One year ago, President Donald Trump pledged to halt the opioid epidemic and curtail illegal immigration, especially at the U.S.-Mexico border. The health of a nation, however relies not only on the leader but on the circumstances he or she inherits. Here’s a look at America’s well-being today.
1 Presidential approval is flagging
Trump’s approval rating is down 7 points since the last State of the Union, and recently, in the wake of the longest government shutdown in American history, clocked a record low of 40 percent. Presidential approval often declines during the course of any one presidency. Still, one thing has remained steady: a wide gap between Democrats and Republicans, who give the president an approval rating of 15 percent and 85 percent, respectively.
Trump’s Overall Approval Rating
2 There are more jobs and unemployment is low
During last year’s State of the Union address, Trump championed the creation of 2.4 million jobs and record-breaking lows in unemployment.
In 2018, the trend continued with unemployment rates dropping as low as 3.7 percent. Unemployment figures rose slightly after the recent government shutdown, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest report. The same report shows an addition of 304,000 jobs* last month, about 30 percent more than last year’s monthly average. Average hourly earnings increased 3.2 percent, or 85 cents, since last year.
Unemployment Rate
3 Monthly goods and services imports outpace exports
The monthly U.S. goods and services deficit swelled to $55.5 billion in October 2018, representing an 11.4 percent rise over the same time the year earlier. Trump often points to the large trade deficit as evidence the U.S. is losing on trade. But even with a rising deficit under Trump, U.S. unemployment has continued to fall. U.S. factory employment, for example, has risen during Trump’s two years in office, fed by the strong U.S. economic growth that began during the last years of the Obama administration.
U.S. International Trade Deficit
4 After years of decline, a slight uptick of apprehensions at the southern border
The number of apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border have more than halved since the Bush era. At its close, the Obama administration saw the fewest apprehensions in more than four decades. The Trump administration marks a slight increase with roughly 400,000 people apprehended since the start of Trump’s presidency.
Apprehensions at the Southwest Border
5 Drug overdoses at an all-time high, most of them from opioids
American life expectancy fell for the second year in a row from 2014 to 2016, a decline partially attributed to increases in suicides and drug overdoses. 2017 saw the highest rate of reported deaths due to drug overdose, with 21.7 deaths per 100,000 people, more than 70,000 total deaths. More than half, or 14.9 deaths per 100,000 people, were opioid-related. In addition, many drug overdoses go unreported, according to the CDC.
Drug Overdose Deaths
Per 100,000 people
Join POLITICO at 9 p.m. Eastern time for live video and analysis of President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address.
Doug Palmer contributed to this report.
from Update Trend News http://bit.ly/2Ga3ei1
0 Comments