WEBVTT
00:00:07.612 --> 00:00:20.807
Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life.
00:00:20.807 --> 00:00:25.804
Now here's your host, david Kaiser flourishing life.
00:00:26.085 --> 00:00:27.413
Now here's your host, David Kaiser.
00:00:27.413 --> 00:00:36.963
Hello, I am David, and welcome back to another Mojo Minute, as is our custom.
00:00:36.963 --> 00:00:38.344
Let's go to our first pull quote.
00:00:38.344 --> 00:00:45.593
From the peak of spring 1973 until the trough of winter 1982.
00:00:45.593 --> 00:00:52.680
The GDP of the United States improved at a rate of 1.8% yearly.
00:00:52.680 --> 00:00:57.609
Over the same period, population increased 1% per year.
00:00:57.609 --> 00:01:06.512
Economic growth per capita, the single measure of a nation's prosperity, was thus almost stagnant.
00:01:06.512 --> 00:01:11.888
Not that the nation's inhabitants had decided to take a permanent break.
00:01:11.888 --> 00:01:15.834
Trading work for leisure, far from it.
00:01:15.834 --> 00:01:23.474
From 1973 to 1982, the size of the labor force increased from 85 million to 100 million.
00:01:23.474 --> 00:01:32.465
From 85 million to 100 million, people strove to work ever more, just as the returns to more labor leveled to zero.
00:01:32.465 --> 00:01:50.123
Feminism's encouragement of women to enter the workforce, the maturation of the last tranche of the baby boomers and immigration of exceptional entrepreneurial quality from Indochina and Cuba ensured a large increase in the number of those seeking jobs.
00:01:50.123 --> 00:01:52.989
Yet it was all a mad dash.
00:01:52.989 --> 00:02:13.276
Gdp growth, control for labor force and population growth from 1972 to 1973 to 1982 approximated just one period in American history 1929 to 1940, the Great Depression.
00:02:13.276 --> 00:02:36.694
The winter of 1982 would prove to be the hinge on which the GDP march of the United States would swing back to the historical norm, the trend memorialized by the phrase post-war prosperity.
00:02:36.694 --> 00:02:52.045
The quarter century beginning in winter of 1982 would see growth at 3.3% per year, precisely the rate that had held for the quarter century following World War II.
00:02:53.268 --> 00:03:06.699
Reversion to trend the most venerable of all phenomena in statistics was honored in the economic accounts of the United States in the last fifth of the 20th century.
00:03:06.699 --> 00:03:20.786
In the early years of the 21st, growth at three or four percent per annum has been standard since Alexander Hamilton's hitch as first secretary of the treasury.
00:03:20.786 --> 00:03:37.133
Until World War I, variation in economic performance was confined to the panics such as 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893, and 1907.
00:03:37.133 --> 00:03:46.472
Panics characteristically involved bank failures and business collapses, as well as runs on money and pushes into gold.
00:03:46.472 --> 00:03:56.043
Many people found themselves out of work while the panic held, but such periods usually lasted only a few months.
00:03:56.043 --> 00:04:04.975
At the most, as in 1873-75 and 1893-95, they lasted for two years.
00:04:04.975 --> 00:04:11.573
Furthermore, both of these bursts preceded eras of enormous growth.
00:04:11.573 --> 00:04:47.750
One reason that the robber barons became so wealthy in the Gilded Age is that those who aspired to that mantle bought heavily during times of panic and emerged on the other side as the employers of choice as for prices they held at par for the century prior to the creation of the Fed, the one exception being the greenback inflation spawned by the Civil War, which was resolved by 1879.
00:04:49.701 --> 00:05:03.310
And that comes to us from a fantastic book written by Brian Dmitrievic titled Econoclast the Rebels who Sparked the Supply Side Revolution and Restored American Prosperity, written in 2009.
00:05:03.310 --> 00:05:15.913
It is a fantastic look of how the 1980s Reagan Revolution became one of the highest periods of growth in our 250 years of being a country.
00:05:15.913 --> 00:05:25.752
I wanted to share that long quote For two reasons, because of two big nuggets of wisdom.
00:05:25.752 --> 00:05:28.930
First was that very first paragraph of our quote.
00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:42.612
From the peak of spring of 1973 until the trough of the winter of 1982, the GDP of the United States improved at a rate of 1.8% yearly.
