The Path to Solvency?

 The national debt has risen to a new high of 36 trillion dollars. According to the Federal Reserve Chairman, we can live with that, but we must not allow it to grow, so some belt tightening must occur. The Republicans will certainly want to reduce the money provided for education, Social Security, and Medicare. I can understand (but not agree with) them wanting to cut spending on education. The more education voters have, the less likely they will vote for (current) Republicans. Of course Republican's  dissecting tables are readying for cuts in Social Security and Medicare. And the poor will be required to tighten their belts, but their belts are on the last loop, and some have no belts at all. 

President Trump will certainly want to keep his 2017 Tax and Jobs Act (TCJA) and extend it well into the future. But PBS, Politifact and numerous other sources have reported that the past job increases projected by Republicans just didn't develop, and never have. The closest estimates of job growth have been around 2% per year, and not nearly what was touted. According to the Tax Foundation, estimates for job earnings will increase by .8%.  Add in (or actually subtract) the cost of a trade war, then we will be worse off than we are now.

The 44-year-old idiom, "a rising tide lifts all boats" has never been true and apparently is not true now. Where did that money go: CEOs, large corporate profits, and investors with much of that invested in corporations who send their jobs overseas. 

Now Trump wants to continue TCJA. Remember, he left a 7 trillion deficit when he left office, so realizing all of this, we have to ask ourselves, "Will an extension of the TCJA and a trade war be good for Americans as a whole, and will many more jobs be created this time around?" No.

Always remember: What people vote for, they deserve.