Five ways the Trump agenda hurts the American consumer

Donald Trump is a threat to both the American people and American democracy. Consequently, it is no surprise that, by extension, Trump is also a huge threat to the regular American consumer. That is because his agenda for America is nothing more than his agenda for himself and Americans are going to pay.

Trump Tax Scam

Trump’s GOP congressional lackeys banded together in December last year to impose his endorsed tax plan – with “plan” used in the very loosest sense of the word.

Contrary to Trump’s pie-in-the-sky assertions that the majority of Americans will be better off as a result, the very same guy that managed to bankrupt a casino, has now overseen a tax cut that actually raises taxes for over 80 million Americans while simultaneously lowering taxes for the top 1% of richest Americans.

Unless you’re a billionaire, possibly with a solid gold toilet, this isn’t really the stuff that regular American consumer spending sprees are made of.

Pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal

The US withdrawing from the “Iran Nuclear Deal” has, unsurprisingly, spooked the oil markets. 

 

The Middle East, the world’s leading oil producing zone, needs more stability, not less, to ensure oil production costs remain in check. Of course, the stable genius that is Trump has now added tension to that geopolitical hotbed and consequently oil prices are on the rise. 

 

Trips to the gas station are an increasingly painful experience for American drivers and small businesses. Maybe the MAGA-crowd likes paying more at the pump to see Trump at one of his cow-shed rallies? Must be a MAGA thing.

Trump and Tariffs

Trump is gunning for a trade war. With his usual double whammy of both wanting to grab the headlines and show how much of a “tough guy” he is (oh how his father should have hugged him more as a child), Trump has implemented tariffs with trading friends and foes alike.

By imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, Trump’s recklessness is going to drive up the cost of things like cars, trucks and canned goods for the American consumer.

Mick Mulvaney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

Mulvaney is to consumer protection as foxes are to hen houses. So Trump, naturally, made him acting Director of the CFPB in 2017.

In accordance with Trump’s obsession of repealing anything Obama-esque, Mulvaney is perfectly aligned with Trump’s slash and burn approach to regulation.

Mulvaney has a long history of acrimony towards the CFPB – an organization set up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to ensure that consumers had better protection from marauding financial institutions and their questionable business practices.

Prior to taking up the CFPB reins, Mulvaney made numerous references about its abolition. As acting Director, he has suspended CFPB recruitment and cancelled investigations, both pending and present, into suspected malfeasance by any number of financial institutions. The end result? The American consumer is at increased risk courtesy of a Trump endorsed henchman.

Net Neutrality No More

Net neutrality was repealed in June this year by the Republican leaning, Trump endorsed Federal Communications Commission. Net neutrality ensured that internet-service providers (ISP) treated all online internet data fairly and provided a level playing field to ensure that ISPs could not levy fees or slow down services for particular online content and websites.

That is no more with the repeal. The bigger ISPs now have the potential to introduce things like “fast-lane” internet services – where if you pay more, you get a better service. Kind of like cable TV, if you are prepared to pay more, you get better service and greater access to internet services – such as those you had previously taken for granted before.

Less internet choice beckons. The only good thing from that? 

 

Maybe you’ll get to see less of Trump’s puerile, offensive Tweets.

Trump tax scam thwarts long-term U.S. economic growth for self-serving, short-term political gains

Donald Trump would have the American people believe that the recent GOP tax bill will provide a spark to the U.S. economy while benefiting mostly the middle-class. This would obviously be all well and good, except for the inconvenient detail of it being an outright lie. In reality the GOP tax bill is a duplicitous scam that will limit the potential of the American economy at the cost of everyday people in the United States.

Tax cuts for everyday Americans will disappear, corporate tax looting permanent

Trump and the GOP are banking on the positive effects of the tax bill to be felt in the pocketbooks of the average American voter in time to help Republicans in the upcoming elections in 2018 and 2020. Although most Americans will receive a tax cut, those benefits are only short-term and transitory and will also come at a steep price. Meanwhile the massive tax cuts corporate donors receive from the tax bill will remain permanent, leaving future generations to deal with a more than $1 trillion deficit increase as a result.

