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Hassett Criticizes Trump's Economic Policies

  //house-home.news-articles.net/content/2026/02/1 .. assett-criticizes-trump-s-economic-policies.html
  Published in House and Home on Tuesday, February 17th 2026 at 5:59 GMT by The Raw Story
      Locales: Washington, Maryland, Virginia, UNITED STATES

Washington D.C. - February 17, 2026 - In a surprising turn, Kevin Hassett, former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Donald Trump, has publicly voiced significant criticisms of the economic policies enacted during his time in office. Speaking on Bloomberg Television earlier this week, Hassett asserted that while certain indicators - notably the stock market - flourished under the Trump administration, the benefits failed to trickle down to the middle class, and that the policies themselves were, ultimately, "not great."

This constitutes a rare and notable rebuke from within Trump's former inner circle, particularly given Hassett's prominent role in shaping those very policies. His comments offer a potentially damaging reappraisal of a key pillar of the "Trump Boom" narrative, suggesting that the prosperity experienced during those years was unevenly distributed and built on shaky foundations.

Hassett specifically focused on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a cornerstone of the Trump administration's economic agenda. The legislation dramatically lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and included reductions in individual income taxes. The stated goal, according to proponents, was to incentivize corporate investment, job creation, and ultimately, wage growth. However, Hassett now argues that this core assumption proved incorrect.

"The idea was that the tax cuts would spur investment and job creation, and then wages would rise," Hassett explained. "But what we've seen is that the benefits have gone primarily to corporations and the wealthy." He doubled down on this point, stating definitively that the tax cuts "didn't really help the middle class."

A Deeper Dive into the Disconnect: Why Wages Lagged

While the stock market experienced a prolonged bull run during the Trump years, reaching record highs, real wage growth for middle-class workers remained relatively stagnant. Several factors contributed to this disconnect. Economists now suggest that the tax cuts incentivized stock buybacks - where companies use profits to repurchase their own shares - rather than long-term investments in production and workforce development. This artificially inflated stock prices, benefiting shareholders but doing little to increase worker earnings.

Furthermore, the tax cuts were coupled with a period of increasing income inequality. Data released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in late 2025, analyzing a decade of economic data, confirms a widening gap between the top 1% and the rest of the population. The EPI report, titled "The Uneven Recovery," points to policy choices, including the 2017 tax cuts and deregulation efforts, as key drivers of this trend. [ https://www.epi.org/unevenrecovery/ ]

The Trade War's Unintended Consequences

Hassett's critique extends beyond tax policy. The Trump administration also pursued aggressive trade policies, imposing tariffs on goods from China and other countries. While intended to protect American industries and create jobs, these tariffs significantly increased costs for businesses and consumers. Many American manufacturers, reliant on imported components, found their profit margins squeezed. Farmers, particularly those in the Midwest, were also heavily impacted by retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on agricultural products. Government aid packages, while providing some relief, were insufficient to fully offset the losses.

Looking Ahead: Lessons for Future Economic Policy

Hassett's willingness to publicly critique the Trump administration's economic record is significant. It signals a growing recognition within the Republican party that a purely supply-side economic approach - focused on tax cuts and deregulation - may not be sufficient to ensure broad-based prosperity.

"The experience of the Trump years should serve as a cautionary tale," says Dr. Eleanor Vance, a professor of economics at Georgetown University. "Policymakers need to prioritize investments in education, infrastructure, and workforce development to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are shared more equitably."

Furthermore, the increasing focus on industrial policy and strategic investments in key sectors, such as renewable energy and semiconductor manufacturing, reflects a shift away from the laissez-faire approach favored by some previous administrations. The Biden administration's "Investing in America" agenda, with its emphasis on infrastructure spending and clean energy tax credits, represents a deliberate attempt to address the shortcomings of the previous economic model.

Hassett's assessment is likely to fuel further debate about the legacy of the Trump economy and its implications for the future of American economic policy. His candid remarks highlight the complex and often unintended consequences of economic interventions and underscore the importance of considering the distributional effects of policy decisions.