It's Amazing What a Difference a President Who puts America First Can Make!

Stephen Moore on Dec 23, 2025

I've been shocked that Americans are in such a grumpy mood as reflected in all the public opinion polls.

What a paradox: At the same time, we have peace and prosperity, including more income, more wealth, more of almost everything that we want to buy (yes, except for housing), Americans seem to think we have an "affordability crisis." In 2025 the median household income in the United States has risen to more than $86,000 a year -- an all-time high.

Every income group and every ethnic group is richer today than ever before. Hispanics now have a median household income above $70,000, which would make them rich in most countries where they or their parents came from.

This upward slope of living standards has been the norm throughout our history as a nation, but this past year has been one of the blockbusters, with incomes rising almost twice as fast as inflation.

It hasn't happened by accident. It's happened because at the start of 2025 we had a regime change in Washington. In Donald Trump we have a president whose common-sense economic, education, energy, environment and financial policies have worked.

I don't agree with all the policies, such as some of the high tariffs, which are a mixed bag at best.

But few presidents have recorded more achievements and positive results in one year than Trump.

Here are some of them as we round out Trump 2.0, year one:

Median family income after inflation has risen by $1,250.

Incomes of the bottom 25% have risen after inflation. This is not a "rich getting richer, poor getting poorer story." It's a "rising tide that lifts all boats" story.

The wealth of the average family in their 401k plans is UP by an average of $21,000 -- reversing a more than $20,000 real decline under Joe Biden.

As many as 1 million additional families will have access to higher-performing schools thanks to Trump's education savings accounts.

No tax on tips and overtime starts on Jan. 1, 2026, for millions of American workers.

The federal budget deficit -- a clear and present danger -- was down by roughly 2.5% in 2025 and is already down by another 170 billion in the first two months of fiscal year 2026, despite the Trump tax cuts.

Our servicemen and servicewomen received a well-deserved $1,776 end-of-year bonus.

Through the first half of the year (according to the the latest numbers available), crime in cities is way down. Gun assaults were down 21%, aggravated assaults were down 10%, sexual assaults were down 10%, and carjackings were down 24% compared to levels under Biden.

Illegal immigration is down 92% from the peak levels of entry under Biden.

The United States is producing more oil and gas than at any other time in American history.

Gas prices, which approached $5 a gallon under Biden, are down to $2.89 a gallon today.

The swamp in Washington is being drained: Federal employment is down by nearly 300,000.

A record 400+ intrusive regulations have been eliminated, including repealing racial quotas in hiring, reversing Biden rules mandating that Americans buy electric vehicles, and allowing more drilling for critical minerals.

The absurd and unfair student loan "forgiveness" program has been canceled.

The stock market reached all-time highs on all three major indices: the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

There's much more to celebrate, and there are also some bad things happening in our country that Trump hasn't fixed (yet), like our corrupt and outlandishly expensive health care system and declining test scores in our public schools.

It's amazing what a difference a president who puts America first can make.

Yet young people in particular are grim in their outlook. They're oblivious to how blessed they are to be in America at this unique moment of peace and unprecedented prosperity, to have a future with all the economic signs pointing north. They still don't get it.

I feel like the angel Clarence in the iconic 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life," who convinces Jimmy Stewart at the end of the movie: "You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life."

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Stephen Moore is a former Trump senior economic adviser and the cofounder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for education freedom for all children.