Trump Domestic Policy - Budgets, etc

TGHusker

TGHusker

Well-known member
We have a thread on Trump's foreign policy, so I thought I'd start one to address his budget policies, etc.

Starting with this article linked below.   Trump has angered the repub leadership and has agreed with Dem leaders

on a 3 mo only debt limit extension.  The Repubs originally wanted a 18 mo (get it pass the next election - the DC

trick to kick cans and not deal squarely with an issue before an election.).  The Dems rejected that as well as Trump.

So Repubs reduced it to 6 month.  Dems held tight to their 3 month.  In this case, I'm glad Trump sided wt the Dems just

to rebuke the Republican leadership that hasn't gotten anything done.  The Harvey aid money is in the extension as it should

be.   The Repubs are steaming under their collars at this public rebuke. 

With many of Trump arch right assistants no longer in the admin, I wonder if we will see a move to the more moderate side

from Trump going forward.  He has now emphasized his independence from Rep leaders.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/democratic-congressional-leaders-offer-support-for-harvey-aid-debt-limit-rise-1504710285

First part of the article:

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump stunned Republicans on Wednesday when he overrode pleas from GOP congressional leaders and sided with Democrats on a proposal to attach emergency aid for Hurricane Harvey victims to measures to keep the government funded and its borrowing limit suspended until mid-December.

Mr. Trump’s decision to strike a deal with Democrats upended the partisan alliances that have long set the boundaries of congressional policy-making, opening up new possibilities for bipartisan deal-making if Democrats can again persuade Mr. Trump to bypass Republican leaders.

For months, Mr. Trump had suggested that he might work with Democrats if Republicans couldn’t advance his legislative priorities, but he always pulled back at the last minute. The Republican president’s move Wednesday raised questions about whether he will now turn to Democrats to reach deals on tax reform and immigration.

The startling deal Wednesday, reached after a meeting between Mr. Trump and congressional leaders in the Oval Office, was driven by an urge to present a unified government at a time of crisis, as millions of Americans braced for Hurricane Irma’s wrath and others struggled to rebuild after Harvey, GOP leaders said.

If approved by Congress, the agreement would defer the threat of a partial government shutdown and a default on the country’s debt until Dec. 15 and dispatch the first $7.85 billion installment of Harvey relief, clearing the three most pressing items from the crowded September legislative agenda.

 
The budget issues are going to be very interesting to watch.  This was a huge part of what Trump campaigned on.  A heck of a lot of conservatives are conservative based on fiscal policies and they are very concerned about our financial situation in this country.  They voted overwhelmingly for Trump claiming he's this great business man and he understands budgets and how to get things done at a lower cost.

I personally still think even on this subject Trump is a buffoon.  His comments about being the "king of debt" and not caring if the US defaults because he would just "renegotiate"........were asinine.....and shows how totally incompetent he is when it comes to these issues.

He will do what he has done since taking office.  He will proclaim that there is a problem with the budget and congress "needs to do their job".  He will go golfing and insult a bunch of people.  He will write some tweets that totally derails the debate over the budget.  Nothing will get done and he will blame congress......and the Fake Media.

 
Agree BRR with that last 2 paragraphs

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/06/hill-trump-relations-242411

Repubs react to Trumps betrayal.   Maybe one side benefit. The repub leaders will get more 'balls' and see they don't need to be loyal to Trump either - bring on the Mueller investigation results. 

quote

On Wednesday morning, Ryan called the deal floated by Democrats to fund the government and lift the debt ceiling through mid-December as part of a relief package for Hurricane Harvey victims “disgraceful.” Expecting cover from Trump on their insistence to extend the debt ceiling much longer, Ryan and McConnell instead were abandoned.

Just the night before, Ryan and his leadership team were told by White House officials that Trump would publicly endorse their plan to pair Harvey emergency funding bill with an 18-month debt ceiling hike. They were optimistic his support would help secure more Republican votes.

