People are Saying …

A week without Trump?   Not likely very soon.  No one is better at keeping all eyes on himself than the President of the United States.

This week the biggest news is that funding for The Wall along the US-Mexico border is not going to be a part of the spending plan that Congress needs to pass this week to keep the government operating.  This is the second time that a promise Trump made during the election will be delayed or perhaps stopped entirely.  Congress’ failure to pass a “repeal and replacement” for Obamacare, along with its failure to fund The Wall, will mean that Trump will have no legislative victories (other than his appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court) during his first 100 days in office.

During that time Trump has approved construction of the controversial Keystone pipeline, established a freeze on hiring federal workers, decided not to label China a currency manipulator (avoiding a major trade war with the world’s most populous country); launched missiles against the Assad regime in Syria; botched an effort to prevent Muslims from entering the country; and (so far) avoided a nuclear war with North Korea.

The final days of his 100 days might be marked by the closure of the federal government if a spending plan is not agreed on by Friday.  Wait and see.

You might be happy to hear that Trump’s economic plan would reduce your taxes.

You might not be happy to hear that his plan would also reduce or eliminate federal funding for the following programs (I bet you would be effected by more than one of them): Environmental Protection Agency, PBS, NPR, National Endowments for the Arts, National Endowments for the Humanities, Consumer Protection Agency, State Grants to Education, Student Financial Aid, Department of Health and Human Services, Nursing Training Programs, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Historic Preservation, Job Training Grants, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

For a more complete list see: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/16/here-list-agencies-and-programs-trump-budget-would-defund-entirely/FU6eHGUMCBIketz8uPWDJJ/story.html

Next week, I plan to ask Stevenson University economics professors the question: Do tax cuts stimulate the economy?  Check back for their answers.