July 19, 2018 2:34PM # Appraising MAGAnomics after 500 Days By [Thomas A. Firey](https://www.cato.org/people/thomas-firey) --- SHARE A few weeks ago, President Trump surpassed his 500th day in office. That’s a good vantage point to appraise his economic policies to Make American Great Again. Over at the [Library of Economics and Liberty](https://www.econlib.org/)’s [Econlog](https://www.econlib.org/econlog/), [I offer my assessment](https://www.econlib.org/maganomics-a-500-day-appraisal/). It’s not good. This may seem surprising, given current economic conditions. But economic policy isn’t merely about the current moment, but predominantly about improving economic conditions long-term. Aside from a couple of provisions in the December 2017 tax law, President Trump has done precious little in that regard and much to harm the economy long-term, from borrow-and-spend fiscal policy, to disastrous trade and immigration policies, to disinterest in serious regulatory reform, to his refusal to face the country’s dreary long-term fiscal challenges. From my conclusion: > MAGAnomics appears to be little more than an impulsive dislike of free trade and immigration, a hazy desire for less regulation, disinterest in (or perhaps a lack courage to face) the nation’s long-term fiscal problems, and a desire to temporarily lower taxes without making the hard choices necessary to fiscally balance those cuts and make them enduring. In other words, MAGAnomics is a slogan supporting a few weak and many harmful initiatives, not a serious collection of policies thoughtfully designed to strengthen the nation’s economic health. Take a look and see if you agree. ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Social Welfare and Poverty](https://www.cato.org/social-welfare-poverty), [Regulation](https://www.cato.org/regulatory-studies), [Social Security](https://www.cato.org/topic/social-security), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy), [Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).