Trump’s tax policies will make his rich friends richer, but they are not likely to bring back jobs for the working classes, as he promised during the election campaign

Everybody knows by now that the billionaire Donald Trump pitched his appeal to “white working-class” voters (or “middle class” as they are known in the US ) all too successfully. They helped to elect him – but are they really going to reap their reward?

One reason why Trump is likely, and completely undeservedly, to receive early credit concerns the overall performance of the US economy. After years when the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, was too nervous to risk raising interest rates, suddenly the economic statistics have become more favourable and the Fed has begun, albeit tentatively, to tighten monetary policy. Guess who will volunteer for the credit?