00:05:42.612 --> 00:05:47.129
Over the same period, population increased one percent per year.
00:05:47.129 --> 00:05:58.261
Economic growth per capita the single measure of a nation's prosperity sorry, not not single signal.
00:05:58.261 --> 00:06:03.288
The signal measure of a nation's prosperity was thus almost stagnant.
00:06:03.288 --> 00:06:06.593
Nation's prosperity was thus almost stagnant and it's important to keep those numbers in mind.
00:06:06.593 --> 00:06:26.396
Gdp growth of 1.8% yearly from 1973 to 1982.
00:06:26.396 --> 00:06:30.096
And what has been our GDP growth?
00:06:30.096 --> 00:06:34.817
Answer 1.7%.
00:06:34.817 --> 00:06:38.997
What has been the GDP growth per capita?
00:06:38.997 --> 00:06:42.238
1.1%.
00:06:42.238 --> 00:06:51.060
And even if you calculated using another measurement, it can only go as high as 1.2 or 1.3%.
00:06:52.562 --> 00:06:59.428
The point of all these numbers is that for the last 25 years, our economy has sucked.
00:06:59.428 --> 00:07:04.824
It has sucked badly Under both political parties.
00:07:04.824 --> 00:07:09.093
Economic leadership was dismal, if not criminal.
00:07:09.093 --> 00:07:15.389
For 25 years, this US economy has been in shambles.
00:07:15.389 --> 00:07:21.163
Did you hear that history that we used to have economic growth?
00:07:21.163 --> 00:07:25.670
Growth at three to four% per annum?
00:07:25.670 --> 00:07:40.908
Folks, if you watched Michael Jordan back in the day and he consistently scored 30 points per game and then suddenly it is cut in half to 15 points per game, wouldn't you be like, hey, what's up?
00:07:40.908 --> 00:07:42.069
What's going on?
00:07:42.069 --> 00:07:42.610
Is he hurt?
00:07:42.610 --> 00:07:44.480
Let's dig into the numbers.
00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:45.584
What's happening?
00:07:45.584 --> 00:07:47.221
Let's get to the bottom of this.
00:07:47.221 --> 00:07:49.906
Nope, not our national leaders.
00:07:49.906 --> 00:07:53.252
Everyone just goes along to get along.
00:07:53.252 --> 00:07:55.822
Well, that has finally changed.
00:07:57.264 --> 00:08:08.019
On July 4th 2025, president Donald Trump, along with Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Leader John Thune, were at the White House for an incredible signing ceremony.
00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:15.254
The one big, beautiful bill has, upon the president's signature, become law.
00:08:15.254 --> 00:08:33.076
Not since Ronald Reagan's signature piece of tax cut legislation in 1982 have we had this significant piece of conservative, supply-side economic legislation signed into law.
00:08:33.076 --> 00:08:46.827
Yes, we had a brief stint under President Trump in December of 2017 when the first Trump tax cut was put in place, but that wasn't nearly as massive as this bill.
00:08:46.827 --> 00:08:56.113
This bill is big and here's our top 10 key provisions so far that we have confirmed that's in the bill.
00:08:56.113 --> 00:09:07.294
First, the permanent extension of the TCJA tax cuts from 2017.
00:09:07.294 --> 00:09:15.174
These are the individual tax cuts from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017.
00:09:15.174 --> 00:09:18.259
They were temporary.
00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:23.874
They are now made permanent, preventing their expiration in 2025.
00:09:23.874 --> 00:09:27.009
The key point is they're permanent.
00:09:27.009 --> 00:09:31.370
That's a huge, huge win for economic growth.
00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:44.631
No taxes on tips or overtime pay Eliminates the federal income tax on tips and overtime pay up to $25,000 each for the next three years 25, 26, 27, and 28.
00:09:44.631 --> 00:09:46.585
Sorry, didn't know.
00:09:46.585 --> 00:09:51.931
They made that retroactive, so that is four years, four total years.
00:09:51.931 --> 00:10:03.693
Dems in the 1980s inserted this tax back into the code and Reagan had to reluctantly sign it to get victories on other measures.
00:10:03.693 --> 00:10:15.312
Wasn't something he liked, but he took the horse trading and had to reluctantly sign it to get other measures passed.
00:10:15.312 --> 00:10:20.831
This in the big, beautiful bill is another big win for economic growth.
00:10:20.831 --> 00:10:24.200
Auto loan interest deduction provides $10,000.
