For those who might be interested, I've published another article that defends Trump: Answering Some Attacks on Donald Trump. Here's an excerpt:
CLAIM: Both Trump and Hillary want to raise taxes, and Trump and Hillary are both big-government liberals when it comes to tax policy.
ANSWER: This is not only false, but patently absurd. Trump wants to cut the capital gains tax--Hillary does not. Trump wants to end the death tax--Hillary does not. Trump wants to simplify the tax code to just four brackets--Hillary does not. Trump wants to cut the corporate income tax--Hillary does not. Trump wants to cut taxes on repatriated income (American money overseas) to bring that money back to America--Hillary does not. Trump wants to repeal Dodd-Frank--Hillary thinks Dodd-Frank is wonderful. And on and on and on we could go.
Yes, Trump's tax plan would end most exemptions and tax breaks for the very rich, but it would also markedly cut their income tax rate, cut the corporate income tax rate, and end the death tax. Even economist Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation and the Club for Growth recently admitted on Newsmax TV that the net effect of Trump's tax plan would be good for the super rich (and also good for everybody else).
CLAIM: Trump would impose a tax hike between 35% and 45% on all Americans via his trade policy.
ANSWER: Another patently absurd claim. This is a Cruz claim that many neo-conservatives have repeated. Cruz is talking about Trump's position that he would be willing to impose a tariff of up to 45% on nations that are engaging in markedly unfair trade practices.
When Ronald Reagan saved Harley-Davidson in 1983 by imposing a 45% tariff on Japanese motorcycles, did the price of Japanese motorcycles sold in America go up by 45%? No, it did not. The Japanese companies did not dare pass along that 45% tariff to American consumers. In fact, they could not do that because Japanese bikes were not 45% cheaper than American bikes (they were about 15-20% cheaper). Reagan's tariff made it unprofitable for the Japanese to sell motorcycles in the U.S., and by imposing that tariff, Reagan saved Harley-Davidson and thousands of good American jobs. Gee, isn't that "conservative"? For nearly 100 years, protective tariffs were considered "conservative" policy in the Republican Party because they protected American jobs and promoted American industry.
CLAIM: Trump would fund Planned Parenthood.
ANSWER: In the last GOP debate, Cruz made this claim, and Trump refuted him by pointing out that he had already called for defunding Planned Parenthood because of their abortion stuff, even though he was willing to acknowledge that Planned Parenthood does good work in other areas. Trump has repeatedly made this point.
CLAIM: Trump "trashed" the Reagan tax cuts when he testified before the House Budget Committee in 1991.
ANSWER: Mark Levin has been making this claim, and it’s demonstrably false. If you watch that testimony (link is below), you'll see that Trump said that the Reagan tax cuts were a step in the right direction and that some rates could be cut even more. Trump took issue with dropping the rate on rich people down to 25% because it left them with much less incentive to invest in things like real estate. His suggestion was to raise the rate on the rich but to offer them tax breaks for investing that would enable them to bring their effective tax rate down to even below the Reagan level of 25%. Here's the video of his testimony:
CLAIM: Both Trump and Hillary want to raise taxes, and Trump and Hillary are both big-government liberals when it comes to tax policy.
ANSWER: This is not only false, but patently absurd. Trump wants to cut the capital gains tax--Hillary does not. Trump wants to end the death tax--Hillary does not. Trump wants to simplify the tax code to just four brackets--Hillary does not. Trump wants to cut the corporate income tax--Hillary does not. Trump wants to cut taxes on repatriated income (American money overseas) to bring that money back to America--Hillary does not. Trump wants to repeal Dodd-Frank--Hillary thinks Dodd-Frank is wonderful. And on and on and on we could go.
Yes, Trump's tax plan would end most exemptions and tax breaks for the very rich, but it would also markedly cut their income tax rate, cut the corporate income tax rate, and end the death tax. Even economist Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation and the Club for Growth recently admitted on Newsmax TV that the net effect of Trump's tax plan would be good for the super rich (and also good for everybody else).
CLAIM: Trump would impose a tax hike between 35% and 45% on all Americans via his trade policy.
ANSWER: Another patently absurd claim. This is a Cruz claim that many neo-conservatives have repeated. Cruz is talking about Trump's position that he would be willing to impose a tariff of up to 45% on nations that are engaging in markedly unfair trade practices.
When Ronald Reagan saved Harley-Davidson in 1983 by imposing a 45% tariff on Japanese motorcycles, did the price of Japanese motorcycles sold in America go up by 45%? No, it did not. The Japanese companies did not dare pass along that 45% tariff to American consumers. In fact, they could not do that because Japanese bikes were not 45% cheaper than American bikes (they were about 15-20% cheaper). Reagan's tariff made it unprofitable for the Japanese to sell motorcycles in the U.S., and by imposing that tariff, Reagan saved Harley-Davidson and thousands of good American jobs. Gee, isn't that "conservative"? For nearly 100 years, protective tariffs were considered "conservative" policy in the Republican Party because they protected American jobs and promoted American industry.
CLAIM: Trump would fund Planned Parenthood.
ANSWER: In the last GOP debate, Cruz made this claim, and Trump refuted him by pointing out that he had already called for defunding Planned Parenthood because of their abortion stuff, even though he was willing to acknowledge that Planned Parenthood does good work in other areas. Trump has repeatedly made this point.
CLAIM: Trump "trashed" the Reagan tax cuts when he testified before the House Budget Committee in 1991.
ANSWER: Mark Levin has been making this claim, and it’s demonstrably false. If you watch that testimony (link is below), you'll see that Trump said that the Reagan tax cuts were a step in the right direction and that some rates could be cut even more. Trump took issue with dropping the rate on rich people down to 25% because it left them with much less incentive to invest in things like real estate. His suggestion was to raise the rate on the rich but to offer them tax breaks for investing that would enable them to bring their effective tax rate down to even below the Reagan level of 25%. Here's the video of his testimony:
