Trump's projection of 3.5% growth is "not in the cards" - Robert Reich

[JHan]

In other words, Bullshit.

I agree with him.

"Not in the cards"

The Trump administration may be envisioning a 3 percent to 3.5 percent economic growth rate, but that is just "not in the cards," former Labor Secretary Robert Reich told CNBC on Tuesday.

That's because there are two sources of growth — workforce population and productivity, he explained.

With baby boomers retiring and no boom in productivity, "you just can't do it, mathematically," said Reich, who served under President Bill Clinton.

President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of tax cuts and deregulation, which he said would spur economic growth.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump transition team ordered Council of Economic Advisers staffers to predict a sustained gross domestic product growth of 3 percent to 3.5 percent.

"Why not be cautious because if your growth estimates are way out of line or overly optimistic, your budget is going to be overly optimistic and you are not going to make a responsible budget," Reich told "Power Lunch."

CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow, on the other hand, thinks Trump deserves a little "common sense credit."

In fact, he thinks the president is being too conservative in his growth projections because the backbone of Trump's plan is to slash taxes for both small and large businesses.

"This is hugely important. It has been the biggest obstacle to growth and productivity," he told "Power Lunch".

Larry Kudlow is also an idiot.

[unblock]

1. he's probably off by about 4%. a recession is vastly more likely.

on top of everything else frustratingly wrong about donnie and the republicans, the sheer idiocy needed to think that on the heels of the longest economic expansion ever, after obama got us essentially back to full employment, after the fed embarking on a rate hike cycle, somehow we're going to have an economy grow even faster and create even more jobs is mind-blowing.

[rickford66]

2. They're counting on a trickle down deluge ?

[JHan]

3. I don't know what they're looking at..

if we look.. or try to look.. at Trump's plans cohesively, it's all BS. It's a hodge podge of really bad ideas. Tax Cuts married with Pork Project Spending, compounded by stupid trade talk leading to the possibility of a trade war with either China or Mexico. There's no guarantee profits from tax cuts will go the way Larry claims they will. More Pie in the Sky nonsense.

[westerebus]

4. The republic of trump.

It's a bit confusing. The ROT expects 4% in its profits. That would exclude anything that happens in the US economy.