Trump v. the GOP: His economic push is 180 degrees from the party’s long-held platform

[applegrove]

Trump v. the GOP: His economic push is 180 degrees from the party’s long-held platform

by Gary Legum at Salon

http://www.salon.com/2016/09/16/trump-vs-the-gop-his-economic-push-is-180-degrees-from-the-partys-long-held-platform/

"SNIP.............


In Thursday’s speech, Trump also proposed all sorts of new spending — on infrastructure, which conservatives have resisted during the Obama era, and on rebuilding the allegedly “dilapidated” military, which to the right is like ringing the bell in earshot of Pavlov’s dogs — without corresponding cuts to entitlement programs. Such cuts have been the lodestar of conservative economic policy during the Obama administration (and, to be fair, anytime a Democrat is in office) along with reducing the deficit and the debt.

To be sure, Trump also had plenty of red meat for the GOP. He proposed slashing the business tax rate from 35 percent down to 15 percent, a rate 10 points lower than even what was in Romney’s plan in 2012. He also talked about taking an ax to regulations on everything from food safety to coal-fired power plants. So maybe E. coli will get us all before global warming does.

Tellingly, much of the Republican Party has remained quiet about Trump’s proposals unless you asked members directly. Though there were exceptions, like with “reformicon” Ross Douthat, who tweeted this analysis of Trump’s tax plan. Sure, the candidate is empowering white supremacists in a country growing demographically less white by the hour, but how about those low tax rates!

The reaction or lack thereof by party leaders to these proposals highlights the vacuous nature of Republican politics in 2016. It also represents what I fear is going to be a lost opportunity for a serious debate about what kind of economic policies this country will adopt going forward.


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[applegrove]

1. The GOP is going to impeach Trump the first time he does something nutty. That is why there

was so much pressure on him by the GOP to pick pence and not Christie or Gingrinch as those two would think for themselves whereas Pence is an all in GOP patsy on policy.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Just wave a magic wand to deregulate the poisoners & get 4.5% growth (Kochs paying attention?).

That Republican fantasy land.

When Reagan tried that, national debt doubled as a percentage of GDP, which means it more than doubled in dollars.