Part I to The Core Of The Book: Trump Vs. Harris: Voter’s Guide To Their Economic Debate (“TvH”)
Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for the Study of Mergers and Acquisitions at Penn State Law. Anthony Miduri and Elijah Thomas are third-year Penn State Law students and Research Assistants to Professor Thompson.
I. Overview
In early October 2024, Penn State Law Professor Sam Thompson published his book Trump vs. Harris: Voter’s Guide to their Economic Debate (“TvH”).[1] The book was written with the assistance of Professor Thompson’s Research Assistants at Penn State Law: Anthony D. Miduri and Tyler Elijah Thomas, both third-year law students. Sam was so impressed with both Anthony and Elijah that he asked them to join him as co-authors of this article, which is based on many of the sections of the book that address the economic positions of the candidates: Trump and Harris. While Anthony and Elijah are co-authors of this article, any policy observations are Sam’s alone.
While the book covers over 600 pages, this article focuses specifically on the provisions of the book that analyze the economic positions of the candidates, Trump and Harris, on the relevant issue. The book has the following six Parts:
· Part I, which consists of Chapter 1, provides background information on the book and the TvH economic debate;
· Part II, which contains Chapters 2 through 11, addresses fundamental microeconomic and macroeconomic principles and their impact on economic growth, with a look at the positions of Trump and Harris on some of the issues;
· Part III, which contains Chapters 12 through 17, looks at the impact on economic growth of (1) the 2007-2008 financial crisis; (2) the COVID-19 crisis; (3) the level of federal debt; (4) monetary and fiscal policy; and (5) the proposals of Trump and Harris regarding these matters;
· Part IV, which contains Chapters 18 to 24, considers the impact on economic growth of (1) education policy; (2) immigration policy; (3) income and wealth inequality; (4) regulatory policy; (5) antitrust policy; (6) a brief introduction to the economics of voting; (7) an introduction to some of the economic considerations with Artificial Intelligence (AI); and (8) the proposals of Trump and Harris regarding these matters;
· Part V, which contains Chapter 25, examines tax policy and considers the tax policies of Trump and Harris; and
· Part VI, which has the final chapter, Chapter 26, takes us from general economic principles to the impact of these principles on personal investment decisions, with some observations on the potential impact of a Trump or Harris presidency on the performance of the stock market.
The book is written in question-and-answer form, and that is the basic form followed in this article. Many of the references in the book are contained in the book’s Bibliography.
II. Chapters Of The Book Not Covered Here
The discussions in this article follow the structure of the chapters in the book, except as a result of space limitations, no comments are provided for the following chapters: Chapter 1, Introduction; Chapter 2, Basic Economic Principles of Supply and Demand; Chapter 3, Economic Growth: Introduction, Including Growth Under Obama, Trump, and Biden-Harris; Chapter 4, Introduction to Gross Domestic Product (GDP); Chapter 5, GDP and COVID; Chapter 6, Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply; and Chapter 9, Growth, Inflation, and Unemployment.
III. The Principal Sources Of Information On The Economic Positions Of The Candidates
A. What Are the Principal Sources for the Positions of Vice President Harris on Economic Issues?
Unless otherwise indicated, the economic positions of Vice President Harris are presumed to be the same as the economic positions of the Biden Administration. These positions are reflected in various economic documents, including:
· The 2024 Democratic Party Platform;[2]
· The 2024 Economic Report of the President;[3] and
· The U.S. Treasury, 2024 Green Book.[4]
Also, Harris’ economic and other positions are discussed in Harris/Walz, A New Way Forward, which was issued on September 9, 2024.[5]
B. What Are the Principal Sources for the Positions of Former President Trump on Economic Issues and What is the Economic Significance of “Project 2025”?
Unless former President Trump has stated otherwise or his prior administration has taken a conflicting position, it is assumed in this book that the positions of the former President on economic issues are principally captured by the following two documents:
· 2024 Republican Party Platform;[6] and
· Republican Project 2025.[7]
Republican Project 2025 was published by the conservative Heritage Foundation. The opening paragraph of Republican Project 2025 explains:
The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is the conservative movement’s unified effort to be ready for the next conservative Administration to govern at 12:00 noon, January 20, 2025. Welcome to the mission. By opening this book, you are now a part of it. Indeed, one set of eyes reading these passages will be those of the 47th President of the United States, and we hope every other reader will join in making the incoming administration a success.[8]
Although former President Trump has denied knowledge of Republican Project 2025, a CNN article explains:
Donald Trump has lately made clear he wants little to do with Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for the next Republican president that has attracted considerable blowback in his race for the White House. “I have no idea who is behind it,” the former president recently claimed on social media. Many people Trump knows quite well are behind it.
Six of his former Cabinet secretaries helped write or collaborated on the 900-page playbook for a second Trump term published by the Heritage Foundation. Four individuals Trump nominated as ambassadors were also involved, along with several enforcers of his controversial immigration crackdown. And about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff.
In fact, at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025, a CNN review found, including more than half of the people listed as authors, editors and contributors to “Mandate for Leadership,” the project’s extensive manifesto for overhauling the executive branch.[9]
The discussion in this article of the Republican Project 2025 will focus on (1) The “Economy” in the Project’s Section 4, and (2) “Independent Regulatory Agencies” in the Project’s Section 5.
C. What are the Principal Sources of the Economic and Financial Data Used in this Book?
Table 1-B of the Book entitled Some of the Principal Economic and Financial Sources Discussed in TvH as of October 1, 2024 and Updated Periodically Thereafter sets out a list of the principal sources of the economic and financial data used in this book. As of October 1, 2024, the most recent copies of the documents in Table 1-B are contained in Documentary Appendix to Table 1-B to Trump vs. Harris Voter’s Guide to Their Economic Debate (“Documentary Appendix to TvH”).[10]
IV. Policy Prescriptions in Chapter 7: (1) The Impact Of Economic Growth On Employment/Entrepreneurship, Pre- & Post-Covid; & (2) TvH
A. (1) What was the Unemployment Picture in September 2024, (2) What was the Stock Market’s Reaction, and (3) What Likely will be the Fed’s (see Chapter 14 on Monetary Policy) Reaction?
In addressing these three questions on October 4, 2024, after the release of the September jobs report, a CNN article entitled “US Economy Added a Whopping 254,000 Jobs Last Month” explained:
Dow closes at record high Friday after strong jobs report
Stocks rose Friday as Wall Street cheered the US economy’s display of resilience. The Dow rose 341 points, or 0.8%, to close at a fresh record high of 42,352.75. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.2%. All three major indexes ended the week higher . . . . Traders see a 96% expectation that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by a quarter point at its November policy meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. That’s up from a 68% chance yesterday.[11]
B. What is the Unemployment Rate for Various Racial Groups?
Table 7-B, which is based on data from the 2020 and 2023 Economic Report of the President presents the unemployment rates for selected racial groups in the U.S. The Table demonstrates that Blacks and Hispanics suffer greater unemployment than Whites and Asians, with the Black rate of unemployment about twice the White rate. Also, Black teenagers suffered the highest rate of unemployment of any of the demographic groups reported, at 16.9% in 2023.
C. What is the Minimum Wage Law and What is the Position of the Candidates on it?
1. What is the Federal Minimum Wage?
The federal minimum wage has been at $7.25 an hour since 2009, and it is not indexed for inflation. The conventional wisdom among many economists is that minimum wage laws increase unemployment.
2. What is Harris’ Position on the Minimum Wage?
The 2024 Democratic Party Platform strongly supports the raising of the minimum wage, explaining: “[w]e’ll work to finally raise the federal minimum wage to at least $15-an-hour.”[12]
3. What is Trump’s Positions on the Minimum Wage?
The Republican 2024 Platform does not address the minimum wage.
D. What are Trump’s 2024 Jobs Proposals?
The Republican Platform for 2024[13] addresses “jobs” at several different places, and the following are the principal policy proposals regarding jobs: cut regulations, make trump tax cuts permanent and no tax on tips, bring home critical supply chains, buy American and hire American, become the manufacturing superpower, prepare students for jobs and careers, and revive our industrial base.[14]
E. What are the Biden-Harris 2024 Jobs Proposals?
As would be expected, the Harris/Walz A New Way Forward[15] takes strong pro-worker and pro-union positions. It says Harris/Walz will “fight to raise the minimum wage, end sub-minimum wages for tipped workers and people with disabilities, establish paid family and medical leave, and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.”[16]
V. Some Qs & As From Chapter 8: (1) Economic Growth & Inflation, Pre- & Post-Covid; & (2) HvT
A. What were the Pictures of Inflation in the Biden-Harris Economic Reports of the President (ERP) Issued in the First and the Last Years of Their Administration: 2021 and 2024?
1. What was the Picture of Inflation in the 2021 Economic Report of the President? Below the 2% Target!
The 2021 ERP explains:
Inflation
Overall, inflation in 2020 was below the average for 2019. The Federal Reserve has a target of 2 percent inflation for the Personal Consumption Expenditures Chain-Type Price Index (the PCE Price Index). But this index rose by only 1.4 percent during the 12 months through October, which was little changed from the year-earlier rate.[17]
2. What was the Picture of Inflation in the 2024 Economic Report of the President?
The 2024 ERP explains:
After peaking in the summer of 2022, inflation trended downward through the end of 2023. Disinflation in the food, energy, and goods sectors is largely responsible for this reversal . . . . Inflation in the services sector—which is largely influenced by wages, the most important cost in services production—has been retreating more slowly, in step with the gradual moderation of wage inflation.
