Republican tax reform will play a major part in driving sustained U.S. economic growth above 3 percent, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney predicted Thursday on CNBC.
In arguing that baseline and taking a swipe at former President Barack Obama, Mulvaney made a pointed pitch to millennials that the Trump administration will usher in prosperity like they’ve never seen as working adults.
“If you’re under the age of 30, you’ve never had a job as an adult in this country when the economy is healthy,” Mulvaney told “Squawk Box.” “The things you can do as a young person when the economy is growing and healthy is dramatically different than the previous administration.”
Obama’s tenure, which began in the thick of the financial crisis, was marked by growth in the 2 percent range. While some quarters spiked above that, a sustained growth rate of 3 percent on an annual basis was never achieved.
While pointing to the 3.1 percent advance in second-quarter gross domestic product and the 3.3 percent gain in the third quarter’s second of three revisions, he predicted more of the same for the fourth quarter.
Economic growth of 3 percent or above is a key pillar of what Mulvaney calls MAGAnomics — a term that’s a mashup of Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” and “economics.”
Mulvaney, formerly a congressman from South Carolina and member of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus, also said he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the tentative tax deal on Capitol Hill.
He encouraged Americans not to get bogged down in the details until a final compromise bill is crafted, passed and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature into law.
“Look at the big picture,” Mulvaney said. “The big picture is you are better off in a healthy American economy and this tax bill is a part of getting that.”
