(From The Guardian)
The US economy roared ahead in the second quarter of 2018, growing at an annual rate of 4.1%, its fastest pace in four years, the commerce department announced on Friday.
The growth will be a major boon for the Trump administration, which pushed through $1.5tn in tax cuts at the start of the year with a promise that they would be paid for by economic growth.
Ahead of the announcement on Thursday, Donald Trump teased that good news could be coming. Breaking with a tradition of presidents refraining from commenting on market sensitive government releases ahead of their release, the president told a rally in Illinois: “Somebody actually predicted today 5.3 [percent growth]. I don’t think that’s going to happen … if it has a four in front of it, we’re happy.”
But economists warned the growth spurt may be unsustainable and the evidence so far is that the benefits of the mini-boom have disproportionately gone to the wealthiest Americans.