Second Day Of The Republican National Convention Focused On Economy
After an eventful first day of the Republican National Convention—with Rep. Steve King wondering if any “sub-group” besides white people has contributed to society, #NeverTrump delegates revolting on the convention floor, and Melania Trump plagiarizing Michelle Obama’s speech from the 2008 DNC—Donald Trump and crew are back at it again with today’s theme “Make America Work Again.” Tonight, prime time speakers such as Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are supposed to talk about how Donald Trump and the Republican Party will revitalize the economy, since “the Obama years have delivered anemic economic growth,” while “Donald Trump is a successful businessman with a solid record of creating jobs and the experience we need to get America’s economy up and running.”
While this may be good rhetoric for Donald Trump and the RNC to tout, the facts show that these claims are simply not true. Here are some ways where the Trump and the GOP’s plans for the economy will hurt working families:
- Donald Trump has claimed “wages are too high” and has yet to endorse raising the federal minimum wage. Yet, if Trump were president for 8 years and didn’t raise the federal minimum wage, it would be at its lowest level in 70 years. Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 would benefit 35 million workers across the United States, including one third of black and Latino workers.
- Trump’s reckless economic plans could cost the economy millions of jobs. Though Trump claims the economy under Obama is “a disaster,” since 2010, U.S. businesses have added 14.8 million jobs over a record 76-month streak. In contrast, Trump has said he could “make a deal” with American creditors to avoid paying them back fully, which could lead the U.S. to default on its debts. This recklessness could cost the economy more than 3 million jobs.
- Trump’s tax plan is a reckless and costly giveaway to the wealthiest few. The Donald’s tax plan will give the top 1 percent an average tax cut of over $275,000, while costing $9.5 trillion over the next decade. According to the Tax Policy Center: “Unless it is accompanied by very large spending cuts, it could increase the national debt by nearly 80 percent of gross domestic product by 2036.”
- Not only would Trump’s tax plan explode the national deficit, Trump would cause a global economic panic. Trump, the self-proclaimed “king of debt,” has implied that he would let the U.S. to default on its debts. This could lead to devaluation of homes across the United States and job losses.
- Donald Trump’s reckless economic plans could lead to a recession. Donald Trump said he would “absolutely” repeal Dodd Frank, thus removing the safeguards designed to keep Wall Street in check and prevent the next financial crisis. And far from being worried about the next economic panic, Trump has proclaimed that he “love[s] bad markets” because he “always made a lot of money in bad markets… You can do very well in a bad market.”
- Despite Donald Trump’s claims that immigrants are “taking our jobs” immigrants are a key engine of America’s economic growth. In 2010, immigrant-founded small businesses generated more than $775 billion in sales and $100 billion in income and paid more than $126 billion in payroll taxes. Immigrants make up about 28 percent of small-business owners and are two times more likely to become entrepreneurs than the native-born population.
BOTTOM LINE: It is true that working families in the United States are feeling increasingly squeezed by rising costs and stagnating wages. But, families need policies like guaranteed paid sick days, guaranteed paid leave, equal pay, and improved access to quality, affordable childcare to thrive. Trump and the GOP platform have failed to address the drivers of family economic insecurity and instead present plans that will hurt working families.
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