Housing inflation appears to have played an outsized role in keeping inflation above target in 2023. Rental contracts are renewed only infrequently and are therefore slower to adjust to rental price pressures (which include building maintenance and labor costs, utilities, and general costs of living).[18]
B. What was the U.S. Consumer Price Index for September 2024, Which Will be Released on October 10, 2024, the Last Release Before the Election?
The Consumer Price Index for September 2024, which was released on October 10, 2024, reported that: (1) “the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in August and July,” and (2) “[o]ver the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.4 percent before seasonal adjustment.”[19] The 2.4% is down from 2.5% in August 2024 and is moving closer to the Fed’s 2% annual inflation goal.
VI. Some Qs & As from Chapter 10, Economic Growth: (1) The 2007-2008 Crisis & Dodd-Frank Act; (2) The Covid Crisis With Its Cares Act; & (3) TvH
A. What were the Principal Provisions of the Trump CARES Act, Which was the Principal Law in the Fight Against COVID-19?
The CARES Act is quite comprehensive, and the following are some of the titles of this Act: Title I— Keeping American Workers Paid and Employed Act, Title II— Assistance for American Workers, Families, and Businesses, Title III— Supporting America’s Health Care System in the Fight Against the Coronavirus, and Title IV— Economic Stabilization and Assistance to Severely Distressed Sectors of the United States Economy.
B. What was Trump’s Position on the Trump CARES Act?
As indicated, Trump vigorously supported the Trump CARES Act. At the signing of the law, Trump said:
This is a very important day. I’ll sign the single-biggest economic relief package in American history. . . . It’s twice as large as any relief ever signed. . . . And this will deliver urgently needed relief to our nation’s families, workers, and businesses. And that’s what this is all about.[20]
The law was supported by virtually all Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
C. What was the Biden-Harris Position on the Trump CARES Act?
Although the 2020 Democratic Party Platform did not directly address the Trump CARES Act, it is reported that Biden had “called the passage of the CARES Act ‘a step forward’”[21] and (2) “urged the Trump Administration to ‘heed the calls of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer,’ to whom he has largely deferred when it [came] to the details of stimulus proposals.”[22]
VII. Some Qs & As From Chapter 11, Economic Growth: (1) The Expenditure Multiplier, Illustrated By Covid Spending; (2) Infrastructure Spending In The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Bil); (3) The American Rescue Plan (Arp); & (4) TvH
A. What was the Biden-Harris 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)?
The Biden-Harris administration proposed and with bipartisan support in November 2021, early in the Biden-Harris administration, the Congress passed what is referred to as the Biden-Harris 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The 2022 Economic Report of the President addressed, inter alia, the infrastructure needs and the potential of BIL for addressing those needs:
The BIL, which will create millions of new jobs, provides long-overdue investment in our Nation’s physical infrastructure—resources to modernize roads and bridges, ensure clean drinking water, deliver efficient and affordable broadband, and produce clean, reliable energy.[23]
B. What Does the Republican’s 2024 Presidential Platform Say About Infrastructure Spending?
The 2024 Republican Platform talks about infrastructure in two places. First, it says: “[t]he Republican Party must return to its roots as the Party of Industry, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, and Workers.”[24] Second, it talks about protecting “critical infrastructure.” It is curious that there is no mention of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
C. What Does Republican Project 2025 Say About the Need for Infrastructure Spending?
When Sam opened the Republican Project 2025 to determine its position on the need for infrastructure spending, he expected to see a long and detailed discussion of how the current infrastructure program needed to be expanded and reformed. Unless he is missing something, after a close look and a computer search, he could not find any general discussion of the need for infrastructure spending.
D. What is the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and Why is it Referred to Here as the Biden-Harris American Rescue Plan?
Shortly after taking office, President Biden proposed that Congress adopt the American Rescue Plan to address continuing issues with COVID-19. This law is referred to here as the Biden-Harris American Rescue Plan. It was adopted in 2021 by Congress without a single Republican vote in the House or Senate.
E. What were some of the Provisions of the Biden-Harris American Rescue Plan?
While the Biden-Harris American Rescue Plan is quite extensive and much of the appropriated spending has not yet occurred, the following is a description by the White House of the bill before it was enacted:
The American Rescue Plan will change the course of the pandemic and deliver immediate relief for American workers. . . . It will:
[A] Mount a national vaccination program, contain COVID-19, and safely reopen schools. . . .
[B] Deliver immediate relief to American families bearing the brunt of this crisis. . . . The plan will, inter alia: Give working families a $1,400 per-person check, Extend current unemployment insurance benefits and eligibility, Help Americans stay in their homes, Increase the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for a child under age 6), and Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit.[25]
VIII. Some Qs & As From Chapter 12: International Trade & Investment & TvH
A. What is the General Level of Tariffs Imposed by Both Trump and Biden-Harris as of August 2024?
In a June 2024 report entitled Tariff Tracker: Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump-Biden Tariffs,[26] the Tax Foundation summarized the report’s findings as follows:
Key Findings
· The Trump administration imposed nearly $80 billion worth of new taxes on Americans by levying tariffs on thousands of products valued at approximately $380 billion in 2018 and 2019, amounting to one of the largest tax increases in decades.
· The Biden administration has kept most of the Trump administration tariffs in place, and in May 2024, announced tariff hikes on an additional $18 billion of Chinese goods, including semiconductors and electric vehicles, for an additional tax increase of $3.6 billion.
· We estimate the Trump-Biden tariffs will reduce long-run GDP by 0.2 percent, the capital stock by 0.1 percent, and employment by 142,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
· Candidate Trump has proposed significant tariff hikes as part of his presidential campaign; we estimate that if imposed, his proposed tariff increases would hike taxes by another $524 billion annually and shrink GDP by at least 0.8 percent, the capital stock by 0.7 percent, and employment by 684,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Our estimates do not capture the effects of retaliation, nor the additional harms that would stem from starting a global trade war.
· Academic and governmental studies find the Trump-Biden tariffs have raised prices and reduced output and employment, producing a net negative impact on the US economy.[27]
The Tariff positions of Trump and Harris are discussed in greater detail below.
B. What Has Trump Proposed for the Use of Tariffs in 2024, and What Do the Voters Think About These Proposals?
As indicated above, Trump has proposed “significant tariff hikes as part of his presidential campaign.” A September 24, 2024, Reuters article entitled Voters Narrowly Support Trump's Tariff Pitch[28] explains that “56% of voters support Trump's tariff proposal and 41% oppose.”[29]
IX. Some Qs & As From Chapter 13, Monetary Policy: (1) Building Blocks & (2) Financing Home Ownership With TvH
A. What are the Measures Harris Proposes to Take to Assist Individuals in Securing Housing?
In a section of her Platform entitled “Make Rent More Affordable and Home Ownership More Attainable,”[30]Harris sets out several strategies regarding both rent and home ownership, including providing “first-time homebuyers with up to $25,000 to help with their down payments, with more generous support for first-generation homeowners.”[31]
B. What are the Measures Trump Proposes to Take to Assist Individuals in Securing Housing?
The 2024 Republican Platform lays out the following proposals for addressing “Housing Affordability:”
To help new home buyers, Republicans will reduce mortgage rates by slashing Inflation, open limited portions of Federal Lands to allow for new home construction, promote homeownership through Tax Incentives and support for first-time buyers, and cut unnecessary Regulations that raise housing costs.[32]
X. Some Qs & As From Chapter 14, Monetary Policy: Covid & Tvh
A. What are the Fed’s Specific Goals for Employment and Inflation (i.e., 2%) Under the “Dual Statutory Mandate?”
After its January 2012 meeting, the Fed issued a statement concerning the Fed’s “longer-run goals and monetary policy strategy.”[33] It explained: ”[t]he [Fed] judges that inflation at the rate of 2 percent . . . is most consistent over the longer run with the Federal Reserve's [dual] statutory mandate,”[34] that is, promoting employment without inflation.
B. What was the Fed’s Decisions on Interest Rates at its July 30-31, 2024, Meeting, the Next to Last Meeting Before the Election? Continuing the 5-1/4 to 5-1/5 Target Range for at Least Another 6 Weeks.
The following is the Fed’s report of its July 31, 2024 decision, which was approved by all of the voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC):
Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. . . . In recent months, there has been some further progress toward the Committee's 2 percent inflation objective. . . . [T]he Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 percent.
C. What Interest Rate Decision Did the Fed Make at its Meeting on September 17-18, 2024, its Last Meeting Before the Upcoming November 2024 Election? Lowering the Fed Rate by 50 Basis Points.
As expected by the market, at this September 17–18, 2024 meeting, the Fed started the rate-cutting process, with a 50-basis point cut, which the Fed statement described as follows:
The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. . . . In light of the progress on inflation and the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point to 4-3/4 to 5 percent. . . . The Committee is strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2 percent objective.[35]
D. What was the Market’s Initial Reaction to the Fed’s September 18, 2024, Decision to Reduce Interest Rates by 50 Basis Points, Which is 0.5%?
