According to the mainstream media, this should be a "no-brainer." Trump's economic plan would mean depression, fire, and brimstone with massive job losses and, in general, all the worst parts of the bible for America. However, Hillary Clinton's plan will 'fix' everything - more jobs, lower taxes (apart from for those nasty middle-class Americans), better economic growth, and ponies and unicorns for everyone (except the wealthy, they can buy their own unicorn). The farce of campaign promises is getting almost too much to bear as we wonder, if Hillary has all these brilliant ideas, then why did she not share them with President Obama - who just presided over the only term without a 3% growth year in the history of America.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, Hillary Clinton will dial up a line of attack on Donald Trump’s economic proposals in a Thursday speech that casts his agenda as a crony giveaway that erodes his populist appeal, according to a campaign official familiar with the remarks.
The Democratic nominee’s remarks will brand Mr. Trump’s proposal to sharply reduce taxes on so-called pass-through entities, where business income is claimed on individual tax returns, as the “Trump loophole.” Mr. Trump would lower the top personal tax rate to 33%, from 39.6%, but to benefit small businesses Mr. Trump has proposed taxing pass-through income at 15%.
The Clinton campaign is set to argue the change could potentially deliver a huge windfall to Mr. Trump’s companies and other wealthy Americans, including his donors and advisers, many of them successful financiers on Wall Street.
Mrs. Clinton isn’t expected to unveil new policy in Thursday’s speech. She has promoted her job-creation proposals in campaign events this week in Florida, North Carolina and Iowa, while highlighting Mr. Trump’s past practices of refusing to pay his contractors in full and on time and of producing his line of branded apparel products in Asia.
So - this is less an economic vision, but more of an anti-Trump speech... but don't let that spoil it for you. As NYTimes reports, a Clinton campaign official who previewed the remarks, to be delivered on Thursday afternoon, summed it up as follows:
“Which candidate will stand up for working families and the middle class and actually deliver results, and which one has a plan that only benefits millionaires like himself?”
But for all of Mrs. Clinton’s efforts, Mr. Trump remains a difficult opponent to critique in traditional terms.
Although some of his policies, which he presented in Detroit on Monday in his most expansive economic speech, align with those of Congressional Republicans, others, like his promise to rip up global trade agreements, break with Republican orthodoxy.
Mrs. Clinton, meanwhile, has had to work to convince voters in Michigan and other Rust Belt states that she no longer supports trade deals, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband signed into law, and the Trans Pacific Partnership, which she supported as secretary of state.
Live Feed (from Michigan)...
//livestream.com/accounts/1853498/events/3071940/player
Funny how both candidates chose Michigan to announcement their solution to save the world when Obama is holding it up as some shiny example of his 'recovery'.
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Finally, we detailed previously, in the interests of full disclosure, Hillary Clinton has made clear she intends to dramatically raise taxes on the American people if elected. She has proposed an income tax increase, a business tax increase, a death tax increase, a capital gains tax increase, a tax on stock trading, an "Exit Tax" and more (see below). Her planned net tax increase on the American people is at least $1 trillion over ten years, based on her campaign’s own figures.
Hillary has endorsed several tax increases on middle income Americans, despite her pledge not to raise taxes on any American making less than $250,000. She has said she would be fine with a payroll tax hike on all Americans, she has endorsed a steep soda tax, endorsed a 25% national gun tax, and most recently, her campaign manager John Podesta said she would be open to a carbon tax. It’s no wonder that when asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulos if her pledge was a "rock-solid" promise, she slipped and said the pledge was merely a “goal.” In other words, she's going to raise taxes on middle income Americans.
Hillary’s formally proposed $1 trillion net tax increase consists of the following:
Income Tax Increase – $350 Billion: Clinton has proposed a $350 billion income tax hike in the form of a 28 percent cap on itemized deductions.
Business Tax Increase -- $275 Billion: Clinton has called for a tax hike of at least $275 billion through undefined business tax reform, as described in a Clinton campaign document.
“Fairness” Tax Increase --$400 Billion: According to her published plan, Clinton has called for a tax increase of “between $400 and $500 billion” by “restoring basic fairness to our tax code.” These proposals include a “fair share surcharge,” the taxing of carried interest capital gains as ordinary income, and a hike in the Death Tax.
But there are even more Clinton tax hike proposals not included in the tally above. Her campaign has failed to release specific details for many of her proposals. The true Clinton net tax hike figure is likely much higher than $1 trillion. For instance:
Capital Gains Tax Increase -- Clinton has proposed an increase in the capital gains tax to counter the “tyranny of today’s earnings report.” Her plan calls for a byzantine capital gains tax regime with six rates. Her campaign has not put a dollar amount on this tax increase.
Tax on Stock Trading -- Clinton has proposed a new tax on stock trading. Costs associated with this new tax will be borne by millions of American families that hold 401(k)s, IRAs and other savings accounts. The tax increase would only further burden markets by discouraging trading and investment. Again, no dollar figure for this tax hike has been released by the Clinton campaign.
“Exit Tax” – Rather than reduce the extremely high, uncompetitive corporate tax rate, Clinton has proposed a series of measures aimed at inversions including an “exit tax” on income earned overseas. The term “exit tax” is used by the campaign itself. Her campaign document describing this proposal says it will raise $80 billion in tax revenue, but claims some of the $80 billion will be plowed into tax relief. How much? The campaign doesn't say.
This proposal completely fails to address the underlying causes behind inversions: The U.S. 39% corporate tax rate (35% federal rate plus an average state rate of 4%) and our "worldwide" system of taxation, which imposes tax on all American earnings worldwide. The average corporate rate in the developed world is 25%. Thirty-one of thirty-four developed countries have cut their corporate tax rate since 2000. The U.S. has not. Hillary's plan moves in the wrong direction.
ATR is tracking Clinton’s full tax record at its dedicated website, HighTaxHillary.com