00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:31.234
Deduction for interest on auto loans for US assembled cars effective back to 2025.
00:10:31.234 --> 00:10:33.687
That's another four-year growth marker.
00:10:33.687 --> 00:10:35.386
It's another win for economic growth.
00:10:35.386 --> 00:10:47.514
The senior tax deduction offers $6,000 tax deduction for seniors earning less than $75,000ive 2025 again for four years.
00:10:47.514 --> 00:10:50.403
That's another big win for economic growth.
00:10:50.403 --> 00:11:03.128
The increased SALT deduction cap that raises state and local tax the deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 for taxpayers earning under $500,000.
00:11:03.128 --> 00:11:05.030
Effect effective 2025.
00:11:05.692 --> 00:11:11.649
I listed this one because it's a big deal to those in the Northeast, but it really isn't an economic growth piece at all.
00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:18.789
I actually wanted to watch this idea play out for the next three midterm cycles.
00:11:18.789 --> 00:11:22.841
That's the reason I listed it here, just so I could create a placeholder.
00:11:22.841 --> 00:11:38.817
Business tax incentives permanently allowing full expensing of research and development and equipment, and and this enhances tax credits for US-based semiconductor manufacturing.
00:11:38.817 --> 00:11:43.176
This is a huge, huge win for economic growth.
00:11:43.176 --> 00:11:46.965
This one's going to be part of the jumpstart for the economy.
00:11:46.965 --> 00:11:56.460
Anytime you can allow full expensing for equipment and R&D for corporations, they will invest heavily in their own equipment and R&D.
00:11:56.460 --> 00:11:59.253
So that's a huge, huge win.
00:12:00.284 --> 00:12:09.572
Border security funding this allocates $45 billion for ICE detention capacity and border enforcement, including mass deportation initiatives.
00:12:09.572 --> 00:12:11.304
This was a no-brainer.
00:12:11.304 --> 00:12:15.296
We have to remove illegal immigrants from the country, plain and simple.
00:12:15.296 --> 00:12:22.634
And then the last three are big just because they provide stability and health for the economy.
00:12:22.634 --> 00:12:30.052
The Rural Healthcare Investment Fund provides $10 billion annually for rural hospitals and clinic upgrades.
00:12:30.052 --> 00:12:33.668
This was a measure that the Senate pushed back into.
00:12:33.668 --> 00:12:37.317
Some conservatives really didn't want it in.
00:12:37.317 --> 00:12:45.052
But roll hospitals and clinic upgrades provide some pretty good stability in the roll areas.
00:12:45.634 --> 00:12:51.591
Air traffic control modernization this has been on the docket for two or three decades.
00:12:51.591 --> 00:12:56.158
It allocates $1.5 billion for air traffic control system upgrades.
00:12:56.158 --> 00:13:03.692
They've been running on like a green monochrome screen for the last 20 years.
00:13:03.692 --> 00:13:04.453
It's horrific.
00:13:04.453 --> 00:13:06.638
So we have to upgrade that.
00:13:06.638 --> 00:13:08.950
Finally we got that funding in there.
00:13:08.950 --> 00:13:13.701
We can reduce the rest of transportation.
00:13:13.701 --> 00:13:16.711
Secretary of Transportation Duffy is doing a good job over there.
00:13:16.711 --> 00:13:22.176
We can reduce that department and find some cost savings elsewhere.
00:13:22.176 --> 00:13:25.905
But the air traffic control system needed upgraded.
00:13:25.905 --> 00:13:41.576
And then social program reforms, work requirements for Medicaid, cutting SNAP funding for illegal immigrants and eliminating certain Department of Education programs projected to reduce federal spending in the overall.
00:13:41.576 --> 00:13:45.634
So again we got to get the illegal immigrants out of the country.
00:13:45.634 --> 00:13:48.591
They just cannot be on.
00:13:48.591 --> 00:13:50.171
Number one, they can't be in the country.
00:13:50.171 --> 00:13:53.434
Number two they cannot be getting health care funding.
00:13:53.434 --> 00:13:55.904
So that's just a no-brainer.
00:13:55.904 --> 00:14:01.091
That's a quick run through of the top items of the big beautiful bill.
00:14:01.091 --> 00:14:19.899
So, based on everything we know right now mid-July of 2025, to keep things very simple we should ask this question After the 1982 Reagan tax cut, what happened to the economy, and can we forecast that out to our own economy?