The New York Times[36] describes as follows the economic community’s reactions to the Fed’s September 18, 2024, decision to lower interest rates by 50 basis points: “Global markets are rallying as investors cheer the Fed’s prodigious interest rate cut — half a percentage point. . . . The move landed like a thunderbolt in American politics.”[37]
E. What were the Positions of Trump and Harris on the September Rate Cuts?
In a section of the article entitled “The Presidential Contenders Weighed In,”[38] the article discusses as follows the positions of Trump and Harris on this rate cut:
Donald Trump, who warned the Fed not to cut rates before the election, said that the central bank appeared to be “playing politics” and that the move “shows the economy is very bad.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, who could benefit from any economic uptick from the cut, called the move “welcome news for Americans who have borne the brunt of high prices.”[39]
XI. Some Qs & As From Chapter 15, Fiscal Policy: Debt, Deficits, Covid, & TvH
A. What were the March 2023 Views of Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Swagel on the Options for Reducing the Deficit?
In March 2023 the Director Swagel of the CBO published a document entitled Options for Reducing the Deficit.[40] The Director explains in part:
I explained in a recent presentation what would happen if lawmakers reduced primary deficits—that is, revenues minus noninterest outlays—from their projected size over the 2024–2033 period (3.0 percent of GDP) to their historical average over the past 50 years (1.5 percent of GDP). That would involve reducing the primary deficit by about $5 trillion over the next decade. Implementing such a change would nearly stabilize the growth of federal debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP over the next 10 years. By comparison, in CBO’s baseline projections, federal debt as a share of GDP grows from 98 percent at the end of 2023 to 118 percent at the end of 2033.[41]
B. What was in the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBOs’) July 2024 Monthly Budget Review, the last Monthly Budget Review Before the Publication of this Book?
The CBO’s Monthly Budget Review for July 2024,[42] which was issued in August 2024, paints the following Budgetary picture:
Notes
The federal budget deficit was $1.3 trillion in the first nine months of fiscal year 2024, the Congressional Budget Office estimates—$118 billion less than the deficit recorded during the same period last fiscal year. Revenues were $342 billion (or 10 percent) higher and outlays were $225 billion (or 5 percent) higher from October through June than during the same period in fiscal year 2023. . . .
Total Receipts: Up by 10 Percent in Fiscal Year 2024 . . .
Total Outlays: Up by 5 Percent in Fiscal Year 2024 . . .
Actual Deficit in May 2024: $347 Billion.[43]
C. How Does the Harris-Walz Democratic Platform Address the Deficit?
The 2024 Democratic Platform[44] gives the following detailed critique of the Trump tax cuts and the effect of these cuts on the budget:
That [Trump] trickle-down approach never worked. Trump’s allies predicted that his tax scam would push economic growth as high as 6 percent, but America’s growth rate barely changed. The law had no impact on the average American’s income – only boosting wages for those in the top 10 percent. Trump’s allies claimed it would pay for itself, but it instead exploded the federal deficit by $2 trillion. Trump’s policies added more to our national debt than has ever been added in a presidential term.
Corporate profits have doubled since the pandemic, yet Trump wants to reward corporations with another big tax cut. . . .
They’ll give American billionaires an average $3.5 million tax break – a giveaway nearly 50 times bigger than what the average family earns in a year. . . . Trump’s billionaire giveaways and extreme tariffs will slow growth, cost jobs, and trigger a recession his first year back in office, raising taxes on middle-class families by $2,500 a year, and adding trillions to the deficit.[45]
Additionally, the Democratic Platform outlines the approach that a Harris-Walz administration would take in implementing tax policy:
Democrats have a different view. We don’t believe we should add $5 trillion to the national debt to give more tax breaks skewed to the wealthy and big corporations. We’re fighting to reward work, not wealth – to cut costs and make the tax code fairer for the middle class, while making the wealthy and big corporations finally pay their fair share. Under [the Harris-Walz] plan, no American earning less than $400,000 a year will pay one single penny more in federal taxes, period.[46]
D. What Does the 2024 Republican Platform Say About the Need to Address the Deficit?
The 2024 Republican Platform does not directly address the budget deficit, and it seems to go in two different directions in addressing the deficit. First, in an action that could reduce the deficit, the Republican Platform says: “rein in wasteful federal spending . . . make Trump tax cuts permanent and no tax on tips.”[47] In making “permanent the provisions of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” the Platform would continue the generous benefits that the law gives to the wealthy. This is addressed more fully in Chapter 25, which deals generally with tax policy.
E. What Does Republican Project 2025 Say About the Need to Address the Deficit?
Interestingly, unless I am missing something, the Republican Project 2025 does not have a chapter addressing the budget deficit, which I thought I would find. Also, I could not find any section of this Project that directly addressed the budget deficit. There is a short section, entitled “Fiscal Responsibility” that addresses this topic generally as follows:
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Treasury should make balancing the federal budget a mission-critical objective. . . . The budget should be balanced by driving down federal spending while maintaining a strong national defense and not raising taxes.
To reduce interest payments on the debt, Treasury should lock in current relatively low interest rates by issuing longer duration bonds, and even consider creating a 50-year treasury bill.[48]
XII. Some Qs & As From Chapter 16, Social Security, Medicare, & Medicaid Economics & TvH
A. What is the Proposal of Trump for Addressing Social Security?
1. What is in the Treatment of Social Security in the Republican Platform?
A section of the Republican Platform entitled “Protect Seniors” says the following about Social Security: “President Trump has made absolutely clear that he will not cut one penny from Medicare or Social Security. . . . Republicans will restore Economic Stability to ensure the long-term sustainability of Social Security.”[49]
2. What is in the Treatment of Social Security in the Republican Project 2025?
Interestingly, while the Republican Project 2025 mentions Social Security in several places, it does not seem to take a specific position on whether the basic Social Security operation should be changed in any way.
B. What is the Proposal of Harris for Addressing Social Security Generally and the Funding Shortfall Issue?
It is helpful to focus on Harris’ views on Social Security and Medicare as reflected in a section of the Harris/Walz,A New Way Forward[50] entitled “Protect and Strengthen Social Security and Medicare:”
Vice President Harris will protect Social Security and Medicare against relentless attacks from Donald Trump and his extreme allies. She will strengthen Social Security and Medicare for the long haul by making millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in taxes. She will always fight to ensure that Americans can count on getting the benefits they earned.[51]
C. What is the Proposal of Trump, as Reflected in the 2024 Republican Platform, for Addressing Medicare?
Like its support of Social Security, which is addressed above, the 2024 Republican Platform gives the following support to Medicare: “Republicans will protect Medicare's finances from being financially crushed by the Democrat plan to add tens of millions of new illegal immigrants to the rolls of Medicare.”[52]
D. What is the Proposal of Trump, as Reflected in the Republican Project 2025, for Addressing Medicare?
While the Republican Project 2025[53] does not seem to take a position on Social Security, it takes many positions on Medicare. For example, it argues that:
Medicare should be reformed according to four goals and principles: (1) Increase Medicare beneficiaries . . . control of their health care. . . .; (2) Reduce regulatory burdens on doctors. . . . ; (3) Ensure sustainability and value for beneficiaries and taxpayers. . . .; and (4) Reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.[54]
With respect to legislative proposals, the Project argues for (1) removing restrictions on physician-owned hospitals, and (2) encouraging “more direct competition between Medicare Advantage and private plans.”[55] It also argues for the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act’s “drug price negotiation program in Medicare.”[56] It is clear that this Inflation Reduction Act program has saved many patients substantial sums.
E. What is the Proposal of Trump, as Reflected in the Republican Project 2025, for Addressing Medicaid?
The Republican Project 2025[57] takes the following, inter alia, positions relating to Medicaid:
Over the past 45 years, Medicaid and the health safety net have evolved into a cumbersome, complicated, and unaffordable burden on nearly every state. The program is failing some of the most vulnerable patients; is a prime target for waste, fraud, and abuse. . . . Improper payments within Medicaid are higher than those of any other federal program. . . . These payments are evidence of the inappropriateness of Medicaid’s expansion. . . . All components of the health care system should be part of the reform efforts, and it is imperative that the system be modified to assist states with their current programs. Therefore, the next Administration should [inter alia]: (1) [r]eform financing. . . . , (2) [s]trengthen program integrity. . . . . , (3) [a]dd work requirements and match Medicaid benefits to beneficiary needs. . . ., and (3) [a]llow private health insurance.[58]
XIII. Some Qs & As From Chapter 17, Economics Of (1) Obamacare; (2) Trumpcare, (3) Obama/Biden/Harris-Care (O/B/H-Care); & (4) TvH
A. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on Various Healthcare Issues?
The KFF website has a section containing a detailed comparison of the positions of Trump and Harris on many different healthcare topics.[59] Set out below are excerpts from this document. It must be emphasized that the discussion below in this section focuses on some, but not nearly all, of the candidates’ positions on the above issues.
1. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on the Affordable Care Act?
a. Trump
· Supported unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace the ACA, including the Medicaid expansion, and proposed restructuring Medicaid financing into a block grant or a per capita cap as well as limiting Medicaid eligibility and benefits. . . .[60]
b. Harris
· The Biden-Harris administration passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which temporarily expanded eligibility for and increased ACA Marketplace subsidies. These were extended by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) through 2025. . . .
