Trump’s Bonkers Economic Plan - by Robert Reich

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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"Bonkers." Dr. Reich is given to hyperbole when comes his political adversaries. Things are never just incorrect, mistaken, improper, or out of order. No, they are always bonkers, bizarre, incoherent, and crazy. 

Further, the complete ignorance on display in this article is breathtaking. Dr. Reich has no clue about the economy, business practice, or the problems government causes. Or more likely, he does understand but is devoted to telling The Narrative in service to The Agenda.

But worst of all, Dr. Reich denies reality. He warns about Trump and his policies and how damaging they will be. But it's like he doesn't know that we've already had Trump as president. We know what he did. We have experience and evidence. We can be assured none of the things Dr. Reich warns us will happen. Because they didn't happen. 

It's what leftists are required to do. They must believe every talking point, every assertion, and every factoid promulgated by Central Command, no matter how ridiculous, fake, or absurd. And they must do it often, everywhere, and with a straight face.

It must be difficult to live life as a leftist.

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Friends,

This week’s Election 2024 Video of the Week focuses on Trump’s bizarre economic plan.

To remind you, the goal of this series is not to preach to the converted but to give you facts, analysis, and arguments to share with those who aren’t.

Please share — especially with people who are leaning toward Trump, are wavering in their support of Kamala Harris, or haven’t made up their minds.

Earlier this week, Trump summarized his economic “plan.” Not surprisingly, it’s incoherent and filled with lies. In today’s video, I focus on five key parts of it.

#1: Trump’s crazy tariff plan

Trump seems genuinely confused about what tariffs are and who pays them.

TRUMP: We are taking in billions and billions of dollars in tariffs that China is paying for.

Nope. Tariffs are not paid by the other country. (Trump clearly misspoke. It's hardly crazy or bonkers to make a mistake.)

They’re paid by the American importer, with the cost typically passed onto American consumers, as even Fox Business pundits have to admit. (Hmm. Dr. Reich WANTS corporations to pay more taxes. That's a central objective of the Left. Yet here he does understand that taxes get passed on to the final consumer within the prices of the product, and opposes tariffs for that reason. What this boils down to is that leftists will say anything, no matter how ridiculous,  if it furthers The Agenda.

Oh, and by the way. Biden has continued Trump's tariffs.)

Targeted tariffs on specific products can give American-made goods an edge over imports, but there’s no strategy behind the tidal wave of tariffs Trump is proposing. (So he actually supports tariffs.

Dr. Reich cannot know that there's "no strategy" with Trump's proposal.)

But Trump wants you to pay at least a 60 percent tax on everything imported from China and a 10 percent tax on everything imported from anywhere else. (Again we see the depths leftists will go to further The Agenda. Biden increased tariffs on certain Chinese products in May of this year. 

• Certain steel and aluminum products: Tariffs more than triple on some these products... to 25% in 2024. 
• Semiconductors: Tariffs will increase from 25% to 50% by 2025
• Electric Vehicles: Tariffs will increase from 25% to 100% in 2024 
• Batteries, Battery Components and Parts: Tariffs on lithium-ion EV batteries will increase from 7.5% to 25% in 2024, while the tariff rate on lithium-ion non-EV batteries will increase from 7.5% to 25% in 2026. Tariff rates on battery parts will increase from 7.5% to 25% in 2024
• Critical minerals: Tariffs for certain critical minerals will increase from 0 to 25% in 2024.

This is what's so dangerous about leftists. They will say anything, they will lie to your face and accuse their adversaries of doing the very thing they are doing, and ten minutes later will deny they said what they said.)

This would cost the average family an estimated $2,500 extra per year. (No, it wouldn't. As is typical for leftists like Dr. Reich, they think taxes/fees/tariffs just get paid. But people avoid taxes. They seek other avenues. 

And by the way, when did it ever bother a leftist that taxes are getting raised?)

And this is a regressive tax, taking a higher percentage of the paychecks of the working class and the poor than out of the incomes of the wealthy. (It would only take money from those who volunteered to pay it by buying foreign products.)

#2: Trump’s plan for monopolies would create more of them

If you’ve watched our other videos, you know that corporate monopolies (There are no monopolies. Monopolies are illegal. Except for government. It's the only monopoly.)

are among the biggest drivers of inflation. (This is completely false. Only government can create inflation. When government prints money to deficit spend, the increased money supply devalues the dollar and reduces its purchasing power.)

