Young Americans for Freedom at U.Va. hosted economist Stephen Moore Wednesday evening for a talk covering the topics of his most recent book — “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.” Moore was one of the top economic advisors for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and Trump’s economic vision was the central point of discussion.
The talk was held by YAF, a conservative student group, as part of the Thomas W. Smith Foundation Free Enterprise Lecture Series, which brings speakers to universities to discuss free market and deregulatory economic ideas with students. Moore emphasized the significance of free market capitalism to economic growth in reference to the Trump administration’s economic policies.
“The essence of what ‘Trumponomics’ is about is growth,” Moore said. “Any social or economic problem … all of these things are related to slow growth.”
Moore discussed positive feedback to Trump’s economic policies, citing increased small business optimism and consumer confidence. Moore discussed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which Trump signed into law in December 2017. The act notably lowered the corporate income tax to 21 percent from 35 percent. However, some analyses have pointed to significant, long-term negative side effects of the act. A June report from the Tax Policy Center — a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. — found the act will stimulate the economy in the short term, however, have detrimental side effects in the long run, such as reducing federal revenue, increasing after-tax income inequality, raising the federal debt and raising health care premiums, among other factors.
Moore also noted trade deals Trump has initiated, such as his campaign promise to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement — a deal that removed tariffs on trade with Mexico and Canada — and the proposal of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that aims to increase North American production rather than importing products, specifically in the automobile industry.
“Remember the four pillars of growth — free trade, lower taxes, sound money and reduced government spending and regulation,” Moore said, summing up the key ideas of Trump’s economic agenda.
“I think we’re at the beginning of an American renaissance in terms of the economy,” Moore said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. “This means for young people — especially students — when you graduate from college, you’re gonna have the best job opportunities ever because there are so many jobs out there right now. We did it by cutting taxes and reducing regulations and getting government off the back of business.”
Kevin McMahon, a fourth-year College student and chairman of the Young Americans for Freedom organization, said bringing Moore to Grounds was a way to encourage an open dialogue about a controversial topic.
“I could not care less if we had 100 liberals show up to an event who all disagreed vehemently with YAF’s ideas,” McMahon said. “I just want engagement and conversation to be happening at U.Va., and it seemed like that was the case tonight.”
Challenging norms and expectations was a prevalent theme throughout Moore’s talk. Moore cited defying norms as a key life lesson when he recalled his experience on the Trump campaign and the president’s unexpected victory.
“Sometimes in life — and more than you think — the experts are wrong,” Moore said.
Some students in attendance found Moore’s views to be an interesting addition to discussion about economics and politics. First-year College student Tristan Williams said he was drawn to the event by a desire to hear a diverse array of ideas.
“Personally, I feel an obligation to become more educated on viewpoints alike and opposed to your own,” Williams said. “More people on campus should be drawn to an event like this … there is something to be said for someone whose had their profession in economics pointing to these charts that are founded in factual data that do provide merit to certain things, such as Trump being the actual cause for the growth we’re seeing.”
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