Carrier deal is proof that Trump is already making America great again

close

Video

Carrier agrees to keep one thousand jobs in the US

The Indiana-based company reached a deal with President-elect Trump, VP-elect Pence

Donald Trump is already Making America Great Again. True to his campaign theme, this consummate deal maker and now president-elect has now put his negotiating savvy to work for the American people.

Along with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, he has persuaded the Carrier Corporation to keep 1,000 manufacturing jobs – those “good-paying jobs” that have been disappearing faster than ice cream in July – in Indianapolis instead of moving them to Mexico.

PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP'S THREE GREATEST CHALLENGES

How did they convince Carrier to change its plan, which was already underway? It appears that Pence, governor of Indiana, worked with local officials to provide tax benefits or other sweeteners.

It is also possible that Trump hinted that Carrier’s parent company United Technologies, which derives some 10 percent of its $56 billion in revenues from the federal government, would do well to play ball with the incoming administration.

The Carrier decision, and the resulting 1,000 jobs, is a drop in the bucket, but it is a powerful symbol at a time when working people in our country are just regaining their optimism.

Bottom line: We don’t know and we don’t care. This unexpected win is why the stock market has been soaring since the election, and why consumer confidence jumped to its highest level in over nine years in the past month, in spite of the incessant gloom broadcast by the liberal media. This is why voters elected Trump, upending politics as usual. And, it’s just the beginning.

Trump and his team have signaled that the U.S. is going to become a friendlier host to businesses big and small. They are promising to lower taxes on companies, encourage the repatriation of foreign-held cash and roll back regulations that have stifled innovation and entrepreneurship. Instead of driving companies offshore, the Trump White House will do everything in its power to keep businesses in the U.S. Business investment has been the weak link during the Obama years – a major reason the economy has sputtered along in near-stall mode. Managers rattled by a bewildering flood of rules and regulations have been reluctant to spend, which in turn has dampened productivity and wage growth.

The Carrier decision, and the resulting 1,000 jobs, is a drop in the bucket, but it is a powerful symbol at a time when working people in our country are just regaining their optimism. Carrier had long broadcast its intention to shift the manufacturing of its gas furnaces and fan coils from Indiana to Monterrey.  The move was expected to save Carrier some $65 million per year, but became a rallying cry on the campaign trail. The planned move became the poster child for the seeming indifference of U.S. companies to its workers, as well as the negligence of the Obama White House, which did nothing to prevent the devastating seepage of manufacturing jobs from our land.

A recent poll from Harvard’s Center for American Political Studies showed that voters expect results from Trump. The survey of registered voters showed that 78 percent approve of his promise to invest in infrastructure, and 53 percent think he’ll get it done. Similarly, a majority expect the president-elect to cut taxes on corporations and 54 percent are confident his administration will repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Trump’s picks for key cabinet spots confirms that he means business and should bolster those expectations.  Choosing Tom Price, a doctor and member of Congress who has spent years crafting alternatives to ObamaCare, shows Trump’s readiness to replace the dysfunctional health program. In selecting Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary Trump has served notice to the teachers unions: there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s will demand changes in our failing public schools. Ditto Elaine Chao, who if confirmed will be Trump’s Secretary of Transportation. Chao, wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, knows her way around the capitol, and will be an excellent shepard for Trump’s infrastructure initiative.

On the campaign trail, Trump derided Hillary Clinton and President Obama for talking about “change” but accomplishing little despite their many combined years of public service. The message was clear: Trump is a “doer” and will get results. Americans weary of inaction on infrastructure, on our porous borders, on tax reform, on our poor schools and mounting student debt, and especially tired of sluggish wage gains, are ready for action.

The liberal press will minimize the Carrier deal, pointing out that 1,000 jobs will not of itself lift economic growth, and that structural cost problems remain for U.S. manufacturers. Paying Mexican laborers three dollars an hour is a powerful enticement; workers in Indianapolis are making more than $20.

All that is true, and Trump will not be able to jawbone every corporation into playing ball. But the Carrier deal is a strong signal that Trump will stand by his promises. It is also a powerful reminder that for eight years President Obama has failed to make job growth a priority of his administration. From the beginning, passing ObamaCare was his top goal, even though the healthcare bill arguably dampened hiring by managers put off by the program’s increased costs. Environmental regulations, stiff new rules for banks which discouraged lending, rules on overtime and benefits which boosted the cost of labor – all have been well intentioned but have depressed business hiring.

The Carrier reversal also shows our billionaire president-elect ready to use the power of the Oval Office to negotiate a better deal for our country – from corporations as well as from foreign countries. Underlying that premise is Trump’s recognition that the U.S. is the exceptional nation, and that our prestige and clout can be leveraged on behalf of American workers. What a welcome change.