· The administration achieved record-high enrollment in ACA Marketplace plans.[61]
2. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on Medicare?
a. Trump
· Promises to “always protect Medicare, Social Security, and patients with pre-existing conditions” (no specific policies proposed). . . .”[62]
b. Harris
· Biden-Harris administration proposes to “protect Medicare for future generations” in part by (1) extending solvency of the Medicare Part A Trust Fund by raising Medicare taxes on high earners and closing tax loopholes, and (2) propos[ing] to expand Medicare and Social Security (details not specified).
· As vice president, cast the tiebreaking vote in the U.S. Senate for the Inflation Reduction Act, which included several provisions to lower Medicare prescription drug expenses, including negotiated drug prices and a $35 monthly insulin cap. . . .[63]
3. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on Medicaid?
a. Trump
· Supported unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace the ACA, including the Medicaid expansion, and proposed restructuring Medicaid financing into a block grant or a per capita cap as well as limiting Medicaid eligibility and benefits. These proposals, included in Trump budget plans as president, were estimated to reduce federal Medicaid spending by roughly $1 trillion over 10 years. . . .[64]
b. Harris
· Championed Biden-Harris administration efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, including encouraging states to adopt the postpartum Medican coverage extension. . . .[65]
4. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on Healthcare Costs?
a. Trump
· Signed the bipartisan No Surprises Act into law, protecting patients from unexpected medical bills when receiving out-of-network care unknowingly.
· Issued an executive order on price transparency, leading to a rule requiring hospitals to post negotiated charges for their services online using authority from the ACA. . . .[66]
b. Harris
· Proposes to work with states to cancel medical debt for millions of Americans. In June 2024, Harris announced an administration proposal to remove medical debt from credit reports of 15 million Americans and encouraged state and local governments to act to reduce the burden of medical debt. . . .[67]
5. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on Prescription Drug Prices?
a. Trump
· Established a voluntary model allowing participating Medicare Part D plans to limit monthly insulin costs to $35 (in effect from 2021 through 2023). . . .
· Proposed several Medicare Part D benefit design changes, including an out-of-pocket cap. . . .[68]
b. Harris
· As Vice President, cast the tiebreaking vote in the U.S. Senate for the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires the government to negotiate prices for some Medicare-covered drugs (with the number growing over time), requires drug companies to pay rebates if prices rise faster than inflation, caps out-of-pocket drug spending, limits monthly insulin costs to $35 for Medicare beneficiaries in Part B and all Part D plans, improves financial assistance for low-income beneficiaries, and other changes. . . .[69]
6. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on Long-Term Care?
a. Trump
· Issued regulations relaxing oversight for nursing facilities, including removing the requirement to employ an infection preventionist. . . .[70]
b. Harris
· Biden-Harris administration required reporting of COVID-19 vaccination rates in nursing facilities. . . .[71]
7. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on Immigrant Healthcare?
a. Trump
Issued regulatory changes to public charge policies that newly considered the use of non-cash assistance programs, including Medicaid, in public charge determinations for people seeking to enter the U.S. . . .[72]
b. Harris
The administration revoked the Trump administration’s proclamation that suspended entry of immigrants unless they provided proof of health insurance. . . .[73]
XIV. Some Qs & As From Chapter 18, Economics Of Education & Tvh
A. What Are Trump’s Strategies for Promoting Education?
1. What Are Some of Trump’s Guiding Principles on Education?
The 2024 Republican Platform[74] contains the following nine sections in Chapter 7, which is entitled “Cultivate Great K-12 Schools Leading to Great Jobs and Great Lives for Young People:”
1. Great Principals and Great Teachers . . .
2. Universal School Choice . . .
3. Prepare Students for Jobs and Careers . . .
4. Safe, Secure, and Drug-Free Schools . . .
5. Restore Parental Rights . . .
6. Knowledge and Skills, Not CRT and Gender Indoctrination . . .
7. Promote Love of Country with Authentic Civics Education . . .
8. Freedom to Pray . . . [and]
9. Return Education to the States.
Only Universal School Choice and Return Education to the States are addressed further here.
2. Please Elaborate on Trump’s Views on “Universal School Choice,” and “Return Education to the States?”
The proposal with respect to Universal School Choice, which was the position of the Trump administration, states:
Republicans believe families should be empowered to choose the best Education for their children. We support Universal School Choice in every State in America. We will expand 529 Education Savings Accounts and support Homeschooling Families equally.[75]
3. What was Trump’s Approach to Funding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)?
In 2019, with the support of the Trump Administration, Congress passed legislation that, inter alia, supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). These are institutions, such as Howard University in Washington D.C., whose students consist mainly of African Americans. Vice President Harris is a graduate of the undergraduate program at Howard University.
Many HBCUs were established shortly after the Civil War and during the time of Jim Crow in the South, that is the period during which separation of the races was legal.
B. What Are Harris’s Strategies for Promoting Education?
The 2024 Democratic Platform[76] has a section devoted to “Education,” and an introduction to this section explains:
Democrats fundamentally believe that every student deserves a quality education, regardless of their parents’ zip code or income.
We know that education starts well before kids go to kindergarten. Studies show that children who attend preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a two- or four-year degree, no matter their background. That’s why Democrats will provide free, universal preschool for four-year olds, saving the families of 5 million children $13,000 a year.
In the wake of the pandemic, that’s especially urgent. The American Rescue Plan made the biggest investment in public education in history, providing $130 billion to help 15,000 districts reopen, rebuild, and catch kids up; funding that has worked to help our children learn.[77]
The 2024 Democratic Platform says the following about programs that it asserts “divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education:”
We oppose the use of private-school vouchers, tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships, and other schemes that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education . . . .[78]
Turning to student debt incurred in the payment of tuition and fees for a college or trade school education, the Platform says:
A majority of college students graduate with student debt. It can be an overwhelming stress, as snowballing interest follows folks for decades, defining the choices they make and the jobs they take, and holding back our entire economy. Although Republican appointees on the Supreme Court blocked the President's initial student debt relief plan for 40 million borrowers, he has not stopped using every available tool to provide relief. His Administration already approved the cancellation of $167 billion in loans for nearly 5 million borrowers, including nearly a million public servants like teachers, nurses, and police; and it has outlined plans to deliver relief to 30 million borrowers in all.[79]
With respect to Pell Grants, which provide financial aid to pay for the costs of undergraduate college generally without an obligation to repay, the Platform says: “we’ve already secured the largest increase in Pell Grants in a decade, and we’ll further expand these grants to 7 million more students, and double the maximum award by 2029.”[80]
The Platform further asserts that not only are Republicans trying to block student debt relief, but “they are slashing funding for job training that ensures workers can access good paying jobs without a four-year degree.”[81]
C. What Does the 2024 Democratic Party Platform Say About Educating Disadvantaged Students?
The 2024 Democratic Party Platform sets out the following policy for promoting higher education among disadvantaged students:
Democrats are also working to make college more affordable, and to relieve the crippling burden of student debt, which disproportionately falls on students of color. Black students take on 85 percent more debt than white peers, and both Black and Latino borrowers are more likely to hold debt many years longer after graduation, deferring their dreams to buy a home, build a family, or start a business. That’s why the President’s action to cancel $167 billion in student loans for nearly five million Americans, and to ease repayment for millions of others is such an important step in leveling the playing field for everyone. To help more low-income students afford college in the first place, the Administration has also increased the maximum Pell Grant by $900, and will double it in the future. We’re expanding access to free community college; providing subsidized tuition for children from families earning less than $125,000 a year who attend HBCUs, TCUs, Hispanic- and Minority-Serving Institutions.[82]
D. What Does the 2024 Democratic Platform Say About the Funding of Historically Black Colleges?
The Platform says the following about investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): “[w]e’ve invested a record $16 billion in HBCUs; and we’re working to subsidize tuition at all Minority Serving Institutions for anyone whose family earns less than $125,000 a year.”[83]
E. What did the 2024 Democratic Platform say about the closing of Trump University?
The Platform discusses, as follows, the matter of the closing of Trump University. Trump owned this university that subsequently closed, which Trump apparently paid a $25 million fine to settle (1) two class actions by students, and (2) an action by New York state. The Platform states that “[w]hile Democrats work to make the promise of education available to everyone, Trump just sees school as another opportunity for a scam. Trump University not only conned thousands of people into buying worthless degrees, but it also saddled them with thousands in debt.”[84]
F. What Positions on Education Does Harris Take in the Harris/Walz, A New Way Forward?[85]
The Harris New Way Forward[86] has a section entitled: “Provide a Pathway to the Middle Class Through Quality, Affordable Education.” This section sets forth the following proposals, including the proposals related to student debt:
Vice President Harris will . . . strengthen public education and training as a pathway to the middle class. And she’ll continue working to end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and fight to make higher education more affordable, so that college can be a ticket to the middle class.
To date, Vice President Harris has helped deliver the largest investment in public education in American history, provide nearly $170 billion in student debt relief for almost five million borrowers, and deliver record investments in HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions. She helped more students afford college by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by $900—the largest increase in more than a decade—and invested in community colleges.[87]
G. Would Sam Have the Federal Government Take Control of the Teaching of the “Three Rs: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic” in Public Primary and Secondary Schools Throughout the Country?