Only, Trump went rogue. White House officials apologized to congressional leaders after the meeting, according to a GOP source on Capitol Hill. But the damage was done.

"It doesn’t help our leadership to try to hold us Republicans together on anything when they know the president will chop them off at the knees,” said a House Republican lawmaker allied with Ryan. “Trump has got to start caring more about his colleagues over here.”

 
Meanwhile on the tax side we have Trump promising 'great details' --- whatever that means.  Trump should have worked on budget and tax issue and infrastructure issues at the beginning. Now they lag behind because of all of the wasted effort on ACA repeal.  As noted below, Trump was short on specifics -- Why? because he is the Sargent Shultz of politics - He knows nothing and is relying on Congress to do it all.  As noted below, the business community had expected changes in the tax structure early in year.   Final note, last bold statement quoted below - don't be critical of dear leader - it may affect your career opportunities.

https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/trump-rally-will-get/2017/09/06/id/812081/

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would get into "great detail" in the next two weeks on his U.S. tax reform plan, which has been short on specifics, even after months of discussions among administration and congressional leaders.

Trump, at a speech in North Dakota, listed his broad principles for tax reform as simplifying the U.S. tax code and providing tax relief to middle-class Americans, ideas he has been talking about since his 2016 presidential campaign.

"We're going to get into great detail over the next two weeks, but we're working on it with Congress now and coming up with very exacting numbers," Trump said.

The U.S. stock market rallied earlier this year on hopes of swift tax cuts for businesses under Trump, but analysts have since reduced expectations for major tax changes this year.

The Republican party is still divided on significant issues, such as whether or not tax cuts should be offset with spending cuts to avoid expanding the federal budget deficit and how deeply to cut the corporate income tax rate.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who accompanied Trump on the trip, said he expected the administration's tax plan to be considered by congressional committees later this month.

"We have a plan. The plan's being socialized with members," Mnuchin told reporters on Air Force One on the return to Washington. "Our expectation is it will be in the (congressional) committees later this month," he said.



 



Mnuchin is one of a six-member Republican team that has been negotiating a tax plan behind closed doors for months, excluding Democrats and producing only a few pages of basic principles. Some members of the team have recently tangled with Trump.

Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn is also a member of the "Big Six" team. According to sources close to the White House and an administration official, Trump has soured on nominating Cohn to lead the Federal Reserve.

That comes, two sources said, since Cohn criticized the president's response to the violence sparked by a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month.

 
Tax reform.  Maybe Trump is finally getting the message - bipartisanship works better than calling out your political foes and trying to shame them.  Maybe General Kelly is making a difference as Cheif of Staff.  Regardless, I like that he is reaching out to 3 Dems and 3 Repub senators to get the tax reform process going. He needs to do the same with ACA reform. 

Perhaps his deal wt Schummer and San Fran Nan a week ago will become a turning point for him and the admin.  We shall see. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/09/11/trump-to-host-six-senators-from-both-parties-for-white-house-dinner/?utm_term=.349f10fc5e1a

 
Ok, it looks like I'm having a conversation with myself & wt BRB  with his 2 post added!!! But I'll continue anyway  :snacks: .

This link talks about the admin's 'tax blitz' (at least they have a blitz package - maybe our DC should consult with them over our non-existent pass rush .. but I digress - excuse the ADHD moment).  Trump and new team are trying to avoid the massive communication errors they had in the Obama Care repeal fiasco.  He is wooing Dems and getting his admin more involved.

We'll see how well this  process goes. If the repub congress can't get legislation passed, then it is time for a reboot in Congress as well.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-12/trump-is-said-to-plan-aggressive-road-show-to-sell-tax-overhaul-j7hb4fhi

They are even considering back dating the tax cuts to Jan 1, 2017

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/12/mnuchin-tax-reform-is-trumps-number-one-priority-we-will-get-it-done.html

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday the Trump administration is considering backdating tax reform to the start of this year to boost the economy.

Backdating "is still something we are considering and it would be a big boon for the economy," he said at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor.

