Trump probably doesn’t realize it or understand it, but the goals of some of his policies conflict with each other. In fact, if some of his policies are put into effect, others will not be possible. Important parts of Trumps ideology include tariffs and deporting immigrants. Yet at the same time, he wants to cut inflation and spur economic growth. The first two policy goals are antithetical to the last two.
Trump also does not take into account that the American population is aging and many of the elderly need fulltime help. We are not replacing our population with our birth rates declining. To maintain our economy and production ability, we need immigrants. Skilled, H1B immigrants are particularly important. Asylum for immigrants from totalitarian states is also part of our tradition.
Raising tariffs on imported goods will raise prices for consumers and be inflationary. Trump thinks that the exporting countries will absorb the costs, but they will actually be borne by American consumers. As the prices increase, so will inflation. Trump also believes that the funds collected from tariffs will allow tax cuts (mainly for the wealthy). But there will not be adequate amounts of money generated with tariffs to significantly reduce taxes without increasing the national debt, which is already higher than it should be related to our GDP.
Deporting immigrants will also spur inflation and will not provide jobs for Americans which is another of Trump’s goals. Immigrants tend to have low-paying jobs in the agriculture sector, landscaping, construction and meat preparation and packing. They also work as home health aides. Aside from construction, Americans will not take the jobs that become available. However, the prices of agricultural products and meat will rise, landscaping and construction will become more expensive, adding to inflation and there will not be enough home health aides.
Tariffs as a means of raising revenue go back to the 18th century, which is probably where Trump would like to see America. Not only should Trump not cut taxes when our national debt is so high, he should raise taxes on his billionaire friends and plug tax loopholes. There should be no increase for the average taxpayer. Closing the border aside from legal immigrants is a reasonable idea and some deportation of immigrants with no skills may be worthwhile. But we need immigrants to make up for our population losses. Tariffs should also be restricted to specific cheaper items that will compete with American goods.
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Posted at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: 2024 election, American work force, deport immigrants, economy, immigrations, tariffs, Trump
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020