Primary and secondary public education is controlled by local school boards, and the effectiveness of this education is determined in significant part by the money the local school board can spend on education. Since local public schools are funded principally by local property taxes, the money a school district can spend on education depends, in large part, on the wealth of the people in the local community. For example, this system results in (1) a good to great education for the average kid growing up in a wealthy suburb, and (2) a not-so-good to bad education for the average kid growing up in a large American city.
This is a very inefficient manner in which to educate our children because it first reduces economic growth that could come from a better-educated population. It further reinforces the income disparity in this country, explored in Chapter 20, by making the rich richer while the not-so-rich fall behind.
No doubt, there are many facets to this problem. However, in the interest of promoting economic growth and reducing income and wealth disparities, I propose that the Federal government ensure that every school district in America (1) has sufficient funds to make sure its students can “read, write, and do arithmetic,” and (2) implements policies that are sufficient to ensure that the children in the district do in fact learn to “read, write, and do arithmetic.”
XV. Some Qs & As From Chapter 19, Economics Of Immigration & Tvh
A. What Does the 2024 Republican Party Platform Say About Immigration?
The 2024 Republican Party Platform sets out, as follows, the Trump position on immigration:
Stop Illegal Immigration
Republicans will secure the Border, deport Illegal Aliens, and reverse the Democrats' Open Borders Policies that have driven up the cost of Housing, Education, and Healthcare for American families.[88]
B. What was the Reaction of the Republican Controlled House of Representatives to the Senate’s 2024 Bipartisan Border Agreement?
A 2024 Brookings article by William Galston[89] addressed the reasons for the failure of the House of Representatives to “get on board” with the Senate and pass the immigration reform reflected in the Senate’s 2024 Bipartisan Border Agreement. The article explains in part:
With the blessing of both Senator Chuck Schumer, the Majority Leader, and Senator Mitch McConnell, the Minority Leader, a bipartisan team of senators began negotiations to produce a bill that enough members of both parties could accept to overwhelm objections from progressive Democrats and America First Republicans. The team negotiated for four months to produce this bill. It took less than four days for its support among Republicans to collapse. Why? The easiest explanation is that Republicans in both the House and Senate yielded to objections from their all-but-certain presidential nominee, former president Donald Trump.[90]
It is interesting that the bipartisan bill that was agreed to did not address the status of the “Dreamers” (i.e., children or infants brought to the United States by their parents and who know no other country) which the Democrats most certainly were concerned about. On this point, the Galston article explains:
By the fall of 2023, Democrats were willing in principle to support a bill that focused entirely on border security without provisions to legalize the status of any migrants who had entered the country illegally, not even the “Dreamers.”[91]
C. What is the Biden-Harris Position on the Trump-led Opposition to the 2024 Immigration Reform Bill?
Chapter 7 of the 2024 Democratic Platform is entitled “Securing our Border & Fixing the Broken Immigration System.”[92] It describes as follows the Biden-Harris unsuccessful bipartisan effort to reform the immigration law:
Congress failed to act [on border security] because Republicans, led by Donald Trump, would rather play politics than solve problems. . . . Trump . . . and his allies have . . . promised to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented individuals, ignore the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent and bar undocumented children from public schools, and once again separate children from their families. Trump’s plans are out of line with American values, and Congressional Republicans are currently blocking President Biden’s bipartisan border security proposals because they lack the courage to stand up to Trump.[93]
D. Apart from the Bipartisan Effort to Amend the Immigration Law as Indicated in the Prior Question, What is the Biden-Harris Position on Immigration as Reflected in the 2024 Democratic Platform
As discussed above, Chapter 7 of the 2024 Democratic Platform is entitled “Securing our Border & Fixing the Broken Immigration System.”[94] The following is an excerpt that contains many of the high points of this lengthy chapter, other than the bipartisan effort at reform, which is addressed in the preceding question:
President Biden [the references to President Biden should also encompass Vice President Harris] has led with the conviction that we must secure our border and fix a broken immigration system decades in the making. Through it all, the United States must continue to be a beacon of hope and opportunity [by inter alia: Reforming the Asylum System . . .; Fighting Human Trafficking . . .; [and expanding] Legal Immigration Pathways.”[95]
XVI. Some Qs & As From Chapter 20, Economics Of Income Inequality, & Wealth Inequality, & TvH
A. What is the General Approach of the Democrats and Republicans to Poverty in the U.S.?
1. What is the General Approach to Poverty of the Democrats?
A section of the 2024 Democratic Party Platform entitled Fighting Poverty[96] paints the following picture of poverty in the U.S. in 2024:
Some 40 million Americans still live in poverty. The pandemic made things worse, hitting the poor hardest, and pushing millions more families to the brink. The American Rescue Plan drove poverty to record lows in 2021. It expanded the Child Tax Credit and made it available to all low-income children for the first time, helping to slash child poverty by nearly half. It tripled the maximum Earned Income Tax Credit for millions of low-income workers, so their taxes wouldn’t push them deeper into poverty. It kept 8 million families in their homes, child care centers open, and small businesses on their feet. It increased Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, helping tens of millions of Americans keep food on the table. Not a single Republican voted for the bill. . . . In the wealthiest nation on earth, we all benefit when we help one another.[97]
2. What is the General Approach to Poverty of the Republicans?
I searched the 2024 Republican Platform for a discussion of “poverty,” and unless I am missing something, the word “poverty” is not even mentioned in the Platform. I also searched Project 2025 for a discussion of poverty. One of the suggestions was that the “next conservative Administration . . . champion the core American value of religious freedom, which correlates significantly with poverty reduction, economic growth, and peace.”[98]
3. What is the Approach of Project 2025 to the School Lunch Program?
The 2024 Republican Platform also had quite an extensive discussion of the “School Meals” program and how it is providing meals to children who can afford to pay for their own meals. On this point, the Republican Platform explains:
Return to the Original Purpose of School Meals. Federal meal programs for K–12 students were created to provide food to children from low-income families while at school. Today, however, federal school meals increasingly resemble entitlement programs. . . . To serve students in need and prevent the misuse of taxpayer money, the next Administration should focus on students in need and reject efforts to transform federal school meals into an entitlement program.[99]
4. What is the Approach of Vice-Presidential Candidate, Governor Tim Walz, to the School Lunch Program?
Concerning School Lunch programs, Vice-Presidential candidate, Governor Tim Watz of Minnesota, has taken the direct opposite approach to that taken in Republican Project 2025. While Project 2025 wants to limit the School Lunch program, Governor Watz led Minnesota in the complete opposite direction by dramatically expanding its school lunch program, as described here:
Making school meals free for all students in Minnesota is one of [Governor] Tim Walz’s signature achievements as governor. . . . As Minnesota’s governor since 2019, Walz is known for overseeing an ambitious progressive policy agenda that includes 12 weeks of paid family leave, free public college tuition for low- and middle-income families, and the ability for anyone to buy into Medicaid.[100]
B. What Does the 2019 Study by McKinsey & Company Find Regarding the Relative Wealth of Various Racial Groups and Did It Find a “Persistent and Widening” Gap Between Whites and Blacks?
McKinsey & Company, a world-respected business consulting firm, addressed this issue in an August 2019 report entitled: The Economic Impact of Closing the Wealth Gap.[101]
[T]he racial wealth gap between black and white families grew from about $100,000 in 1992 to $154,000 in 2016, in part because white families gained significantly more wealth (with the median increasing by $54,000), while median wealth for black families did not grow at all in real terms over that period. The widening racial wealth gap disadvantages black families, individuals, and communities and limits black citizens’ economic power and prospects, and the effects are cyclical. Such a gap contributes to intergenerational economic precariousness: almost 70 percent of middle-class black children are likely to fall out of the middle class as adults.[102]
C. Specifically, What Did the McKinsey Study Find with Respect to the Relative Wealth of Various Racial Groups from 1992 Through 2016, and Did a “Rising Wealth Tide Lift All Boats?”
One of the exhibits in the McKinsey report shows that, for example, in 1992, White families had on average 7.6 times the wealth held by Black families and 8.6 times the wealth held by Hispanic families. On the other hand, in 2016, White families had on average 10.9 times the wealth held by Black families and 10.2 times the wealth held by Hispanic families.
D. What is McKinsey’s Estimate of the “Economic Impact of Closing the Racial Wealth Gap?”
McKinsey projects that under two different scenarios if the wealth gap could be closed by 2028, from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion would be added to the economy.
E. What were the Views of Candidate Trump on the Income and Wealth Inequality Issues in His 2020 and 2024 Campaigns?
A search for the term “inequality” on Candidate Trump’s 2020 campaign website resulted in no hits. Although some of his policies may have the effect of reducing income inequality, candidate Trump’s tax proposals, many of which were enacted during his presidency, have had the effect of increasing after-tax income inequality. Reducing income inequality will be discussed in Chapter 25, which deals with tax policy. Also, the 2024 Republican Platform does not mention the word “inequality.”
F. What Are the Views of the Biden-Harris Administration on the Income and Wealth Inequality Issues?
1. What Position Does the 2024 Democratic Party Platform Take on the Need to Improve the Economic Conditions of Minorities?
