Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers an economic policy speech to the Detroit Economic Club, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, in Detroit. (AP)
Donald Trump tried to turn the page on a week of political controversies with a speech outlining his economic policies.
In Monday’s address to the Detroit Economic Club, Trump embraced tax rates that congressional Republicans have proposed, which includes a large cut for the wealthiest Americans. He also proposed a reduction in the corporate tax rate from from 35 percent to 15 percent. Trump said he favors tax deductions and credits for child care, eliminating the inheritance tax and a freeze on regulations that Republicans say stifle economic growth.
At least for a day, Trump seemed to be in step with most in the party he represents.
Watch Out, Hillary: After His Speech In Detroit, Donald Trump Is Back
Steve Forbes – Forbes
Trump would cut income tax rates; increase exemptions for individuals; reduce the number of personal tax brackets from the current seven down to three; slash the corporate levy–now the highest in the developed world–to 15%, making it just about the lowest; allow instant expensing of capital outlays; and get rid of the death tax, as well as the horrific alternative minimum tax….
Trump also talked about what amounts to another deadly form of taxation—regulation, correctly pointing out that such rules now cost the economy some $2 trillion a year….
Hillary Clinton’s addiction to higher taxes is a godsend for Donald Trump, and today he took full advantage of it. It is his best hope for positively reseizing the election initiative.
Trump’s Economic Speech: Seeking Conservative Cred and Kissing Babies
Christos Makridis & Jay Zagorsky – The Conversation
Inequality is high, policy uncertainty is high, labor force participation is low and economic growth is low.
None of this is to say that the U.S. is doing poorly relative to other countries, but we are doing poorly relative to our potential….
Lowering tax rates provides individuals with more money to use as they see fit, rather than entrusting it to the government. In a similar vein were his proposals to decentralize education and make child care more affordable….
Donald Trump’s campaign has focused on the issue of jobs. Child care is one part of the jobs problem in the U.S. However, this plan doesn’t address the roughly 80 percent of parents who are not currently receiving the child care credit, nor does it increase the availability of child care.
Mr. Trump’s Losing Economic Game Plan
Editorial Board – The New York Times
The big problem with Mr. Trump’s tax ideas is that they would leave a multitrillion-dollar deficit for no benefit. Proponents of supply-side economics argue that cutting tax rates encourages people to work and businesses to invest. But the gains are much more modest than proponents claim because many businesses won’t invest unless demand for their products is growing and many people are not motivated by lower tax rates to work more.