Five Ways Trump Will Give Americans More Opportunities
Instead of a safety net, Republicans offer upward mobility
Now that the Electoral College has voted for Donald Trump as the next president, it is time for America to develop a winning agenda for people who want to be upwardly mobile. Over the past eight years, President Barack Obama’s agenda focused on keeping Americans safe, with an emphasis on food stamps, government-provided health insurance, and retirement and disability benefits.
The Left’s policies are built around keeping people safe. In return for higher taxes, and higher health insurance premiums, government will look after us.
The extent of the safety net is under debate. Too broad, and people lose incentives to work. To narrow, and people slip through the cracks.
But the focus on safety isn’t helping people rise through the income classes. That’s where Trump’s opportunity comes in. His proposals are built around five pillars to help people get ahead, which is what practically everyone wants to do.
Lower taxes. Trump is committed to lowering individual and business taxes and streamlining the tax code. In contrast, Democrats constantly call for tax increases on corporations and “the rich.” Trump would lower the top corporate tax rate to 15% and have three tax rates, 12%, 25%, and 33% for individuals. Lower taxes make it easier for people to start businesses and get ahead. Businesses expand and employ more people, and people keep more money and spend it, creating more jobs. Lower taxes both help people become upwardly mobile and reward those who achieve such mobility.
School choice. One of the biggest divisions between conservatives and liberals is over school choice. Trump has named as education secretary Betsy DeVos, who has spent her career working for school choice. Liberals want to protect unqualified teachers and are vehemently opposed to programs that allow children to change schools. Obama has repeatedly tried to end the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program which gives scholarships to Washington D.C. residents to send children to schools of their choice (even though the president sends his daughters to the private Sidwell Friends School).
Expansion of oil pipelines. Most Democrats are against expanding America’s pipeline infrastructure, even though the spread of cheap energy will attract manufacturing and produce jobs. Trump has named former Texas Gov. Perry secretary of energy, who is on the record as wanting job opportunities for refinery workers along the Gulf of Mexico who want to refine Canadian oil. These refinery jobs dwarf the ones that would be created by pipeline construction. Approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines are only the start. A whole new generation of pipelines is needed to get the newly found oil and gas to refineries and then out to consumers and to the coasts for export.
Flexible ways of providing health care. Originally, the Congressional Budget Office projected that 26 million people would enroll in the Affordable Care Act exchanges in 2017. Current estimates, however, project enrollment of only 15 million. But those who are not offered insurance by their employers have few other options other than going to the exchanges. Policies that do not comply with Affordable Care Act guidelines are hard to find. And with premiums rising by 25%, dissatisfaction is high. Allowing insurance companies to offer a broad range of plans across states would increase competition and consumer choice.
Fewer regulations. Trump has promised to roll back regulations that discourage employment. The Environmental Protection Agency is having a field day regulating mercury, ozone, and carbon, even though on statistics from its own website people can see that the air is getting cleaner every year. Ozone standards put in place under President George W. Bush were delayed by EPA actions, but the agency has put out new ones. Under these new regulations, states would have to submit State Implementation Plans to the EPA for approval. These State Implementation plans would require a reduction in power plants, factories, and vehicles on the road in order for states to come into compliance. This means less economic activity and fewer jobs.
People are looking to the future. They want more than handouts, they want upward mobility. Until Democrats can offer their own opportunity agenda, Trump and the Republican Congress will have an advantage.
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Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow and director of Economics21. She also serves on the transition team for President-elect Donald Trump. Follow her on Twitter here.
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This piece originally appeared in WSJ's MarketWatch