Last month was Asian American month, when our nation honored the 20 million Asian Americans residing across the United States. Like all Americans, the Asian community is struggling due to the COVID-19 outbreak and looking forward to better days ahead.
The Asian American community has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic because many of us are on the frontlines of our healthcare system and service economy. This includes first responders, medical professionals, military service members, grocery store owners, and others — all doing their jobs during this critical time.
But, I am confident our economic fortunes will soon improve thanks to President Trump’s economic leadership, pro-growth policies and commitment to helping all Americans achieve prosperity. I know this because I served as a special assistant to the president for nearly three years.
At the White House, I had the responsibility of leading the president’s outreach to the Senate on economic issues. I worked closely with leaders on Capitol Hill and the president’s economic advisors, such as Gary Cohn and Larry Kudlow.
I saw firsthand the expertise and vision of the president’s economic Cabinet including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao — the first American woman of Asian descent to be appointed to a president’s Cabinet in our nation’s history.
This powerhouse team led by President Trump spearheaded one of the greatest economic turnarounds for America. And, Asian-Americans were one of the greatest beneficiaries of his economic vision for our nation.
The historic 2017 tax cuts are best known for helping increase take home pay for working families and doubling the child-care tax credit. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also lowered and simplified taxes for American businesses.
We saw the corporate tax rate cut from 35 percent to 21 percent. At the president’s personal insistence, the tax cut
legislation also allowed business owners to write off any investment in new equipment for their businesses.
President Trump also led the fight to end the growth of government red tape and save small businesses from wasting dollars and time on compliance costs. Just last month, he signed an executive order directing all federal agencies to identify regulations that can be waived to help jumpstart the economy.
In fact, one of the very first actions of the Trump administration was to order that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. In true Trump fashion, the president actually broke his own initial mandate and eliminated 22 legacy regulations for every new regulation issued.
According to the Council of Economic Advisors, Trump’s deregulatory efforts have reduced regulatory costs by nearly $50 billion and helped American families save an estimated $3,100 each year.
Sadly, due to the coronavirus pandemic, much of the economy has been halted.
But as the nation moves from quarantine to recovery, the Trump administration’s principles of lower taxes and less regulation will result in economic growth for the American economy — including the two million Asian American owned businesses across the United States.
This includes my mom and dad, who own a small business that sells fresh fruits and vegetables.
More than 40 years ago, my parents waited in line and came to America with only a handful of cash in their pockets and a dream of economic liberty, religious freedom and a better future for their family. My parents’ hard work and belief in America provided me with exceptional opportunities including a bachelor’s degree from Berkeley and a master’s degree from Yale.
When they arrived in America in the 1970’s, it would have been inconceivable for them that they would see their son serve as the highest-ranking Chinese American staffer at the White House nearly four decades later.
America’s economic comeback will ride on the backs of small business.
Asian American entrepreneurship has flourished in America since before the Gold Rush and the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. A little-known fact is that income for Asian Americans is 40 percent higher than the national average according to the Census Bureau.
President Trump cherishes the concept of the American Dream and all that can be accomplished through opportunity and hard work.
This is why I believe his presidency has been so good for Asian Americans, and why so many of us support him. Through the president’s continued leadership — lower taxes and fewer burdensome regulations — we will rebuild a thriving economy for all Americans.
