Person of the Year 2018

The online discussion group Thomas Sowell Foundation (TSF) is a Facebook-based economic and political discussion group named after the noted economist Thomas Sowell. When the group launched a poll for its annual Person of the Year vote for 2018, no one on the TSF editorial board thought the vote results would turn out the way it did…

The criteria for the TSF Person of the Year award was for the 43,000 members to select the one person “who you consider as the single most influential champion of freedom and happiness in the world” during the year. Donald Trump rose as the hands-down winner in the polling which included notable runners up such as Jordan Peterson, Charles Krauthammer (deceased), Thomas Sowell and Gary Sinise. Gary Sinise is one of my personal favorites for his organizing and work in assisting the “Gold Star” families of military service members killed or injured in the line of duty. One of the notable activities of his organization is in taking Gold Star children to Disneyland on an all expense paid trip. Gary did all that without the fanfare and self-congratulations and promotion that Hollywood is known for.

Why does Donald Trump deserve this award?

When Donald J Trump (DJT) first announced his bid for the office of POTUS, many derided and laughed at his candidacy as nothing more than a publicity stunt by a has-been reality TV star looking to reclaim the limelight. My initial thought was that DJT was a blowhard and an obnoxious attention seeker with questionable intent. More recent criticism include his support for the use of eminent domain (ED) to build the proposed US border wall which is a rule that allows the government to confiscate private property for public use (at a set “fair market” price). However, with the polling closed and now faced with the prospect of writing up the reasons for DJT to deserve such an award, it is an easier undertaking than first thought.

It would be easy to argue that DJT deserves the Person of the Year award for 2018 just on the basis that he is not Hillary Clinton. Hillary is the ultimate embodiment of the statist philosophy to problem solving through government overreach and expansion. No problem, no matter how large or small needs a government program and lots of bureaucrats to manage it. The statist philosophy runs counter to the idea of individual freedom and responsibility upon which the US was founded. Many of the overlooked and under-reported issues that the media and the Democrats try to avoid for fear of casting a positive light on DJT also go hand-in-hand with the basic idea of individual freedom and liberty. From a personal integrity perspective, DJT’s personal brand and businesses took a big hit when he ran and beat Hillary Clinton. He made a business out of lending his name to joint business ventures but since then that business has dried up due to the numerous attacks by the left on his brand and businesses. Despite his negative impact to his personal fortune, DJT is only one of three Presidents in US history to donate 100% of his salary to charity.

The reasons that DJT deserves the Person of the Year award for 2018 are numerous and include the following:

• DJT’s energy and consistency in the roll-back of Obama-era policies and executive orders to include Obamacare, an extremely expensive free-healthcare for all scheme that would have added tens of trillions to the federal deficit, continued the growth the government, and forced everyone person into a government-controlled health insurance scheme.
• Trump administration’s tax cut and reforms which has been credited with the revival of US business and the ability to compete internationally. When Obama left office, the economy was in shambles and regulatory over-reach was the norm. The economy suffered under Obama despite the trillions Obama added to the federal deficit through government spending and tax increases. Capital spending grew dramatically after the Trump Tax Cuts compared to record lows under Obama.
• DJT’s ongoing support of the Second Amendment and individual gun ownership as compared to Obama’s full-out attempts to take gun rights from Americans and ignore the US Constitution. Most conservatives and libertarians see gun rights as a foundation to preserving the idea that the individual citizen has stronger rights than the government.
• There is no greater threat to freedom than politicians who lie to the voters and do everything but what they promised when they were running for office. This undermines the people’s faith in the election process and in the government. DJT has followed through with actual action on every one of his campaign promises regardless of how difficult the roadblocks have been.
• More Americans have jobs and are employed under DJT than at any other point in the history of the US since unemployment stats have been kept. Unemployment is what drives people into dependency under the yoke of government handouts and welfare programs. More African-Americans have jobs under DJT than at any point in history while under Obama, African-Americans had some of the highest unemployment rates and record-breaking enrollment in welfare and food stamp programs. Having jobs reinforces freedom and self-respect for Americans.
• While many on the left complain of the US-China trade war initiated by DJT, most people understand that the current environment where China is allowed to steal US intellectual property with impunity and then sell the same technology and ideas back to the US in the form of cheap goods is a no-win situation in the long run. At the same time, US manufacturing jobs are being lost while China breaks all the rules of international trade is not a winning formula in the long-run and is unsustainable. The trade dispute has not yet been resolved but the DJT administration is taking aim at building a long-term sustainable trade model and is the right approach.
• Many have criticized DJT’s foreign policy of “American First” as isolationist and neglecting America’s duty to participate in world affairs as the world’s policemen. However, throughout history, world wars and military clashes start because countries felt they had a right to interfere with other countries. Switzerland which has remained completely neutral but with a strong military which protects its borders, has remained free and prosperous because of its neutrality.

All of the points above make DJT the choice for the Person of the Year award.