Here is my layman’s take… corrections welcomed.
Stock market reaching new highs ? Heavily fueled by stock buy backs by companies and investors sated with money from irresponsible tax cuts.
Tax cuts:
== Most went to the 1 per cent and to businesses. How many middle income people got significant tax cuts ? And how many had their tax cut outweighed by rises in insurance ?
== The tax cuts expire soon and there will be tax rises in 2021 to pay for the tax cuts of 2018. The tax cuts are purely to artificially pump up the economy in time for the midterms.
Lower unemployment ?
= Obama brought it down from 8 per cent to 4 percent. It has not fallen much further under Trump.
= New jobs are mostly gig jobs
Rises in wages
== due to Democratic pursuit of a higher minimum wage.
Student debt:
== Republicans have done nothing to lighten the load.