There are some Urban Legends about Donald Trump that we as Democrats cannot allow to stand. Those who think Trump is Teflon have simply learned the wrong lesson from his GOP primary success.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-pundits-who-got-trump-wrong-in.html
The media had thought that Trump was a joke who couldn't win the GOP primary but they were just half wrong. Now they are acting as if they were wholly wrong as they can't bring themselves to admit the truth: Trump is a joke who somehow won the GOP nomination.
The implication goes against their whole theory of US politics: both sides do it.
Another Urban Legend is that he's 'authentic.' The opposite is the case. His entire biography and business record is a fraud. He's not a wildly successful businessman, but rather a rich boy who's Daddy gave him a lot of money but who has made far less of a return on the investment than an index fund would have.
This is illustrated by his unwillingness to release his tax returns or his financial statements. He is doubly wrong that somehow this is 'none of our business.' To the contrary, it's totally our business.
First of all, he's running for President not for Dictator like his buddies Putin, Mussolini, and Kim Jong un.
Secondly, as we have no public record to vet, we have to vet his private record. Everything about his business record and personal dealings is 'fair game' as the Beltway pundits say about Bill Clinton's affairs. How about Trump's serial adultery?
Last let's look at his 'policies.' They show total 'inauthenticity'-worse, they are lies.
Like on the minimum wage, he is trying to pull a fast one-that some have bought-that he wants to raise the minimum wage. That is not at all what he has said:
"Donald Trump has fooled a lot of people into believing he might be more ideologically flexible than many Republicans are when it comes to government action to boost wages. This is based on interviews in which he seemed, kinda sorta, to be open to a minimum wage hike. In reality, all he said is that “people have to get more,” while also saying we should not have any federal minimum wage. This only means that Trump intends to make wages higher by magically making America filthy rich again, which does not signal flexibility in any meaningful sense."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/05/18/donald-trump-is-pulling-a-scam-on-wages-heres-a-way-to-call-his-bluff/
He has actually said more than GOPers usually say. Normally they attack the minimum wage as leading to higher unemployment-and maybe even bringing down wages for many people.
Scott Sumner would argue he's not a GOPer but here is a classic attack on the minimum wage.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/wage-378171-ocprint-minimum-hour.html
He wouldn't find this so curious if he didn't ignore that wages are stagnant.
But Trump has actually said that wages-period-are too high. A serious mistake that the Dems should remind Americans of again and again and again.
As Sargent points out, Trump is against President Obama's new executive action to increase overtime pay.
Trump is not a kinder, gentler Republican. He thinks wages are too high. We've also seen that his policy director wants to cut Social Security and thinks schizophrenics aren't really disabled.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2016/05/but-at-least-donald-trump-wont-cut.html
He would also: dismantle Dodd-Frank and meet with Kim Jong-un.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-kim-jong-un_us_573b86f2e4b0aee7b8e83308?utm_hp_ref=donald-trump
He clearly admires the North Korean dictator-as he does Putin. This is a guy who once praised the Chinese crackdown on Tinanmen Square.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/432043/donald-trump-praised-tiananmen-square-massacre
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-pundits-who-got-trump-wrong-in.html
The media had thought that Trump was a joke who couldn't win the GOP primary but they were just half wrong. Now they are acting as if they were wholly wrong as they can't bring themselves to admit the truth: Trump is a joke who somehow won the GOP nomination.
The implication goes against their whole theory of US politics: both sides do it.
Another Urban Legend is that he's 'authentic.' The opposite is the case. His entire biography and business record is a fraud. He's not a wildly successful businessman, but rather a rich boy who's Daddy gave him a lot of money but who has made far less of a return on the investment than an index fund would have.
This is illustrated by his unwillingness to release his tax returns or his financial statements. He is doubly wrong that somehow this is 'none of our business.' To the contrary, it's totally our business.
First of all, he's running for President not for Dictator like his buddies Putin, Mussolini, and Kim Jong un.
Secondly, as we have no public record to vet, we have to vet his private record. Everything about his business record and personal dealings is 'fair game' as the Beltway pundits say about Bill Clinton's affairs. How about Trump's serial adultery?
Last let's look at his 'policies.' They show total 'inauthenticity'-worse, they are lies.
Like on the minimum wage, he is trying to pull a fast one-that some have bought-that he wants to raise the minimum wage. That is not at all what he has said:
"Donald Trump has fooled a lot of people into believing he might be more ideologically flexible than many Republicans are when it comes to government action to boost wages. This is based on interviews in which he seemed, kinda sorta, to be open to a minimum wage hike. In reality, all he said is that “people have to get more,” while also saying we should not have any federal minimum wage. This only means that Trump intends to make wages higher by magically making America filthy rich again, which does not signal flexibility in any meaningful sense."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/05/18/donald-trump-is-pulling-a-scam-on-wages-heres-a-way-to-call-his-bluff/
He has actually said more than GOPers usually say. Normally they attack the minimum wage as leading to higher unemployment-and maybe even bringing down wages for many people.
Scott Sumner would argue he's not a GOPer but here is a classic attack on the minimum wage.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/wage-378171-ocprint-minimum-hour.html
He wouldn't find this so curious if he didn't ignore that wages are stagnant.
But Trump has actually said that wages-period-are too high. A serious mistake that the Dems should remind Americans of again and again and again.
As Sargent points out, Trump is against President Obama's new executive action to increase overtime pay.
Trump is not a kinder, gentler Republican. He thinks wages are too high. We've also seen that his policy director wants to cut Social Security and thinks schizophrenics aren't really disabled.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2016/05/but-at-least-donald-trump-wont-cut.html
He would also: dismantle Dodd-Frank and meet with Kim Jong-un.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-kim-jong-un_us_573b86f2e4b0aee7b8e83308?utm_hp_ref=donald-trump
He clearly admires the North Korean dictator-as he does Putin. This is a guy who once praised the Chinese crackdown on Tinanmen Square.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/432043/donald-trump-praised-tiananmen-square-massacre
Interesting. John Cochrane apparently thinks that if we just got rid of all those pesky regulations, we'd be averaging a $400k / year income in the US.
ReplyDeletehttp://noahpinionblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/brad-delong-pulpifies-cochrane-graph.html
Ok averaging. That's easy. The 1% can make a billion while everyone makes two dollars per year and get $400,000 per year.
ReplyDeleteWhat about median wage?
Well excellent point of course: but as you can see, even regarind per capital income, both Noah Smith and Brad DeLong dispute John's analysis.
DeleteYes, I was just peaking at Noah's article. I will have to read it. Cochrane's analysis on the face of it sounds way too fanciful.
DeleteMike, a RedState commentator had a funny idea:
ReplyDelete"I live in New Jersey (sigh) and Trump will be in Lawrence Twp. tomorrow evening (April 19). Lawrence is between Trenton and Princeton and 10 minutes from where I live and work. I'm thinking of holding a sign out front of the venue "Clown Circus Enter Here --->"."