Trump presidency creates new industries

It's time to give President Trump a little credit for his clever use of creative goading that has led to the massive stimulation of the American economy in just one short month! Take the protestors, for example. The 'Million Women's March' on Washington may have been the first group to have kick-started the new opposition economic miracle. If we assume that there were only a quarter million women that descended on Washington on January 21st, they had to have gotten there by car, bus, train or plane. If each of them spent just $200 on round-trip transportation and stayed at a Holiday Inn in the nation's capital or just outside the District in neighboring Virginia or Maryland they probably paid $100/night, times two nights, at least. Even protestors get hungry so they had to eat at least twice a day, and at DC prices they could easily have racked up $30/day per person. Then there were those cute pink stocking caps with ears. Figure $10 apiece. Their printed signs probably cost a pretty penny, too. All in all, that march probably brought in about a half-billion dollars or more to transportation companies, hotels, restaurants, printers, etc. Not bad.

After the inauguration, the protest class (especially the more violent ones) really shifted into high gear, taking to college campuses and creating mayhem. Here we have other items they purchased locally (no imports from Mexico or China) like alcohol for their Molotov cocktails, lots of Balaclavas to hide their faces, standard issue hooded sweatshirts and, of course, their army surplus gas masks and combat boots (great for kicking in plate glass windows). Add this to transportation charges from Über drivers, the costs for replacing broken windows and the repair or replacement of other public property that was destroyed and the 'heroes of the revolution' should get the equivalent of the Medal of Freedom for their contributions to their local economies.

Yes, dissension is good business for America's businesses. It's great for the non-profit, special interest organizations and politicians, too. Take Senator Elizabeth Warren, for example. After she tried to read a 40-year old letter from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s wife, Coretta King, denouncing Senator Jeff Sessions on the floor of the Senate (and was promptly shut down by a Senate rule that prohibits the impuning of a fellow Senator), it was reported that donations to her political coffers soared! I'm sure that angry Liberals are also giving more money to Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Bernie Sanders, too. Then there are the lobbyists and the lawyers - the hired guns of DC. They will switch allegiance at the first whiff of money and sue anybody for anything. We can always count on them to charge, mightily, for their services. Case in point, former Attorney General, Eric Holder, has been hired to 'help out' California to the tune of $25K/month.  What a bargain!

The media are also big winners. Filing negative stories about the President gets the Trump haters' blood boiling and that increases ratings which also raises the advertising prices networks and papers can charge for airtime or column inches. Who loves you, baby? Trump does. With every over the top statement he makes, the presses turn faster and our flat screens and smart phones flicker brighter. Every network political 'contributor' with a political axe to grind or a cheap shot in their back pocket is invited to be a panelist with others of their ilk to trash talk the President and take home a few thousand shekels for venting their spleen on national TV. Every time Mr. Trump's family is skewered (like his daughter, Ivanka, whose line of clothing was not renewed by the politically correct West Coast clothier, Nordstrom's), Trump supporters step up and buy more of her clothing at other stores to show their solidarity. Finally, recent stock market gains show that American investors have more confidence in our economy now and are buying more shares. That adds value to our country's bottom line. All this proves my point that protesting pays off big time for America. It's the industry that keeps on giving, and Mr. Trump knows this which could be why he delights in getting under the skin of his detractors. I say, up with the First Amendment! It's better than a tax cut or a border surcharge or even the repeal of Obamacare. It's so typically American.

 Stephan Helgesen is a retired U.S. diplomat, now author and political strategist. He has written over 600 articles and six books on politics, economics and social trends. He can be reached at stephan@stephanhelgesen.com