GOP NOMINEE SEEKS TO REDEFINE 2016 ELECTION …
Branding himself as the second coming of Ronald Reagan, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump sought to redefine the 2016 presidential election along economic lines.
Funny … that’s exactly what we advised him to do last week.
“Americanism, not globalism, will be our new credo,” Trump said in unveiling his proposals, which he called the “biggest tax revolution” America had seen in decades.
Trump’s plan? Compressing the number of federal income tax brackets from seven to three and cutting the top marginal rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent. Previously, Trump had proposed cutting this top rate – which impacts those who earn $415,050 or more a year – to 25 percent.
Other previously proposed rate cuts were also modestly increased – conforming his brackets with those put forward U.S. Speaker Paul Ryan earlier this year.
In addition to his individual income tax cuts, Trump vowed to lower America’s corporate tax from 39 percent to 15 percent. He also promised to rewrite crony capitalist trade deals, restart the Keystone XL pipeline, withdraw America from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and remove the United States from the Paris climate change agreement.
Trump gave his big economic speech in Detroit – a city he claimed had been decimated by globalist policies supported by his major party rival, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Detroit is the living, breathing example of my opponent’s failed economic agenda,” he said. “Every policy that has failed this city and so many others is a policy supported by Hillary Clinton.”
“If you are a foreign power looking to weaken America, you couldn’t do better than Hillary Clinton’s economic agenda,” Trump added.
Clinton blasted Trump’s proposals, referring to them as “trickle down economics” – the same criticism leveled years ago against Reagan’s economic plans.
“He wants to basically just re-package trickle down economics. Now, you know that old saying, ‘Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me?’ ” Clinton told attendees at a rally in St. Petersburg, Florida. “Trickle down economics does not help our economy grow. It does not help the vast majority of Americans.”
Clinton will unveil a rebooted version of her economic proposals soon. She has previously proposed a 30 percent minimum tax rate on individuals making $1 million or more and a four percent surtax on income above $4 million.
Our view? We preferred Trump’s original tax plan – which was rolled out back in September. His current proposal remains a vast improvement over the current status quo, but his first plan provided much more in the way of real relief.