The Chairman of the White House CEA Kevin Hassett appears on CNBC to discuss the strong January jobs report and economic indicators that were released last week.
Hassett is valuable, very valuable, because he is one of the few bean-counters who reviews current analysis through the prism of what is factually happening around him; as opposed to economic theory.  Because he accepts what I call ‘fluid-currentism‘ Hassett is one of the few analysts who (early on) started recognizing that under MAGAnomics (Main Street centric policy) inflation was no longer connected to the FED engagement.
To say acceptance of this ‘new dimension‘ puts Hassett on the cusp of leading economic review would be an understatement. Additionally, it makes his commentary exceptionally more valuable [listen to the segment at 02:50].  Hassett is pragmatic, positive, open to accepting all fact-based evidence, on point, and more importantly, accurate.

…”The booming economy is giving us the social justice that people want”… ~ Kevin Hassett

Unfortunately, most financial pundits are prone to talking down the strength of the U.S. economy. It’s maddening. They spend all day mining for coal nuggets while currently surrounded by diamonds.


CHAIRMAN HASSETT: And again, the economics literature, Mr. President, when you were running for office basically said that manufacturing was going the way of agriculture in the previous century; that it was just on an inevitable decline as a percentage of GDP. But it also focused a lot on this idea that there was a rust belt in America. There was a place where there used to be manufacturing, where there was disproportionate harm to workers.
And I think the thing that’s really, really interesting about the manufacturing jobs that have been created by our policies — your policies — are that they’re scattered throughout America. The dark red part is a place where manufacturing jobs are up by 20 percent or more since you last took office.
THE PRESIDENT: Wow. That’s fantastic.
CHAIRMAN HASSETT: And then the lighter reds are 10 percent or more. And the lightest red is 5 percent or more.
But if you look at all the pockets all across the country, including in places that people used to call the Rust Belt, where manufacturing employment is booming, what it means is that there’s basically a boom belt from coast to coast that’s been created by our policies.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know, Kevin, when I took over, the Rust Belt was really in trouble. Many people were saying it’s dying, it’s dead; people were leaving. And I love the Rust Belt, and the Rust Belt is no longer the Rust Belt as far as I’m concerned. It’s vibrant. It’s doing so well. You look at all of those red marks, those red marks are where it’s flourishing. Tremendous numbers. And that’s fantastic. We’re very proud.
I wish, frankly, that the media would report how well we’re doing in manufacturing, how well we’re doing with the economy. They don’t seem to report how well we’re doing. I think if you had another President, it would be the biggest story, because it really is the biggest story, or certainly one of the biggest stories. And you see the market, how it is. It hit 25,000 yesterday. We’re doing great. We’re doing great as a country.
And we have a lot of bite-back because other countries are not doing well. China is having a very hard time. They’re here now. We’re going to be seeing them a little bit later. We’re trying to work out a new trade deal with China. I think it will happen. Something will happen. But it’s a very big deal. It will be — if it does happen, it will be, by far, the largest trade deal ever made.
And we essentially didn’t have a trade deal with China. We lost $500 billion with China, for many years, a year. Anywhere from $300- to $500-, $505 billion a year was lost in our dealing with China. And I have a very good relationship with President Xi, and I think we’ll sit down at the end — at the end of the negotiation by our representatives — and do something with respect to making a deal with China. I think it has a very good chance of happening.
But China is having a very hard time with their economy, and the European Union is having a hard time. A lot of things going on. And we’re getting tremendous numbers. Tremendous unemployment numbers — among the best we’ve ever had in the history of our country. Individual groups the best: African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, women. Numbers that we haven’t seen before. The overall is the best numbers. Best employment numbers in 51 years.
So we’re doing really well. I wish the press would report it.
[Transcript Link]

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