CNNMoney: "Donald Trump is finally showing us more of his economic plan beyond the 'Make America Great Again' slogan on his red hat." To wit,
*tax the rich more
*[tax] the middle class less
*lower corporate taxes
*cut government spending
*stop raising the debt ceiling
Pure populism. Pure genius. And almost pure falderal.
No problem here with taxing the rich more. But cutting taxes (again) on the middle class and lowering corporate taxes (which corporations already legally skirt) while sustaining entitlement spending (which Trump says he'd do) and dramatically boosting military budgets (which Trump also says he'd do) is a tediously familiar formula for deficits-that-go-kaboom.
In view of Trump's overall, ahem, plan for the nation, his inclusion of "cut government spending" is an unmitigated fantasy. And as the bills roll in, even the concept of freezing the debt ceiling is just downright laughable.
Which is what makes it pure genius, as far as achieving the Republican nomination goes. GOP primary voters love nothing more than simplicity combined with awesome unworkabilities (which generally come with simplicity).
After that? A somewhat more conscious electorate — and then Trump's last kaboom. The general electorate may also love simplicity, but love Trump? No way.
Oh God I pray he makes it to Cleveland, victoriously.
While still a lampoon of a policy paper, there are some tactical improvements. It's just a list of infinitely repeated corporatist bromides that wingnuts already believe strung together with a few noises less extreme types might like. No mechanisms are suggested and easily mocked specificities like those in the "immigration policy" are avoided. These marginal improvements probably aren't going to help much, though.
Posted by: Bob | August 28, 2015 at 01:47 PM