There are many voices very angered by an announcement that the U.S. State Department is providing $10.6 billion to Mexico and Central America while congress fights over $5 billion in funding for a Southern Border Wall. CTH is not one of those voices.

First, the article (emphasis mine):

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The United States pledged $5.8 billion in aid and investment Tuesday for strengthening government and economic development in Central America, and another $4.8 billion in development aid for southern Mexico.

The U.S aid aims to promote better security conditions and job opportunities as part of a regional plan to allow Central Americans and Mexicans to remain in their countries and not have to emigrate.

The plan was announced in a joint U.S.-Mexican statement released by the State Department and read aloud by Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard in the Mexican capital.  “In sum I think this is good news, very good news for Mexico,” Ebrard said.

Newly inaugurated President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador waxed poetic about the plan to provide jobs so people won’t have to emigrate.

“I have a dream that I want to see become a reality … that nobody will want to go work in the United States anymore,” Lopez Obrador said at a morning news conference before the announcement.

The combination of public and private investment for the stay-at-home effort doesn’t require congressional approval, unlike Trump’s signature project to stem illegal immigration — a border wall. (read more)

What I see here is President Trump deploying a root-cause workaround for the current border argument, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo carrying it out.

I strongly suspect there was an agreement of this sort long before the USMCA was finalized and made public.  As part of an agreement with President Lopez-Obrador, [insert Jared Kushner here] these funds will be used to secure Mexico’s border effectively cutting-off the Central American migration flow before it can reach the Southern U.S.

This approach is entirely in line with nationalist AMLO’s objectives for a larger and more stable economy within Mexico specifically by partnering with nationalist U.S. President Trump toward that common goal [See USMCA details].

If Trump can’t get congress to agree to defend the U.S. border, he can damn sure leverage and entice Lopez-Obrador to do it a few miles south.  This approach is POTUS Trump working on optimal solutions while encountering domestic political roadblocks.  This is exactly what President Trump does…. find solutions.

President Trump can sit around righteously fighting with the swamp over the security issues (historic political approach); or he can fight the swamp while simultaneously deploying a solution that mitigates the issue at its root cause (thinking outside the box).

What would a businessman president do?

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Tuesday he will appoint GOP Rep. Martha McSally to the Senate to fill the seat of the late Sen. John McCain.

“All her life, Martha has put service first — leading in the toughest of fights and at the toughest of times. She served 26 years in the military; deployed six times to the Middle East and Afghanistan; was the first woman to fly in combat and command a fighter squadron in combat; and she’s represented Southern Arizona in Congress for the past four years. With her experience and long record of service, Martha is uniquely qualified to step up and fight for Arizona’s interests in the U.S. Senate. I thank her for taking on this significant responsibility and look forward to working with her and Senator-Elect Sinema to get positive things done.” ~ Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey

We interrupt your regularly scheduled political anxiety with a brief intermission…

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Thank you.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled state of angst.

More Pictures Here

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ps. don’t forget to enjoy life.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers the White House press briefing for December 18th, 2018:

CEA Charman Kevin Hassett is a happy MAGAnomic warrior as he continues to explain the disconnect between the strength of the U.S. economy -vs- the world; and how the disconnect impacts the multinationals (Stock Market).

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The interview is in two segments. Part II is below:

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White House senior adviser Stephen Miller joins Margaret Brennan to discuss the future of Obamacare and whether the government will shut down over the congressional funding battle regarding border security.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania host a stunning congressional holiday ball at the White House.

Earlier today President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip to Arlington National Cemetery to pay his respects to deceased veterans and celebrate “National Wreaths Across America Day”.   Christmas wreaths are laid at the grave sites of fallen soldiers at Arlington and many other cemeteries around the country.

If you’ve followed the MAGAnomic discussion threads you will likely appreciate this interview much more than the typical Fox Business viewer.

In this interview White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett discusses the recent rise in retail sales and why he is optimistic about GDP growth.

Additionally, at the 03:00 point of the interview he is questioned about the disconnect between the exceptional growth in the U.S. economy -vs- the current status of the Wall Street stock market.  Hassett points directly to the ‘multinational‘ disconnect.

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Via Commerce Dept – “Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for November 2018 were $513.5 billion, an increase of 0.2 percent from the previous month, and 4.2 percent above November 2017. Total sales for the September 2018 through November 2018 period were up 4.3 percent from the same period a year ago.”

Two-thirds of U.S. GDP stems from U.S. consumer sales. Growth of more than 4% year-over-year is excellent and forms the basis for the increases in forecast GDP.