Republicans aim to overhaul the American tax code but have faced various hurdles in their goal of passing a tax reform bill this year. Congress and the White House have not yet released a plan but are working this month to prepare legislation. Mnuchin heads to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss tax policy with GOP congressional leaders, the latest in a series of meetings.

 
Earlier Tuesday, Mnuchin insisted that a tax overhaul would happen this year.

 
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I'm following along also.  Good posts.

Well, both the Dems and the Repubs are in a position to make huge strides for the country AND politically.  Trump may have actually done something right of once by reaching across the isle and not just constantly demeaning people from the other side.

Now.....if both sides take the bait and actually work together to accomplish this, they will win politically...BOTH sides.  

Right now, America is sick of it.  The politicians and their own media outlets have lead the way in dehumanizing the other side.  It has become an environment where people truly believe the other side is the "enemy of the state".  If they can actually work together to accomplish tax reform, maybe it would be a spark to allow them to work together on other issues.

Hmmmm.....while typing that, I just keep thinking that Trump will screw it up somehow.  He will do something or tweet something that will blow the entire process up so it's impossible to get it accomplished.

 
I wonder how long it's going to take us to recover from Trump's domestic policies (assuming we ever do). It's much faster and easier to tear things down than build them back up.

 
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On budget-cutting, etc:


Fair point. Put the budget-cutting mantra in perspective. It's not about outlandish and leftist, it's about red meat. What are the right kinds and amounts of it to dangle out there so that, supported by your voting base, you can achieve the top percentile wealth security that has always been the honest primary aim.

 
I have said for a long time, I am all for lowering the corporate rate as long as it's made up somewhere else.  My view is that you lower the corporate rate and then raise the rate on people who benefit from that corporation.  So.....the higher income people in that corporation are going to be taxed higher on what they draw out of the corporation.  


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday cast doubt on President Donald Trump’s goal of cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, even as the president moved to inject new urgency into a sluggish effort in Congress to lower taxes. 

“Ideally, he’d like to get it down to 15 percent. I don’t know if we’ll be able to achieve that given the budget issues, but we’re going to get this down to a very competitive level,” Mnuchin told a conference in New York hosted by CNBC.
Click to expand...

 
BigRedBuster said:
I have said for a long time, I am all for lowering the corporate rate as long as it's made up somewhere else.  My view is that you lower the corporate rate and then raise the rate on people who benefit from that corporation.  So.....the higher income people in that corporation are going to be taxed higher on what they draw out of the corporation.  
Click to expand...
The trick is to also not let corporations just sit on large amounts of cash for extended periods, as that's bad for the economy, especially since they tend to group think and all do it at once.

 
If you're going to slash the corporate tax rates, you need to reform the whole deduction system. Far too many loopholes. For all the blubbering people do about us being one of the highest taxed countries in the world (not true, FWIW) and how the corporate rate strangles the economy, it's silly to pretend that any of the major corporations that bring the most business to the our economy pay anywhere near 35%. The best tax lawyers money can buy get your plenty of deductions to drive your effective rate down.

Slashing them without addressing loopholes is just bad policy. Furthermore, I saw the other day part of their plan to drive down the corporate rate was to tax the money people put into their 401ks and other retirement accounts. Try selling that and see how popular it is.

Red raised a legit point, too. When you slash taxes for wealthy people, they DON'T tend to dump it back into the economy to join ranks with the mythical "job creators." They hold onto their money, because they can. I'm wondering if corporations would as well. I don't know how many times we have to watch that movie play out before understand. It didn't work for Reagan, it didn't work for Bush, it sure as heck didn't work for Kansas...

Regardless, it's got a chance to be popular and productive if they do it right, but that's threading a very tiny needle. Color me skeptical. I'll believe Trump does something positive when I see it with my own eyes.

 
I'm okay with them lowering the rate if they get rid of lots of deductions and get rid of the subsidies that go mostly to corporations.

 
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