Trump lays out economic plan
Republican hammers Hillary Clinton over her support of NAFTA
Calling Hillary Clinton a candidate from the past who will merely continue the policies that have destroyed cities like Detroit, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told a business crowd here that he is the best agent for change in America.
“Detroit was once the economic envy of the world,” he said. “When we were governed by the America-first policy, Detroit was absolutely booming. … But for many living in this city, that dream has long ago vanished.”
Although Trump’s speech was billed as his economic vision for the country, he spent a large amount of his address to 1,500 people at the Detroit Economic Club lashing out against Clinton, his Democratic opponent.
The Democratic Party has reached into the past to select “a nominee from yesterday, who offers the rhetoric of yesterday and the policies of yesterday. There will be no change under Hillary Clinton, only four more years of weakness and President Obama,” Trump said. “We’ll be looking boldly into the future. That is what our country deserves.
“American cars will travel the roads, American planes will connect our cities, and American ships will patrol the seas. American steel will send new skyscrapers soaring all over our country.”
Trump offered glimpses of his economic plan, adding that he will roll out more details in the coming weeks. Among the policy proposals he outlined were plans to reduce the number of income tax brackets from seven to three; to eliminate income taxes for individuals who earn less than $25,000 or $50,000 for married couples; to make all child care expenses tax deductible; and to reduce the corporate tax rate.
He hammered Clinton for her support for the North American Free Trade Agreement and predicted that she will approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership if she’s elected. Clinton has said she opposes the TPP and is willing to renegotiate NAFTA.
“A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for TPP and NAFTA. Before NAFTA went into effect, there were 285,000 autoworkers in Michigan. Today that number is only 160,000,” Trump said. “Detroit is still waiting for Hillary Clinton’s apology. She’s been a disaster. I expect Detroit will get that apology right around the same time Hillary Clinton turns over those 33,000 emails she deleted.”
It was a message geared to the blue-collar workers who have lost their jobs or have seen stagnant wages for years. These are the voters in such Rust Belt states as Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania that Trump is counting on for his path to the presidency.
Trump’s speech offered a bleak vision of the American economy at odds with the nation’s low unemployment rate and slow but steady economic growth. Trump instead painted a portrait of America as a place with rising unemployment, deepening poverty and economic weakness.
Trump offered so many bullet points in such rapid succession that he didn’t concentrate on any in great length or explain how he would pay for the initiatives.
His plan comes on the heels of the appointment of his new economic policy team last week, 13 men, mostly businessmen.
Responding to Trump during a campaign event in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday, Clinton assailed the efforts of Trump’s new policy team, saying they “tried to make his old, tired ideas sound new” in the Detroit speech.
Charles Ballard, a professor of economics at Michigan State University, took issue with Trump’s assertions that he could enact huge tax cuts while rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
“Any way you look at it, it adds up as either a big increase in deficits or you’ve got to make huge cuts to stuff like Social Security and Medicare or defense,” he said.
“When we were governed by the America-first policy, Detroit was absolutely booming. … But for many living in this city, that dream has long ago vanished.” Donald Trump