An Ignoble Experiment: Money, Honey

August 09, 2016

Yesterday, Donald Trump proved he's a rich man and he's gone too far. He tried to bail out his sinking ship by releasing a new tax plan, apparently aimed at "reaching out to everyone as Americans." But, even though it's in new shiny packaging, the new plan is the same as the old plan as in it disproportionately benefits those who can rely on their old man's money (a.k.a. the very richest Americans). Here are some details of what Trump's "new plan" would do:

Dramatically cut taxes for large corporations and Wall Street. Trump is going to cut the corporate tax rate to 15%—which lines the pockets of large, multinational corporations and the top 1 percent. And, to add the cherry on top, Trump is also going to insert a gigantic new loophole for corporations.

Allow high-income earners to pay a lower tax rate. Trump would lower the tax rate for the wealthiest Americans and create an incentive for the rich to reclassify their income to further avoid taxes.

Create a new tax loophole for big business. Under Trump's plan, private equity manages would no longer have to claim they receive capital gains—instead they can claim their earnings as business income and get themselves a nice tax break. Guess who especially benefits? Trump's own Economic Advisory Council.

Deliver a special tax break for the richest 0.2 percent of Americans. Trump is going to get rid of the estate tax, which only benefits the very wealthy. It would save Trump's own family as much as $7.1 billion.

Expose our economy to the dangers of unregulated Wall Street and big business shenanigans. Trump would issue a moratorium on new regulations, blocking actions that would rein in risky financial practices or health and environmental dangers. This would not only take us back to the days of heads-I-win, tails-you-lose bets on Wall Street that led to the 2008 Financial Crisis and the reckless actions of big oil companies that brought us the massive BP oil spill, it represents the special interests of the hedge fund manager and the trickle-down economist represented on his Economic Advisory Council.

Offer a regressive solution for child care. Trump tried to say low-and-middle income Americans would gain the most from his child care plan. Not true. Trump's child care plan is a tax deduction, so it is worth the most to wealthy families in the top tax bracket. And it adds no new benefit to his tax plan for married couples making $50,000 or less, since they would already have no taxable income due to the standard deduction.

Tl;dr: Trump tried to dupe everyone with a new plan, but turns out it's the same old plan to help himself and his rich buddies at the expense of working families and the economy.

WHAT'S TRENDING

Evan Almighty. Evan McMullin—a Republican former CIA officer, current chief policy director of the House Republican Conference—launched an independent presidential bid yesterday, hoping to be the GOP savior for the #NeverTrump crowd. In his Letter To America posted on his campaign website yesterday, McMullin said "We have been left with two candidates who are fundamentally unfit for the profound responsibilities they seek." McMullin has never held elected office, but all he needs to do now to change that is qualify for the ballot in all 50 states, raise millions of dollars, and beat Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Jill Stein, and Gary Johnson.

Speaking of #NeverTrump… Another one bites the dust. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) became the first sitting Republican Senator to publicly speak out against Trump. She did it in an op-ed in which she said "Mr. Trump lacks the temperament, self-discipline and judgment required to be president." That sounds familiar… Last week Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) became the first Republican member of the House to say he'll vote for Clinton over Trump. He also did it in an op-ed.

"The most reckless president in American history." Fifty of the nation's most senior GOP national security officials signed a letter yesterday about Trump. It can't double as a recommendation letter. The group said Trump has "demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding" of the United States' "vital national interests, its complex diplomatic challenges, its indispensable alliances and the democratic values" on which American policy should be based. And finally, "Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself." And two former Republican EPA administrators also announced they will back Hillary Clinton over Trump yesterday, citing Trump's "profound ignorance of science."

Sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree. Jeb Bush's son, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is breaking with the rest of the #NeverTrump Bush family and endorsing Donald Trump. But this is a new tune for George P. Bush who in 2014 urged Texas Republicans to "take a stand against 'ignorant statements'" about Latinos and in 2012 said the GOP should change its rhetoric on immigration. Also relevant, his mother Columba Bush is an immigrant from Mexico.

Pay gaps. The teacher pay gap is wider than ever, according to a new report from EPI. Last year, public school teachers' weekly wages were 17 percent lower than those of comparable workers—compared to just 1.8 percent lower in 1994. And that corrosion of earnings has fallen more on experienced teachers than entry-level ones. This is a big deal because effective teachers are the most important school-based determinant of education outcomes. Here are some important lessons for redesigning teacher compensation systems.