The GDP growth numbers for 2016 were recently released and it was below expert expectations. GDP growth for 2016 was only 1.6%! The average GDP growth for the last 7 ½ years was only 2.1%! Those are some really lousy numbers! The question is, why has our economy grown so slowly these last 7 ½ years? It’s mainly because government spending is crowding out private sector investment! We need to shrink the size of government! That is how we make America Great Again!

On January 20th Donald Trump was officially sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. The 17 minute long speech he gave had a very nationalistic sort of tone to it and that is not a good sign for lovers of liberty.  Obama added $9.3 Trillion to the national debt in 8 years, while Bush added $4.9 Trillion. The problem with our economy today and the problems our country is facing is we’re spending too much money and the government is too big!  Both parties are at fault and the only way to make America great again is by reducing the size and scope of government!

Vehicle discounts increased in December of 2016 to increase auto sales to yet, another record year!  Demand for cars has fallen because the auto bubble is deflating and it took a decrease in vehicle prices to bring people into dealerships. How much longer will this go on? The auto loan bubble will be fully pricked by the time the next economic crisis is here and we seem to be very close to that. Also, companies like Cadillac are offering a new program where you pay a $1,500 subscription and you can drive any top of the line Cadillac car you want. There is no contract, just a $1,500 a month subscription. This new program will begin to roll out on February 1st, 2017 in New York City. Is this the future of the car industry? What’s coming next?

Donald Trump is 10 days away from being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States so we have to ask ourselves what will a Trump presidency look like? The way Trump is on twitter all the time saying he will put tariffs on a company that sends jobs overseas is rather concerning. It’s going to be an interesting 4 years of the Donald and I don’t think they will be good for liberty at all.

Thomas Sowell wrote his last column on December 28th and he decided to give it up after about 40 years of doing it!  Sowell has had a huge impact the economic world because of the amazing books he has written over the years!  He’s an extremely gifted writer who writes very clearly, concisely and is just a brilliant mind. A few points he makes in his last few columns are discussed to pay tribute to an incredible mind that has done lots of work defending the free market and making the moral case for capitalism!