I fear we have passed a point of no return when it comes to how polarized politics have become, but we have missed seeing some important economic lessons as a consequence.
I’ve been trying to imagine what it would have been like to be Sarah Sanders this weekend, heading out for a weekend brunch with friends, in the middle of enjoying a cheeseplate in a tiny restaurant in a town in Virginia and being asked to leave by the owner because she doesn’t like your politics.
How mortifying.
I was even more aghast when I read an article saying that Sanders may have violated U.S. ethics laws when she tweeted her confirmation of the incident, because it may have harmed the business of the owner who kicked her out.
On my feed, countless stories kept popping up that other Red Hen restaurants were receiving nasty comments in a case of mistaken identity.
It seems that everyone was a victim in this saga except Sarah Sanders.
And we wonder why more women don’t go into politics?
WATCH: Sarah Sanders remarks on being asked to leave Virginia restaurant, use of work Twitter to comment
I have to question why a business owner would think Trump is such a horrendous president that she felt compelled to punish and embarrass a member of his staff.
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I remember my friend Jeremy telling me early on in the U.S. primaries that Trump was going to win not only the Republican nomination but also the presidency. He was right and I’ve never underestimated Trump ever since. If he wins the mid-term elections, I won’t be surprised a bit.
The real problem with the extreme emotion and vitriol that has infected public debate, both in the United States and in Canada, is it becomes impossible to have a rational conversation about anything to do with the Trump administration.
One thing we should be paying attention to is the fact that the U.S. economy is hot and the Canadian economy is not, and most of the reason for that is the ideological differences of our respective leaders.
LISTEN: Philip Cross with the MacDonald Laurier Institute talks about the American and Canadian economy
I spoke with Philip Cross from the MacDonald Laurier Institute who said that Canada had a surge in economic growth in the first quarter of 2017 and has stagnated ever since. Meanwhile, the turnaround in the U.S. economy can be traced to six months ago – right after the Trump tax cuts.
The huge reduction in corporate income tax rates, the one time repatriation tax for corporate offshore profits and the change to writeoffs on equipment purchases have had an astounding effect. Investment intentions are up, the stock market is up, business confidence is up. But it isn’t just a victory for the top 1 per cent.
LISTEN: Steve Cortes discusses all thing American politics
I also spoke with political commentator and Trump supporter Steve Cortes who said this is a boom benefiting the middle class.
Employment is up, wages are up and consumer confidence is up too. There have been two million people who have left the Food Stamps program since Trump got elected. Unemployment is at its lowest level since 2001 and it is a broad-based recovery across all wage earner categories, including those with no high school diploma, and black and Hispanic minority communities, too.
For the last three years the message coming from Canadian political leaders has been to vilify corporations and the wealthy, increase taxes, attack small business as tax cheats, strangle major projects like pipelines in red tape, and attempt to increase income by raising minimum wage and government social programs.
The Trump approach has been to celebrate American exceptionalism in everything from energy to autos to agriculture, encourage business investment and challenge the private sector to create more jobs.
The U.S. economy is robust and growing stronger. The Canadian economy is stagnant and getting weaker. If you miss the lesson in that, you aren’t paying close enough attention.
Danielle Smith can be reached at danielle@770chqr.com
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