A section of the 2024 Democratic Party Platform[103] entitled “Racial Equity” paints the picture of the economic state of Black and other minority Americans and discusses some policy proposals that are designed to improve that economic state. In setting the background, the 2024 Democratic Party Platform says: “[t]he ideal of equal opportunity is the bedrock of American democracy, but our laws, public policies, and institutions too often exacerbate disparities or deny equal opportunity to individuals and communities. President Biden signed two Executive Orders to [address this issue].”[104]
In addressing the various requirements and challenges faced in starting a business, the 2024 Democratic Party Platform explains:
Today, Black Americans are starting new businesses at the fastest rate in 30 years; and Latinos at the fastest rate in over a decade. Since the pandemic, the share of Black households owning a business has more than doubled, Latino business ownership is up 40 percent, and women own a record share of businesses. The Administration set a goal that 15 percent of federal contracts go to small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) and will continue expanding these opportunities for SDBs in a second term. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has doubled the number and dollar value of loans awarded to Black-owned businesses, and doubled the rate of SBA-backed loans to Latino-owned small businesses.[105]
In addressing housing, its impact on wealth, and its affordability, the 2024 Democratic Party Platform says:
Homeownership is one of the most important ways that families can build wealth. The Administration launched a first-of-its-kind task force to end pernicious bias in the home appraisal process, which has for too long undervalued Black- and Latino-owned homes. Since then, the likelihood that a home in a Black community is undervalued compared to a home in a white community has been cut by more than 40 percent. Democrats are working to bring down housing costs across the board.[106]
As will be seen below, Vice President Harris has built on this proposal in setting out her more robust plan for attacking this housing affordability issue.
G. What Was Supreme Court Justice Jackson’s Discussion of “John and James” in Her Dissent in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 Anti-Affirmative Action Decision, Students for Fair Admissions, SFFA?
While the book has a relatively extensive discussion of the Supreme Court’s 2023 SFFA case, which found affirmative action in college admissions unconstitutional, the following is an excerpt from the dissenting opinion, written by Justice Jackson, on what she refers to a John and James:
Imagine two college applicants from North Carolina, John and James. Both trace their family’s North Carolina roots to the year of UNC’s founding in 1789. Both love their State and want great things for its people. Both want to honor their family’s legacy by attending the State’s flagship educational institution. John, however, would be the seventh generation to graduate from UNC. He is White. James would be the first; he is Black. Does the race of these applicants properly play a role in UNC’s holistic merits-based admissions process? . . .
We return to John and James now, with [the] history [of discrimination in North Carolina] in hand. It is hardly John’s fault that he is the seventh generation to graduate from UNC. UNC should permit him to honor that legacy. Neither, however, was it James’s (or his family’s) fault that he would be the first. And UNC ought to be able to consider why.
Most likely, seven generations ago, when John’s family was building its knowledge base and wealth potential on the university’s campus, James’s family was enslaved and laboring in North Carolina’s fields. Six generations ago, the North Carolina “Redeemers” aimed to nullify the results of the Civil War through terror and violence, marauding in hopes of excluding all who looked like James from equal citizenship. Five generations ago, the North Carolina Red Shirts finished the job. Four (and three) generations ago, Jim Crow was so entrenched in the State of North Carolina that UNC “enforced its own Jim Crow regulations.” Two generations ago, North Carolina’s Governor still railed against “ ‘integration for integration’s sake’ ”—and UNC Black enrollment was minuscule. So, at bare minimum, one generation ago, James’s family was six generations behind because of their race, making John’s six generations ahead.
These stories are not every student’s story. But they are many students’ stories. To demand that colleges ignore race in today’s admissions practices—and thus disregard the fact that racial disparities may have mattered for where some applicants find themselves today—is not only an affront to the dignity of those students for whom race matters. It also condemns our society to never escape the past that explains how and why race matters to the very concept of who “merits” admission.
H. What is Sam’s View of Justice Jackson’s Discussion of “John and James?”
From what I believe is a pure unbiased economic analysis, agree completely with Justice Jackson’s conclusion: The SSRN decision guarantees that the racial wealth gap between Blacks and Whites in the U.S. will forever grow.
XVII. Some Qs & As From Chapter 21, Regulatory Economics: (1) Negative Externalities, E.G., Pollution; (2) Climate Change; & (3) TvH
A. What is Trump’s “Drill Baby Drill” Policy?
At the Republican Convention in 2024, Trump made it clear that he would relax regulations governing the drilling for oil. An ABC report[107] on his position explains:
As former President Donald Trump accepted his nomination at the Republican National Convention Thursday, he did not mince words on what energy policy would look like in a second Trump presidency. "I make this pledge to the great people of America, I will end the devastating inflation crisis immediately, bring down interest rates and lower the cost of energy," Trump announced to the crowd at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, "We will drill, baby, drill."
B. What Are the Causes and Effects of Climate Change, i.e., the Mother of All Externalities?
The United Nation’s Climate Action[108] initiative gives the following succinct summary of the “Causes and Effects” of Climate Change:
Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions. As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth.[109]
C. What Are Harris’ General Views on Regulation Including Climate Change and Energy?
The 2024 Democratic Platform takes the following general policy position on regulation: “[a]nd, he [i.e., Trump] and Republicans loosened regulations to get rid of toxic chemicals that cause cancer and made it easier for chemical companies to poison our air, water, and land.”[110] Also, Chapter 4 of the 2024 Democratic Platform is entitled: “Tackling the Climate Crisis, Lowering Energy Costs, & Securing Energy Independence.” The discussion in this chapter of the Platform is quite extensive and is only summarized as follows: “[e]very year, the devastation caused by climate change grows more urgent. Across the country, Americans experience the dire impacts of climate change: Floods and storms wipe more homes off the map.”[111] The answer to this question was written on October 10, 2024, as Hurricane Milton, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever, continues to ravage Florida.
XVIII. Some Qs & As From Chapter 22, Antitrust Economics: Collusions, Monopolizations, Mergers, & TvH
A. What Was Trump’s General Position on Antitrust Enforcement During His Administration?
As a general matter, it does not appear that the Trump Administration took a relaxed approach to antitrust enforcement, and it appears that its policies, for the most part, were within the mainstream of such policies.
B. What is the Biden-Harris 2024 Position on Antitrust Enforcement?
The 2024 Democratic Platform,[112] says the following about the current level of antitrust enforcement: “The Justice Department and the FTC have increased antitrust enforcement, releasing updated merger guidelines, and halting a slate of big mergers in the airline, food, and defense sectors that would’ve increased consumer prices.”[113]
XIX. Some Qs & As From Chapter 23, Voting Economics & Tvh
A. What Are Trump’s Positions on Voting Generally?
During the 2020 election, it was commonly thought that Trump was attempting to suppress the vote because he thought he could not win with a large turnout. Jennifer Ruben, a solid conservative and a writer for the Washington Post, shared that view of Trump.[114]
B. What Position Does the 2024 Republican Platform Take on Voting?
The most significant thing the 2024 Republican Party Platform says about voting is as follows: “We will implement measures to secure our Elections, including Voter ID, highly sophisticated paper ballots, proof of Citizenship, and same day Voting. We will not allow the Democrats to give Voting Rights to Illegal Aliens.”[115]
C. What Position Does the Republican Project 2025 Take on Voting?
The Republican Project 2025[116] makes the following suggestion for the reassignment of the section of the DOJ responsible for policing voting:
The Attorney General in the next conservative Administration should reassign responsibility for prosecuting violations of 18 U.S. Code § 24176 from the Civil Rights Division to the Criminal Division where it belongs. Otherwise, voter registration fraud and unlawful ballot correction will remain federal election offenses that are never appropriately investigated and prosecuted.[117]
D. What Are Harris’ Positions on Voting Generally?
In a section entitled “Voting Rights,” the 2024 Democratic Platform[118] addresses as follows the need for reform of the voting system:
Since their first days in office, President Biden and Vice President Harris have taken action to protect the sacred right to vote in free, fair, and secure elections, especially for communities of color who have been historically disenfranchised. Within the first 100 days of his presidency, President Biden signed an executive order directing an all-of-government effort to promote access to voting. Agencies have taken historic action to help veterans, college students, Native Americans, and other underserved communities register to vote.[119]
The voting section in the 2024 Democratic Platform discusses as follows the role of former President Trump in his attempts to suppress the vote:
Trump . . . has spent years undermining the electoral process and confidence in elections, and continues to spread blatant lies about the election he lost. Trump’s allies in state legislatures across the country have enacted and continue to introduce laws that make it harder to vote and undermine the will of the people.[120]
The 2024 Democratic Platform also discusses as follows the need to curtail gerrymandering and to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act:
Key to the right to vote is ensuring that voters pick their elected officials – not the other way around. . . . Congress must restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act and take additional steps to ensure access to the ballot box. Democrats will pass and President Biden will sign the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to fully secure the right to vote in every state, ensure fair congressional maps for every American, modernize and secure our elections, and curtail the corrupting influence of money in politics.[121]
XX. Some Qs & As From Chapter 24 Brief Introduction To The Economics Of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
A. What Are the Biden-Harris Views on AI as Reflected in the 2024 Economic Report of the President?
Chapter 7 of the 2024 Economic Report of the President[122] is titled “An Economic Framework for Understanding Artificial Intelligence.”[123] While it is not possible to summarize here the many points raised in this comprehensive analysis of AI, the following discussion contains the introduction and short excerpts from the major sections of the chapter:
An Economic Framework for Understanding Artificial Intelligence, Artificial intelligence (AI) systems touch the lives of virtually every American. They range from simple systems like text autocorrect to complex algorithms capable of setting prices, driving cars, and writing essays. In recent years, AI systems have advanced rapidly as recent developments in computing, data availability, and machine learning models have simultaneously come together to produce rapid improvements. . . . Economic incentives play a central role in how decisions are made. An economic framework, combined with a basic understanding of AI technology, allows us to make predictions about when, how, and why AI may be adopted. . . . [The discussion focuses, inter alia,] on the following topics:”
Toward “Intelligent” Automation . . .