Corporate donors carry water for Trump and GOP

Upon passage of the GOP tax bill some corporations who stand to profit handsomely from the new policy attempted to assuage the public's strong disapproval of the tax scheme by literally throwing money at them. Wells Fargo and AT&T were the first corporations to rush to announce bonuses and wage increases which they claim are a result of the tax bill. However, it is likely their intentions are more self-serving than anything else.

These two corporations just happen to be facing scrutiny from the Trump administration over various regulatory issues. Trump targeted Wells Fargo in a recent Twitter tantrum, threatening to levy heavy fines against the bank for past wrongdoings. AT&T has also been under recent scrutiny regarding its proposed merger with Time-Warner. In falling over themselves to announce the worker bonuses these corporations are likely hoping that their strategically timed announcements regarding worker bonuses will stroke Trump's pathetic and fragile ego. Additionally, with a tight labor market and unemployment at historic lows, it would make sense for corporations to already be thinking of raising wages due to increased competition to attract qualified workers, regardless of the GOP tax scam.

Missed opportunity for real economic growth in renewable energy

If Republicans really wanted to revamp the U.S. economy there are numerous better options than to gift loads of tax giveaways to corporate donors. One thing the GOP and Trump could do is drop their regressive energy polices aimed at propping up a dying coal industry while at the same time attacking the renewable energy sector. The solar and wind energy industry are among the fastest growing industries in the world today. Renewable energy has the potential to create millions of new jobs, however, instead, the Trump administration is aggressively looking to take actions which would dampen this potential growth.

Coal is a losing bet for America

Propping up the coal industry at the expense of renewable energy is a losing economic strategy for the long-term. It is obvious that the future trajectory of coal energy is downwards towards obsolescence, making the potential for job growth from coal quite limited. If anything there will be limited job gains in coal in 2018, which Trump will try to use as a political talking point when stumping for GOP candidates in the 2018 midterms. However, in the long-term, coal is a losing bet for the American economy and will cede the booming global renewable energy market to rivals such as China.

Trump immigration stance leaves money on the table

Another way which Trump is dampening future U.S. economic power is through his immigration policies. The administration's xenophobic and racist anti-immigration stance is depriving America of the necessary labor, skills and entrepreneurship which could release the untapped potential of the U.S. economy.

Threats of deportation and harassment of immigrant communities, particularly those from Mexico and Central America, has resulted in the worsening of an already-existent labor shortage for home builders. This keeps real estate supply too low to meet demand, which results in skyrocketing housing prices, keeping housing unaffordable for the everyday American consumer. Also, Trump is currently using DACA as a bargaining chip for his promised massive southern border wall. This causes more fear in the immigrant community which in turn keeps many immigrants out of the labor market and discourages others from immigrating to the U.S., further depriving home builders and other employers of much needed cheap labor. Additionally, immigrant entrepreneurs have historically played a critical role in creating jobs in America and therefore policies making it easier for immigrants to come to America should be promoted.

Trump racism will punish the American economy

Instead of breaking up immigrant families, Republicans and Trump could find a way to make America more welcoming for immigrants who will perform the needed work Americans are not willing to do. This increase in economic activity would even go towards funding the more than $1 trillion deficit the GOP tax scam is expected to leave for future generations. However, this would not be politically tenable for Trump who ran his presidential campaign on stoking racism and hatred among his mostly white base.

GOP tax scam reflects Trump narcissism and duplicity

Ultimately, the Trump tax policy is a perfect reflection of Trump as the narcissistic, self-serving liar that he is. The GOP corporate tax giveaway is essentially attempting to bribe the American voters with minimal economic gains which will eventually be paid back in the form of cuts to important social safety nets such as social security or Medicare. Meanwhile, the tax cuts for big corporations will remain permanent at the expense of the American middle class and impoverished communities.