The One Thing the Economy Still Needs to Thrive in 2018

Here is a brief summary of the 2017 economy: In a tug-of-war between political surreality and global reality, reality won.

While President Donald Trump has been an instrument of chaos—goading nuclear powers, blasting the FBI, and mocking his enemies—the global economy scarcely seems to have noticed. In Europe, manufacturing confidence hit a 10-year high, according to. In Japan, business confidence has hit a 30-year high. The U.S. labor market has added jobs for 75 consecutive months—a record. In the likely event that the economy is still expanding in May, this will be the second-longest period of economic growth since the end of World 25,000 for the first time ever, after another round of strong jobs data.