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Every
day,
we
are
seeing
more
and
more
great
news
about
the
current
economic
expansion
in
America;
a
trend
that
is
breaking
records
and
exciting
economists
and
citizens
alike.
This
is
currently
the
third-longest
economic
expansion
since
1854,
and
on
track
to
be
the
second-longest
on
record.
After
a
strong
jobs
report
was
released
last
Friday
for
the
month
of
April,
we
should
not
only
celebrate
all
of
the
exciting
components
of
our
booming
economy,
but
also
look
forward
to
the
continuation
of
this
growth
and
success.
The
Tax
Cuts
and
Jobs
Act,
historic
tax
reform
passed
last
December,
gets
much
of
the
credit
for
the
most
recent
economic
upswing.
And
for
good
reason!
Unemployment
continues
to
fall,
and
we
are
seeing
the
lowest
national
unemployment
rate
(3.9%)
that
we’ve
seen
in
17
years.
African-American
unemployment
is
also
at
its
lowest
since
1972
-
more
than
four
decades
ago.
Similarly,
job
expansion
continues,
with
more
than
800,000
new
jobs
added
since
the
passage
of
the
tax
reform
and
more
than
one
million
Americans
of
working
age
re-entering
the
work
force
in
the
past
two
years.
In
response,
wages
are
on
the
rise
as
well.
Because
of
the
tax
reform,
millions
of
Americans
have
seen
increased
benefits,
higher
wages
and
bonuses.
Looking
forward,
I
am
hopeful
that
economic
prosperity
will
reach
every
corner
of
our
country,
especially
those
places
that
are
economically
distressed
and
have
often
been
left
behind
in
other
periods
of
economic
boom.
My
Investing
in
Opportunity
Act,
part
of
the
recent
Tax
Cuts
and
Jobs
Act,
aims
to
bring
opportunity
to
exactly
those
types
of
communities,
not
only
in
South
Carolina,
but
across
the
nation.
The
IIOA
creates
an
avenue
for
the
more
than
$2
trillion
in
unused
capital
gains
in
our
nation
to
flow
into
designated
“Opportunity
Zones.”
“Opportunity
Zones”
are
chosen
by
each
state’s
governor,
and
composed
of
low-income
communities
in
that
state.
Without
creating
another
government
program,
or
utilizing
federal
dollars,
this
new
model
has
the
potential
to
revitalize
and
bring
opportunity
to
distressed
communities
all
across
America.
More
specifically,
this
initiative
aims
to
bring
jobs
to
these
areas
by
tapping
into
their
unused
labor
forces-
continuing
the
trend
of
job
expansion
we
have
already
been
seeing.
The
IIOA
has
gained
recognition
as
a
key
part
to
the
next
phase
of
economic
expansion,
with
its
strong
emphasis
on
expanding
the
labor
force-
starting
by
using
the
untapped
resources
already
in
each
community
across
the
country.
With
rising
wages,
falling
unemployment
and
job
expansion
unlike
we
have
seen
in
years,
there
are
many
reasons
to
be
excited
about
today’s
economy-
and
with
the
passage
of
the
historic
Tax
Cuts
and
Jobs
Act
in
December
and
its
components
like
the
IIOA,
there
are
even
more
reasons
to
be
excited
about
the
economy
of
tomorrow.
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