The Republican Party's competitive self-destruction as we once understood it is on full display today.
Trump wants to cap interest rates at 10%. Is this the Bernie Sanders campaign? No. It's worse. Sanders and AOC have proposed 15%.
Trump says it's temporary
Sorry, but please consider this. Trump's Credit Card Price Controls
“We're going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates until working Americans catch up,” the president said at a rally in New York last week. “The cap will be around 10 percent. We can't let them charge 25 percent or 30 percent interest.”
The “temporary” 10% cap promised by Trump is lower than interest rates proposed by America's two leading socialists in 2019. A bill from Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aimed to limit interest rates on consumer debt to 15%. “Today's loan sharks no longer lurk on street corners and break your kneecaps,” Sanders said. “They wear three-piece suits and work on Wall Street.”
Why do Trump and Sanders think it's beneficial to restrict credit card use and send people to pawn shops and pawnbrokers instead? Card companies might respond by raising fees, which is what happened to free checking accounts after Democrats restricted debit card swipe fees in 2010.
Price gouging
Trump mocked Kamala Harris' proposals on food price gouging.Comrade Kamala has announced that he wants to institute socialist price controls, which you have all seen, and which have never worked before.“
I agree. So Trump said,Socialist Price Controls” “.
The minimum wage war intensifies
Minimum wage war escalates as Trump and Harris push for end to tip tax
NBC Notes Trump and Harris call for repeal of tip tax
Vice President Kamala Harris' call to repeal the tip tax has galvanized bipartisan support for a proposal floated two months ago by her rival, former President Donald Trump, but the fate of the policy proposal could hinge on broader disagreements over base pay regardless of who wins the election.
Unlike President Trump, Governor Harris has proposed combining an end to the federal tax on tip income with an increase in the national minimum wage, which has stood at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
“It's encouraging that people are talking about this,” said Saru Jayaraman, president of the labor advocacy group One Fair Wage and director of the Center for Food Labor Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. But, he said, “it doesn't mean anything unless we raise wages for these workers and end subminimum wage for tipped workers.”
While support for a higher minimum wage is widespread among Democrats in Congress, some Republicans, including Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump's running mate, co-sponsored a minimum wage increase last year.
What's flying!?
- Both Trump and Harris have proposed a big increase to the child tax credit, though Trump has not said how he would pay for it.
- Trump is competing with Harris on issues of labor unions and taxing tips.
- Vance was a co-sponsor of the minimum wage increase.
- Trump, Biden and Harris are competing over raising tariffs, particularly on China.
- President Trump has proposed banning taxes on Social Security contributions, but he has also not said how he would pay for it.
- New York Democrats are eager to repeal President Trump's SALT (State and Local Earned Income Tax) cap, and President Trump says he's OK with it.
Seriously, what the heck?
I expect Harris will readily embrace President Trump's interest rate cap.
On Social Security, Harris is expected to adopt Trump's ideas, but limit them to low-income households to ensure fairness.
Of course, Trump will attack Harris for having no ideas.
Harris' best response would be to say that Trump rarely comes up with good ideas, but when he does, she welcomes them.
That's a home run response. I'm in the process of getting ready.
Remember, the SALT deduction cap was a key provision that helped fund President Trump's last tax cut. Now President Trump wants to repeal it, but again has not said how he'll pay for it. What a shame!
Today's lesson
They can't compete with the Democrats on free cash handouts (well, they shouldn't), they can always do more or appear more fair.
To make matters worse, Trump is proposing massively inflationary measures unless he makes clear how he plans to pay for these ideas, which he hasn't done.
Anyone who thinks tariffs will accomplish this is just crazy, and besides that, tariffs are regressive taxes on consumers.
We will cover the tariff proposal separately.
Harris declined to comment on his changing stance on EVs.
On September 21, I Harris declined to comment on his change of position on EVs (or anything else).
“My values haven't changed.”
If you think about it, I think that's true.
Her values haven't changed. What has changed is Harris's pretense that the policies she supports have.
Trump says too many wrong things. Harris doesn't say any. Very smart policy from Harris.
Why talk if the other person keeps making gaffes?
Meanwhile, Trump is trying to outdo Harris with his free-funding proposal and now his price-cap proposal.
This is truly beyond pathetic.
