George Mason University economist Don Boudreaux took the stage at the Economic Club of Minnesota on May 11, 2026, as a myth-buster with a simple but powerful challenge: compared to what? In his presentation on Trump’s second-term tariffs, Boudreaux cut through the political noise by stacking 2025’s economic performance against hard benchmarks, including 2024 and Trump’s own first term in 2017. The numbers told a sobering story. Nonfarm employment grew at just 0.5% in 2025 versus 1.6% in 2017, manufacturing employment actually declined, unemployment rose, and all three major stock indices trailed their 2017 post-election performance.
Boudreaux also shed light on a broader truth that rarely makes headlines: by historical standards, American households are dramatically better off than they were decades ago, with real net worth 80% higher than in 2001 and more than double what it was in 1994. His message was clear and grounded in evidence rather than ideology. Whether tariffs get credit or blame, the facts demand more than talking points. For an audience of Minnesota business leaders, policymakers, and students, Boudreaux delivered exactly what the Economic Club is known for: a speaker who moves the conversation well beyond the soundbites.
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