President Donald Trump and his economic team, led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, are delivering a solid economic performance so far in 2026: Real GDP growth rate of 2.5% and 2.2% per annum in the first and second quarters, respectively; core inflation rate (excluding food and energy) of 3.9% and 3.3% per annum, respectively; and unemployment rates of 4.1% for both quarters. Certainly, these figures are better than the International Monetary Fund’s July 2026 projections for the American economy.
These strong results were turned in despite the Trump administration’s three own goals: a tariff war with China and the rest of the world, a proxy war with Russia with respect to Ukraine, and a hot war against Iran. Not surprisingly, the combined impact of this own-goal hat-trick has been a sharp spike in food and energy prices, which caused the overall inflation rate to increase sharply to 4.2% and 5% per annum for the first and second quarters, respectively. This represents a direct hit to the average American’s pocketbook, leaving them wondering whether the president cares.
It’s now time for Trump to step up to the plate and go to bat for the American people.
So, how might he deliver a grand slam? Here are three suggestions.
First, Trump must demand that Congress provide immediate relief for America’s working poor by exempting the first $38,680 of income (indexed to inflation) from federal payroll and income taxes, which would translate to an immediate boost of about $6,000 in annual disposable income. The working poor will be in a significantly stronger position to cope with higher food and energy prices, while Trump finds off-ramps to extricate the United States from its economic and kinetic wars.
The same exemption would apply to corporations with respect to the first $38,680 of net income before taxes. The tax relief will be a boost to start-ups and other small enterprises that help drive American economic growth.
Second, Trump should directly attack the interest rate burden of the federal debt by delinking the cost of servicing the U.S. government’s debt from interest rates. Taking his cue from the era of the Founding Fathers when perpetuals were a widely accepted form of government financing, Trump should offer, on a voluntary basis, to convert at par all existing federal debt (about $40 trillion) into perpetual participation certificates on which, in lieu of an interest rate, an annual dividend would be paid in an aggregate amount equal to 1.25% of nominal GDP of the immediately preceding fiscal year.
If this federal debt-conversion offer is accepted, the current federal debt-servicing burden would be slashed by almost 70%. With the overhang of constant federal debt refinancing removed, private sector debt will no longer be crowded out by federal debt. So, private sector enterprises will be better able to finance investments that sustain economic growth.
Third, Trump should immediately launch a program to monetize the federal government balance sheet with the objective of releasing about $2 trillion of hidden value from existing assets: revaluing gold held by the U.S. Treasury, selling excess real estate owned by the federal government, and privatizing quasi-business entities controlled by the U.S. government (such as U.S. Postal Service, Amtrak, NASA, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae).
TRUMP’S BIG, BEAUTIFUL PARADIGM SHIFT: REVALUE GOLD, RETIRE AT 70, AND SAVE AMERICA
The U.S. Treasury holds 261.5 million troy ounces of gold valued at a legacy price of $42.22 per ounce. Trump should highlight that the United States is the only major economy that does not value its gold holdings at current market value. Accordingly, Trump should issue an immediate executive order to revalue the Treasury’s gold holdings to reflect current market value (about $4,000 per ounce), which would boost the U.S. government balance sheet by about $1 trillion.
The net proceeds from monetizing the federal balance sheet would be deposited in a new Fiscal Stabilization Fund account at the Fed to minimize any potential inflationary impact. The FSF would provide the financial breathing space to enable Congress to craft a pathway to zero-deficit budgets, which would significantly reduce pressures on interest rates.
Samir Tata is the founder and president of International Political Risk Analytics, an advisory firm based in Reston, Virginia, and author of the book Reflections on Grand Strategy: The Great Powers in the Twenty-first Century.