00:14:20.466 --> 00:14:21.370
Let's go back to the book.
00:14:21.370 --> 00:14:27.643
The permanent recovery began in the last quarter of 1982.
00:14:27.643 --> 00:14:31.936
In 1983, gdp growth was 4.5%.
00:14:31.936 --> 00:14:35.610
In 1984, it was 7.2%.
00:14:35.610 --> 00:14:44.100
An overheated economy, by any conventional reckoning, was one that grew by 12% in two years.
00:14:44.100 --> 00:14:50.804
Yet in 1985, reacted by delivering growth of 4.1%.
00:14:50.804 --> 00:14:56.017
The average rate of growth for those three years was 5.1%.
00:14:56.017 --> 00:15:02.517
How does 5.1% sound versus 1.8%?
00:15:02.517 --> 00:15:07.190
Pretty good, just how about a moderate 4%?
00:15:07.190 --> 00:15:07.471
Even?
00:15:07.471 --> 00:15:09.374
Still pretty good, right?
00:15:09.374 --> 00:15:12.559
Perhaps even just 3%?
00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:19.818
That's still 33% better than what we have been getting for the last two and a half decades.
00:15:20.405 --> 00:15:22.232
Let's go back to the book for one last quote.
00:15:22.232 --> 00:15:26.154
So what followed 1985?
00:15:26.154 --> 00:15:35.480
Growth of 3.5% in 86, 3.4% in 87, 4.1% in 88, 3.5% in 89.
00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:43.427
1 in 88, 3.5 in 89.
00:15:43.427 --> 00:15:53.590
The three-year run of 5.1% growth that marked the escape from stagflation moderated to 3.6% for the next four years, both numbers significantly above the trend of post-war prosperity.
00:15:53.590 --> 00:16:14.330
Indeed, the 4.3% per annum run of growth for the seven years beginning with 1983 was reminiscent of the salad years of post-war prosperity, the years that followed the de facto implementation of the policy mix in 1962.
00:16:15.951 --> 00:16:24.642
Recalling Genesis, robert Bartley called 1983 to 1989 the seven fat years.
00:16:24.642 --> 00:16:38.192
So in today's Mojo Minute, with the one big beautiful bill signed into law, we can finally say we have a grand old party worth their weight in gold.
00:16:38.192 --> 00:16:46.232
They have developed a spine not seen since 1995 with welfare reform.
00:16:46.232 --> 00:16:55.033
But even going back to the days of Reagan, they really leaned into supply side economic policies this time.
00:16:55.033 --> 00:16:59.546
And we can report, my friends, that the future is looking bright.
00:16:59.546 --> 00:17:02.054
We have always been on the lookout.
00:17:02.054 --> 00:17:07.452
We have to always be on the lookout for a pandemic or an unforeseen war or disaster.
00:17:07.452 --> 00:17:15.069
Let's pray that we don't have any of those shenanigans, because the future is indeed looking bright.
00:17:16.672 --> 00:17:19.135
Let's pray for Genesis 41.
00:17:19.135 --> 00:17:32.588
Let's pray for those seven fat years that the great Wall Street Journal editorial page and finally editorial of the actual journal, the great and late Robert Bartley, talked about.
00:17:32.588 --> 00:17:40.721
He also wrote a book by the same name, the Seven Fat Years, about his time at the journal.
00:17:40.721 --> 00:17:55.012
We're going to pray for those seven years of abundance that we read about in Genesis 41, those seven years of abundance that Joseph interpreted of Pharaoh's dreams.
00:17:55.012 --> 00:18:09.980
Our country needs seven solid, good years of economic growth, year after year after year, especially after coming through 25 years of famine at 1.8%.
00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:13.105
Let's pray for Genesis 41.
00:18:13.105 --> 00:18:16.095
And, folks, the future is looking bright.
00:18:16.095 --> 00:18:20.596
America at the beginning of a golden age.
00:18:20.596 --> 00:18:23.854
As always, keep fighting the good fight.
00:18:28.007 --> 00:18:29.231
Thank you for joining us.
00:18:29.231 --> 00:18:32.615
We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast.
00:18:32.615 --> 00:18:41.798
Be sure to check out our show page at TeamMojoAcademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources.
00:18:41.798 --> 00:18:45.615
Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.