2 months ago
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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Employers in the U.S. increased their payroll by 228,000 in March.
👥 Who’s Involved: The U.S. Department of Labor, economists, and private sector businesses.
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📍 Where & When: United States, March.
💬 Key Quote: “Great job numbers, far better than expected. It’s already working. Hang tough, we can’t lose!!!” — President Donald J. Trump.
⚠️ Impact: The labor market’s unexpected strength suggests continued economic stability, alongside increased workforce participation and rising wages.
IN FULL:
According to a report released by the Department of Labor (DoL) on Friday, in March, U.S. employers expanded their workforce by 228,000. The jobs numbers far exceeded economists’s forecasts, with most only anticipating a gain of 140,000 new jobs for the month.
“Great job numbers, far better than expected. It’s already working,” President Donald J. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social responding to the jobs report. He added: “Hang tough, we can’t lose!!!”
While the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2 percent, this increase was expected due to labor force expansions and increased demand for workers. Notably, the private sector demonstrated significant hiring momentum, with 209,000 positions added, far surpassing the forecast of 115,000 jobs. This robust performance offsets concerns over consumer sentiment and indicates resilient economic conditions.
The workforce participation rate has continued its expansion, rising from 62.4 percent to 62.5 percent. The average workweek also extended, reflecting stronger labor demand. Average hourly earnings grew by 0.3 percent from February and rose 3.8 percent compared to the previous year, indicating healthy wage growth.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is pushing the GOP to reembrace unpopular globalist economic policies, is criticizing President Donald J. Trump’s imposition of extensive global tariffs, claiming they represent the largest peacetime tax increase in U.S. history.
👥 Who’s Involved: Mike Pence, Donald Trump, and America First conservatives, including Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro.
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📍 Where & When: Pence posted criticism to X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday evening following President Trump’s “Liberation Day” event.
💬 Key Quote: “The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history,” claims Pence.
⚠️ Impact: Critics like Pence claim the tariffs could cost American families over $3,500 per year, destroy jobs, and weaken conservative political standing. Additionally, the Pence-led Advancing American Freedom PAC contends the tariffs will counteract the benefits of previous tax cuts.
IN FULL:
Former Vice President Mike Pence publicly criticized President J. Donald Trump’s imposition of a 10 percent blanket global tariff and additional targeted tariffs in response to pre-existing foreign trade barriers, claiming the new import duties will result in significant economic burdens for American families. Additionally, in a Wednesday night post on X (formerly Twitter), Pence asserted the tariffs represent the most substantial peacetime tax increase in U.S. history.
“The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history,” Pence claimed, adding: “These Tariffs are nearly 10x the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence Administration and will cost American families over $3,500 per year.” Attached to Pence’s X post was a screenshot of anti-Trump tariff talking points pushed by his Advancing American Freedom PAC.
Advancing American Freedom PAC’s claim that the tariffs will cost American families over $3,500 per year is based on a Goldman Sachs estimate, which pegs the total tariff revenue at around $300 billion annually. However, Pence and his Advancing American Freedom PAC appear to assume that American families will bear the bulk of the tax burden imposed by the tariffs—a fairly unlikely scenario—and not foreign companies attempting to maintain their market share in the United States.
Meanwhile, Pence’s assertion that Trump’s tariffs are “the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history” is on equally shaky ground. While tariffs are technically taxes, they are not entirely borne by Americans, with at least part of the import duty paid by foreign companies. Additionally, Advancing American Freedom PAC states that Trump’s tariffs are the highest imposed since the 1800s, claiming the imposed rate is higher than the Smoot-Hawley tariffs from the Great Depression.
The first claim is dubious at best, though the assertion that the Trump tariff rate is higher than those imposed under Smoot-Hawley is patently false. Pence and Advancing American Freedom PAC are playing fast and loose with what they consider the average tariff rate to make the claim. The Smoot-Hawley tariffs imposed a 59.1 percent rate on dutiable goods, though around 63 percent of foreign imports were not considered dutiable under the law. This places the average tariff rate under Smoot-Hawley at just under 20 percent.
President Trump’s tariffs include a blanket 10 percent tariff on all imports with additional target tariffs on specific countries with pre-existing trade barriers against American exports. Estimates regarding the average rate range from around 15 percent to 20 percent, though the lower side of the range appears more likely.
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