporate profits are at all-time highs
The stock market is at all-time highs amid a record run since last November's election
Retirement account balances are at all-time highs
Wage growth is at ten-year highs
And of course, the average person will get a 4% raise starting Monday due to the tax cuts kicking in. The momentum has been meaningful and with Congress finally delivering on a major promise that will only continue to help the economy...Cheers to 2018!