AI and Equity/Discrimination . . .
From the Technological Frontier to Reality . . .
Government Applications of AI . . .
AI and the Labor Market . . .
Evidence for AI’s Labor Market Effects . . .
Preparing Institutions for AI . . .
Competition and Market Structure . . . .
B. What Does the 2024 Republican Platform Say About AI?
The 2024 Republican Platform[124] does not have an extensive discussion of AI; however, it does say:
Republicans will pave the way for future Economic Greatness by leading the World in Emerging Industries. . . . We will repeal Joe Biden's dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.[125]
C. What Does the Republican Project 2025 Say About AI?
The Republican Project 2025[126] discusses artificial intelligence (AI) in many different places. However, the document does not seem to do a deep analysis of the topic. The Project 2025 does say, however: “During the Trump and Biden Administrations, there has been a bipartisan focus on prioritizing R&D funding around the so-called Industries of the Future (IOTF).”[127] Let’s hope for a bipartisan approach to AI.
XXI. Some Qs & As From Chapter 25, Taxation Economics & TvH
A. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on the Tax Treatment of the Ordinary Income of High-Income Individuals, That is Individuals Earning More than $400,000 of Taxable Income?
1. Is there a Consensus on the Tax Treatment of Ordinary Income, Including Qualified Business Income (QBI), Earned by Non-High-Income Families, that is, Families Earning Not More than $400,000 of Taxable Income?
Harris has not proposed any changes to the tax rates, including the lower rates applicable to QBI, that are imposed on families making less than $400,000 of taxable income. Thus, she has accepted the current rate structure for such income as enacted by the TCAJA. Consequently, this section focuses on the proposals of Trump and Harris on the treatment of families making more than $400,000.
2. What Are Trump’s Proposals for the Tax Treatment of Individuals?
The 2024 Republican Platform sets out the following proposals for modifying the taxation of individuals:
Make Trump Tax Cuts Permanent and No Tax on Tips
Republicans will make permanent the provisions of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that doubled the standard deduction, expanded the Child Tax Credit, and spurred Economic Growth for all Americans. We will eliminate Taxes on Tips for millions of Restaurant and Hospitality Workers, and pursue additional Tax Cuts.
3. What Are Harris’s General Tax Proposals?
Along with other policy proposals, the Harris tax platform proposals are set out in a document entitled: Harris/Walz, A New Way Forward. A section of this document entitled “Cut Taxes for Middle Class Families” provides:
Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe that working families deserve a break. That’s why under their plan more than 100 million working and middle-class Americans will get a tax cut. They will do this by restoring two tax cuts designed to help middle class and working Americans: the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. . . .
They will ensure the wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations pay their fair share, so we can take action to build up the middle class while reducing the deficit. This includes (1) rolling back Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, (2) enacting a billionaire minimum tax, (3) quadrupling the tax on stock buybacks, and (4) other reforms to ensure the very wealthy are playing by the same rules as the middle class.[128]
With respect to the top rate on ordinary income, Harris has proposed to increase the maximum individual rate from 37% to the pre-TCAJA rate of 39.7%. As will be seen below, she would increase the rate of capital gains to 28%.
B. What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on the Tax Rate on Capital Gains?
1. How Are Capital Gains Taxed?
Capital gains are realized from the sale of a capital asset, such as stock, and for a family with taxable income in excess of $694,750, the highest rate applicable to long-term capital gains (e.g., gains from the sale of a capital asset held for more than a year) is 23.8% (i.e., 20% for the capital gain plus the 3.8% Obamacare tax on investment income).
2. What is Trump’s Proposal for the Taxation of Capital Gains?
Trump would index the basis of capital assets for inflation, which would in a time of inflation (which is the case in most years) have the effect of reducing the amount of capital gain on the sale of a capital asset. Trump would also repeal the Obamacare 3.8% tax on Net Investment Income, which includes capital gains.
3. What is Harris’s Proposal for the Taxation of Capital Gains?
Harris would retain the basic structure for taxing capital gains for those with less than $1 million in taxable income; however, under her plan, the tax rate on long-term capital gains for those earning a million dollars a year or more will be 28 percent.[129]
C. What is the Current Taxation of Corporate Income and What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on the Taxation of Such Income?
1. What is the Current Tax Treatment of Corporate Income?
As indicated previously, prior to the TCAJA, C corporations were subject to progressive rates with a maximum 35% rate, and the Trump-supported TCAJA reduced the rate to a flat 21%.
2. What is Trump’s Position on Taxing Corporations, and What Was His September 2024 Proposal?
At a speech before the Economic Club of New York on September 5, 2024, Trump embraced a limited 15% corporate tax rate: “Former President Trump said he supports lowering the corporate tax rate only for companies that manufacture products in the United States. Speaking at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York on September 5, Trump proposed a reduction in the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 15 percent in order to spur domestic manufacturing.”[130]
3. What is Harris’s Position on Taxing Corporate Income
Harris would tax corporations at a 28% rate, up from the current 21% rate. This rate would apply to both ordinary income and capital gains. An analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget concludes that “[l]ifting the rate to 28 percent would raise [significant revenues] over a decade.”[131]
D. What is the Current Treatment of Dividends and What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on the Taxation of Dividends?
1. What is the Current Tax Treatment of Dividends?
Dividends received by individuals are currently subject to a maximum 20% rate under the Federal Income Tax, plus the 3.8% Obamacare tax on Net Investment Income, which is imposed on high-income taxpayers. Thus, the maximum rate is 23.8% and this maximum rate is applied both before and after the enactment of the TCAJA in 2017.
2. What is Trump’s Position on the Taxation of Dividends?
At the time the book was written in September 2024, Trump had not proposed any changes to the current tax treatment of dividends.
3. What is Harris’s Position on the Taxation of Dividends?
At the time the book was written in September 2024, Harris had not proposed any changes to the current tax treatment of dividends.
E. How Are the Federal Transfer Taxes Structured and What Are the Positions of Trump and Harris on the Federal Estate Tax?
1. What is the Basic Structure of the Federal Transfer Taxes?[132]
The Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes (hereinafter Federal Transfer Taxes) are extremely complex, but, for example, the estate tax applies at a rate of 40% of a Taxable Estate of more than approximately $10 million. Thus, these taxes are only imposed on the very rich.
2. What is Trump’s Proposal on the Estate Tax?
During his 2016 campaign, Trump, in following Republican orthodoxy, said he would repeal the Estate Tax. As noted above, the TCAJA did not repeal the Estate Tax, but it did significantly expand the exemption from the tax.
3. What Does the Republican Platform and Project 2025 Say About the Estate and Gift Tax?
The 2024 Republican Platform does not address the estate tax. Although Trump’s 2020 Budget did not propose the repeal of the Estate Tax, it did propose to make, inter alia, the double exemption permanent.[133] Also, the Republican Project 2025 makes the same proposal together with a rate change proposal, as follows: “The estate and gift tax should be reduced to no higher than 20 percent, and the 2017 tax bill’s temporary increase in the exemption amount from $5.5 million to $12.9 million (adjusted for inflation) should be made permanent.”[134]
4. What is Harris’s Proposal on the Estate Tax?
A Barron’s article explains that “Biden [and presumably Harris] proposes returning the exemption to its 2017 level of $5.49 million, adjusted for inflation.”[135] It does not seem clear as to when this reversion would occur; however, it is clear that under his plan it would not be extended beyond 2025.
F. What is the Tax Basis Under the Federal Income Tax for Appreciated Property Received From a Decedent and What are the Positions of Trump and Harris on this Rule?
1. Under the Federal Income Tax, What is the Tax Basis of Property Received from a Decedent?
Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 1014, when a person dies and transfers property to a beneficiary, the beneficiary takes a fair market value basis for the property for purposes of the Federal Income Tax.
2. What is Trump’s Position on the Tax Code’s Step-Up in Basis at Death Rule?
During the 2016 campaign, Trump proposed to eliminate the step-up in basis at death and replace it with a carryover basis, that is, the heir would take the decedent’s tax basis for the property. Even though he would eliminate the step-up in basis at death, he would index the basis of assets for inflation. This would eliminate much of the gain that would otherwise apply with a carryover basis.
3. What is Harris’s Position on the Tax Code’s Step-Up in Basis at Death Rule?
Harris, like Biden, would not go with the current step-up in basis at death or the carryover basis at death. Rather, she would make death a taxable event under the Federal Income Tax, thus taxing appreciation in property that passes from a decedent to his or her heirs.[136]
XXII. One Q & A From Chapter 26, Personal Investing Economics & Tvh
As demonstrated in Chapter 26, over the long term, the stock market trends up. Since the Coolidge presidency, the stock market has gone up in all presidencies except the second Bush presidency.[137] Specifically, Table 23-D shows that over the first three years of the last five presidencies (Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden): “[T]he stock market’s performance was generally very strong, with Clinton leading the pack at 41%, followed by Trump at 40.4%, Obama at 36.6%, Biden-Harris at 33%, and Bush-2 bringing up the rear at a negative, 15.2%.”[138]
[1] The book is self-published by Professor Thompson through IUniverse, and the book can be accessed at the IUniverse website here https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/863027-trump-vs-harris-tvh.
