Will tax reform help the GOP capitalize for 2018 midterms?

close

Video

Will tax reform help the GOP capitalize for 2018 midterms?

President Trump and Republican leaders are meeting to set the agenda to keep their majority this year.

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.

Economy, Markets in Focus as President Trump and GOP Leaders Map Out 2018 Agenda at Camp David Today

Gary B. Smith: Any time people feel richer it helps the party that currently holds Congress and it helps the presidency. I'm convinced that most people out there have been brainwashed by the mainstream media that this is a corporate-only tax cut. That's untrue. The Tax Foundation has run scenario after scenario where the average person is going to get back two or $3,000. Every tax cut we've seen all the way back to Calvin Coolidge has been beneficial for this country this one will do the same.

John Layfield: The left right now is talking from emotion they're not talking from facts. The rich are getting richer and the guy on the corner office is getting the tax breaks. Truth is small business are getting these tax breaks they will spend that money on jobs. This will also benefit the GOP. They got the tax cut passed looks like they will get infrastructure passed. People vote with their pocket book and that favors the GOP.

Hadley Heath Manning: Anybody who said during the month-long debate over tax reform that this bill was only going to help the 1 percent and corporations they've been proven wrong. Ultimately a strong economy never hurts for the incumbent party and republicans are in a much better position now having passed that package.

Chuck Rocha: A big stock market doesn't mean you're going to win elections. Under Barack Obama, the stock market literally doubled and we created 11 million new jobs under Barack Obama and as a democrat I will admit we lost 61 seats in the Congress, so an inflated stock market and even the economy doing relatively good don't always ensure you'll have victories. The smartest thing they could do at this retreat if they want to win midterm elections is take his phone away from Donald Trump and somebody step on it.

Jonas Max Ferris: I will say I don't think it's a slam dunk for the midterms. It's going to be tight. I think ultimately who is going to win is the better messenger of selling trickle down versus trickle up economics. I think it does show people that oh, yeah I've got something it wasn't all for corporate America. That said it could go either way in an election definitely.

Arctic Blast Fueling Worries About Impact On Heating Bills, Gas Prices

Gary B. Smith: It's all based on supply and demand and right now, the demand for everything from heating oil to natural gas to even gasoline is going up, so those prices for the short-term should go up a little but what happens is everything reverts to the mean. This temporary spike although it's frigid out there everyone has the heat on high is going to fade, so maybe a week or so of high prices.

Hadley Heath Manning: Weather can affect the economy in a myriad of ways. Snowstorms of any kind are destructive that's bad, that means people lose their lives in some cases but economically speaking they have to spend more on the necessities rather than spending their money how they would choose.

John Layfield: Fortunately we have a very low inflation because of the Amazon effect, because of the natural resources from natural gas to shale oil, so we're starting from a very low base of $2.49 right now is the average gallon of gas so you're going to see some price spikes and because of the low inflation environment it's not going to be that bad and fortunately you aren't going to see it for that long.

Jonas Max Ferris: There's going to be serious short-term implications in the market not enough supply in the areas for the increased demand. That said there's not going to be a move like '05 back to $150 oil. There is a ton of oil that was taken off the market because of low prices by OPEC and also our own shale production is lower than it was that is there for any long term. We aren't going to get $90- barrel or $4 gas prices because that will take a little while but the reserves are there so don't worry about it like last time.

Chuck Rocha: We're talking about the negativity but you should think about the positive as well think about the long john sales going up and the snow tire sales that are going up and the whiskey sales going up from folks who ain't going nowhere just sitting around being cold.

Big Financial Donor Drops Bannon

John Layfield: You compare the leader of the free world against Steve Bannon, and people give money they want access, you get that access when you give it to the president of the United States I think he wins this one.

Chuck Rocha: People talk about money and politics -- you never want to take on the guy that's got the biggest checkbook. You don't want to pick a fight with somebody writing checks and Bannon may be a great strategist but if I'm paying for things with penny rolls you won't never hear my message.

Hadley Heath Manning: There's a lot of people within the republican base who may not care for Steve Bannon so much so leaving him behind could really allow president trump start or rise even further and it could warm was up relationships with congressional republicans and people like Leader McConnell, Speaker Ryan and allow that legislative agenda to move forward get things passed. I don't think it will damage the party in a big way.

Gary B. Smith: I think it's simple. You know what the rich care about. They care about who has the juice. If things start to go south for Donald Trump, watch the big money shift to the next person who might be in office. Right now Donald Trump looks good. Probably for eight years, that's where the money is.

Jonas Max Ferris: I think everybody here is underestimating the Trump magic. The average person following the story doesn't have a lot of money hears Trump say Bannon went crazy. You look at the two of them and it's like Trump looks like he belongs in Trump Tower and Steve Bannon looks like a guy you don't want to sit next to on public transportation and that's what ices this for trump.

Predictions

Gary B. Smith: (PETS) up 20 percent in 2018

John Layfield: (GE) returns 20 percent in 1 year

Jonas Max Ferris: (HACK) dials up 20 percent in 1 year