4 ms·

>There is real desperation in this country. That's why Trump is President. People didn't vote for him because they are racist. They voted for him because they w

by lsc 10y ago

>There is real desperation in this country. That's why Trump is President. People didn't vote for him because they are racist. They voted for him because they worry about putting food on their tables. They worry about being left behind in a world that has fewer and fewer ways for the average Joe to dream about a future. They're angry, rightfully so, and in Trump, they found someone willing to listen How do you square the poverty story above with the fact that trump ran on a fiscally conservative platform, within a fiscally conservative party that promises to reduce the safety net?

quicklyfrozen 10y ago
I have to assume that many don't want a safety net; they want to be able to be able to support themselves.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- lsc 10y ago
  Which is fine... but personally, I don't see that much difference between charging a tax that makes my imported goods more expensive (in an effort to subsidize American workers) and, say, just setting up some sort of reverse income tax, or strengthening the Earned Income Credit or what have you so that you directly tax me and directly give those dollars to people who don't have competitive job skills. If anything, I bet the latter would be more 'efficient' in that I'd have to pay fewer dollars to keep those folks fed and housed, just 'cause if you make imports more expensive, sure, more stuff will be manufactured here, but most of that manufacturing is going to be done by robots, so it seems to me you'd mostly be making me pay more for stuff I buy, then turning around and increasing the demand for labor from people with my sorts of skills.
sudoscript 10y ago
Not everyone believes that the solution to poverty is welfare. I imagine many of his voters believe the solution looks more like protectionism. Which is basically what his plan is. I'm not claiming they're right. I'm just claiming that you can be a fiscal conservative and still think you have the solution to poverty.
- lsc 10y ago
  But isn't protectionism a lot like inflation, in that it can stimulate labor demand while making things more expensive? (And is often called a hidden redistributive tax) My impression is that this party is as much against inflation as it is against handouts, while inflation occupies the same niche as trade protectionism in that it can stimulate job growth without seeming like a handout.
  - clock_tower 10y ago
    This is the first I've ever heard of protectionism as a form of inflation; I doubt that the average Trump voter would believe what you're saying here. I mean, I don't believe it, and I voted for McMullin.
    - hga 10y ago
      Well, technically it's a tax, but it doesn't matter to the consumer if it's a tax, especially one this upstream, that makes a commodity more expensive.

by lsc 10y ago

quicklyfrozen 10y ago

I have to assume that many don't want a safety net; they want to be able to be able to support themselves.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
lsc 10y ago
Which is fine... but personally, I don't see that much difference between charging a tax that makes my imported goods more expensive (in an effort to subsidize American workers) and, say, just setting up some sort of reverse income tax, or strengthening the Earned Income Credit or what have you so that you directly tax me and directly give those dollars to people who don't have competitive job skills. If anything, I bet the latter would be more 'efficient' in that I'd have to pay fewer dollars to keep those folks fed and housed, just 'cause if you make imports more expensive, sure, more stuff will be manufactured here, but most of that manufacturing is going to be done by robots, so it seems to me you'd mostly be making me pay more for stuff I buy, then turning around and increasing the demand for labor from people with my sorts of skills.

sudoscript 10y ago

Not everyone believes that the solution to poverty is welfare. I imagine many of his voters believe the solution looks more like protectionism. Which is basically what his plan is. I'm not claiming they're right. I'm just claiming that you can be a fiscal conservative and still think you have the solution to poverty.

lsc 10y ago
But isn't protectionism a lot like inflation, in that it can stimulate labor demand while making things more expensive? (And is often called a hidden redistributive tax) My impression is that this party is as much against inflation as it is against handouts, while inflation occupies the same niche as trade protectionism in that it can stimulate job growth without seeming like a handout.
- clock_tower 10y ago
  This is the first I've ever heard of protectionism as a form of inflation; I doubt that the average Trump voter would believe what you're saying here. I mean, I don't believe it, and I voted for McMullin.
  - hga 10y ago
    Well, technically it's a tax, but it doesn't matter to the consumer if it's a tax, especially one this upstream, that makes a commodity more expensive.