[2] Party Platform, Democratic Nat’l Comm. (2024), https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2024_Democratic_Party_Platform_8a2cf8.pdf.
[3] Council of Econ. Advisors, 2024 Econ. Report of the President (2024).
[4] Dep’t of the Treasury, Gen. Explanations of the Admins. Fiscal Year 2025 Revenue Proposals (2024).
[5] A New Way Forward, Harris Walz, https://kamalaharris.com/issues/ (last visited Sept. 9, 2024).
[6] Gerhard Peters & John T. Woolley, 2024 Republican Party Platform, The Am. Presidency Project (2024), https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/373351 (noting that this was adopted at the Republican Convention on July 15, 2024).
[7] Project 2025 The Presidential Transitional Project, Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise (2024).
[8] Project 2025, supra note 10.
[9] Steve Contorno, Trump Claims Not to Know Who is Behind Project 2025. A CNN Review Found at Least 140 People Who Worked For Him Are Involved, CNN (July 11, 2024), https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/11/politics/trump-allies-project-2025/index.html.
[10] This Documentary Appendix is available on Professor Thompson’s section of the Penn State Law website here: https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/faculty/thompson-jr
[11] Alicia Wallac, U.S. Economy Added a Whopping 254,000 Jobs Last Month, CNN (Oct. 4, 2024), https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/us-jobs-report-september-10-04-24/index.html#:~:text=The%20US%20economy%20added%20254%2C000,unemployment%20rate%20dropped%20to%204.1%25.&text=That's%20a%20huge%20boost%20for,has%20shown%20signs%20of%20weakness.&text=Economists%20had%20projected%20140%2C000%20jobs,rate%20held%20steady%20at%204.2%25.
[12] Party Platform, supra note 5, at 13.
[13] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[14] Id.
[15] A New Way Forward, supra note 8.
[16] Id.
[17] Council of Econ. Advisors, 2021 Econ. Report of the President 296 (2021).
[18] 2024 Econ. Report of the President, supra note 6, at 79–83.
[19] Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index—September 2024, (Released October 10, 2024).
[20] Donald J. Trump, Remarks at the Signing of H.R.748, The CARES Act (Mar. 27, 2020).
[21] Nexstar Media Wire, Second Stimulus Check: Where Biden, Harris Stand on COVID Payment Proposals, Fox 40 news (Aug. 13, 2020), https://fox40.com/news/second-stimulus-check-where-biden-harris-stand-on-covid-payment-proposals/.
[22] Id.
[23] Council of Econ. Advisors, 2022 Econ. Report of the President 4 (2022).
[24] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[25] The American Rescue Plan, The White House, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/American-Rescue-Plan-Fact-Sheet.pdf (last visited Aug. 18, 2024).
[26] Erica York, Tariff Tracker: Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump-Biden Tariffs, Tax Found. (June 26, 2024), https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-biden-tariffs/.
[27] Id.
[28] Jason Lange, Voters Narrowly Support Trump's Tariff Pitch, Reuters (Sept. 15, 2024), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-voters-narrowly-support-trumps-tariff-pitch-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2024-09-15/.
[29] Id.
[30] A New Way Forward, supra note 8.
[31] Id.
[32] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[33] Board of Governors, FAQs, Fed. Reserve (May 13, 2012), https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_12594.htm.
[34] Id.
[35] Press Release, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Issues FOMC Statement (Sept. 18, 2024).
[36] Andrew Ross Sorkin et al., What the Fed’s Big Rate Cut Reveals About the Economy, N.Y. Times (Sept. 19, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/19/business/dealbook/fed-rates-soft-landing.html
[37] Id.
[38] Id.
[39] Id.
[40] Phil Swagel, Options for Reducing the Deficit, Cong. Budget Office (Mar. 6, 2023), https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58981.
[41] Id.
[42] Monthly Budget Review: July 2024, Cong. Budget Office, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/60479/html.
[43] Id.
[44] Party Platform, supra note 5.
[45] Id. at 14.
[46] Id.
[47] Id.
[48] Project 2025, supra note 10, at 702.
[49] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[50] A New Way Forward, supra note 8.
[51] Id.
[52] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[53] Project 2025, supra note 10.
[54] Id.
[55] Id.
[56] Id.
[57] Id.
[58] Id. at 466–68.
[59] Compare the Candidates on Health Care Policy, Kaiser Family Found., https://www.kff.org/compare-2024-candidates-health-care-policy/ (last visited Aug. 29, 2024).
[60] Id.
[61] Id
[62] Id.
[63] Id.
[64] Id.
[65] Id.
[66] Id.
[67] Id.
[68] Id.
[69] Id.
[70] Id.
[71] Id.
[72] Id.
[73] Id.
[74] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[75] Id.
[76] Party Platform, supra note 5.
[77] Id. at 26.
[78] Id. at 27.
[79] Id.
[80] Id.
[81] Id.
[82] Id. at 53–54.
[83] Id.
[84] Id.
[85] A New Way Forward, supra note 8.
[86] Id.
[87] Id.
[88] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[89] William A. Galston, The Collapse of Bipartisan Immigration Reform: A Guide for the Perplexed, Brookings (Feb. 8, 2024), https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-collapse-of-bipartisan-immigration-reform-a-guide-for-the-perplexed/
[90] Id.
[91] Id.
[92] Party Platform, supra note 5.
[93] Id. at 765.
[94] Id.
[95] Id.
[96] Id. at 12.
[97] Id. at 12–13.
[98] Id. at 262.
[99] Id. at 302–03.
[100] Arthur Delaney & Liz Skalka, How School Lunch Became a Symbol Of Tim Walz's Appeal to Voters, HuffPost (Aug. 21, 2024), https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tim-walz-kamala-harris-school-lunch_n_66c5ee41e4b01c59f9ddc2e7.
[101] Nick Noel, Duwain Pinder, Shelley Stewart, & Jason Wright, The Economic Impact of Closing the Wealth Gap, McKinsey & Co. (Aug. 13, 2019), https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/the-economic-impact-of-closing-the-racial-wealth-gap.
[102] Id.
[103] Party Platform, supra note 5.
[104] Id. at 52.
[105] Id. at 53.
[106] Id.
[107] Leah Sarnoff, Trump Says 'Drill, Baby, Drill,' but the Record for US Oil Production Isn't His, ABC News (July 19, 2024), https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/drill-baby-drill-donald-trump-oil-gas-rnc/story?id=112108980.
[108] Climate Change, U.N., https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change#:~:text=Causes%20of%20Climate%20Change&text=Generating%20electricity%20and%20heat%20by,and%20trap%20the%20sun's%20heat (last visited Sept. 21, 2024).
[109] Id.
[110] Party Platform, supra note 5, at 75.
[111] Id.
[112] Id.
[113] Id. at 23.
[114] Jennifer Rubin, Trump Confesses to Voter Suppression, Washington Post (Aug. 13, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/13/trump-confesses-voter-supression/.
[115] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[116] Project 2025, supra note 10, at 562.
[117] Id.
[118] Party Platform, supra note 5, at 47–48.
[119] Id. at 47.
[120] Id.
[121] Id. at 47–48.
[122] 2024 Econ. Report of the President, supra note 6.
[123] Id. ch. 7, at 243–90.
[124] Peters & Woolley, supra note 9.
[125] Id. at 59.
[126] Project 2025, supra note 10.
[127] Id. at 59.
[128] A New Way Forward, supra note 8.
[129] Id.
[130] Alexander Rifaat, Trump Proposes 15 Percent Corporate Tax Rate — With a Catch, Tax Notes (Sept 6, 2024), https://www.taxnotes.com/featured-news/trump-proposes-15-percent-corporate-tax-rate-catch/2024/09/05/7l5wp.
[131] Understanding Joe Biden’s 2020 Tax Plan, Comm. for a Responsible Fed. Budget (July 30, 2020), https://www.crfb.org/papers/understanding-joe-bidens-2020-tax-plan.
[132] This section is based on section 1:15 of Thompson, Business Taxation Deskbook.
[133] Galen Henricks & Seeth Hanlon, Trump’s Rumored ‘Tax Cuts 2.0’ Proposals Aren’t Focused on the Middle Class, Center for Am. Progress(Mar. 10, 2020), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/trumps-rumored-tax-cuts-2-0-proposals-arent-focused-middle-class/
[134] Project 2025, supra note 10, at 697.
[135] Karen Hube, Trump, Biden, and Taxes: What to Expect, Barrons (Aug. 7, 2020).
[136] William M. VanDenburgh & Philip J. Harmelink, Implications of the 2020 Presidential Candidates’ Tax Positions. Tax Notes 1019 (Aug. 10, 2020).
[137] Kristin McKenna, Here’s How the Stock Market Has Performed Before, During, and After Presidential Elections, Forbes (Aug. 18, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinmckenna/2020/08/18/heres-how-the-stock-market-has-performed-before-during-and-after-presidential-elections/.