When there are fewer competitors, corporations can raise prices without worrying about losing customers to a cheaper competitor. (This is not what happens. There is no number of competitors that magically create competition. If the number of competitors selling a particular product reduces from 4 to 3, that is still competition. If the number of competitors increase to 8, competition hasn't changed.)

Trump and the MAGA team want to make this worse.

Trump’s Project 2025 specifically seeks to fast-track airline mergers.

And as part of Trump’s efforts to solicit campaign donations from Big Oil executives, he’s suggested fast-tracking oil mergers. This would let them pump up your gas prices. (Does Dr. Reich live in reality? When trump left office gas prices were less than $2 per gallon, and they have been over $3 ever since the election.

What kind of fairytale land does Dr. Reich live in?)

And speaking of gas prices, let’s talk about how …

#3: Trump would hike energy prices

Trump’s promising to kill the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy incentives and fuel efficiency standards. This means you’ll be spending more on fuel because your car will need more gas and your appliances will use more electricity. (Our cars will suddenly decrease their MPG? Our stoves will suddenly start using more electricity? How does this magically happen?)

#4: Trump would make your money worth less

??? The delusion is getting worse. Inflation has skyrocketed since Trump left office, and has not returned to pre-Biden levels. This is an actual loss of purchasing power.)

The American economy is strong right now compared to those of other nations, (Compared to other nations? Why? How about compared to the Trump economy, that was going gangbusters until COVID blew it all apart.)

so the American dollar is worth more vs. the euro, the yen, and other major currencies. (What about compared to US currency 4 years ago? The American dollar is worth less because inflation has decreased its buying power.)

At a moment when Americans are worried about how far their dollar goes, most people would call that a good thing. (Why are they so worried if things are so great? People must not be buying the Left's talking points.)

But Trump and his economic advisers are reportedly so obsessed with trade deficits that they’re looking for ways to devalue the dollar. (Devalue the dollar even more than Biden has? And by the way, Politico and Vox are not references. They're partisan hacks.)

This might help big corporations that export products, but it would also raise import prices and overheat a U.S. economy already running hot. (We literally laughed out loud at this. Overheat an economy? What ivory tower does this man live in? How much more divorced from reality can a person be? Does he really think that spouting the agitprop really will work on a family working three jobs just to survive in the Biden economy?)

#5: Trump’s wild deportation plan would drive up costs still further

Trump would decimate the American workforce — and he’s bragging about it.

TRUMP: We’ll carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.

Putting aside the horrific moral consequences, this would make the whole economy collapse.

There are more than a million undocumented laborers (This is not "the American workforce.")

in construction, over a million undocumented farm workers, and about a million undocumented food service workers. (Yep, leftists need illegal aliens to clean the bathrooms in their mansions. 

But notice the implicit racism coming from Dr. Reich. He presumes that all illegal aliens are doing menial jobs, because they are so stupid, low-class, and exploitable. 

But he of course he can't say these people have no skills or training. He wants them to do the crap jobs. These people are being abused and exploited, but Dr. Reich is worried about who will bring his plate of food to his table in a restaurant. The pomposity and boorishness is unmeasurable.)

What do you think will happen to the price of food and housing if these workers are suddenly deported? Prices will explode. (They already have exploded, Dr. Reich. It's called inflation. Where have you been?)

By the way, these are not jobs that Americans born here in the United States are competing for, because most pay very little and many are dangerous. (Ahh, a tacit admission that Dr. Reich and his cronies need undocumented workers to work in horrible conditions for peanuts.)

In sum, Trump has no understanding of the economy. (Irony Alert.)

He was terrible at business — which is why he’s driven so many businesses into the ground. (He’s even driven casinos into the ground. How do you lose money running a casino?) (Dr. Reich doesn't know because he's never ran a business, meet a payroll, or weathered a financial storm caused by big government meddling in the economy. So yup, he has no idea.)

Given another chance, he’ll drive the American economy into the ground, too. (But we have had him as president and this didn't happen. Just the opposite. What in the world is Dr. Reich talking about?)

A tad more than five weeks to Election Day. Please share this video, and do whatever else you can.

Thanks for joining me today.