Friday, June 28, 2019

The President's power - or the lack thereof






     The following three facts are not in dispute:
1.       Donald Trump is the president of the U.S.
2.       Since his election, the economy has boomed.
3.       Since his election, immigration across the southern border (especially illegal immigration) has exploded.

      Conservative commentators just LOVE to prognosticate that Fact #1 and Fact #2 are tightly connected.  Indeed, they treat this relationship like it is divine intervention or something.  But I beg to differ.  A closer and more objective observation shows that, in reality, his policies have not at all been pro-economic growth. 
      Let's start with spending:  the budget for 2019 is $4.1 Trillion, and there are no plans anywhere to reduce that amount.  Meanwhile, the 2019 deficit is projected at just under a Trillion, with deficits well OVER a $Trillion per year projected at least to the end of Trump's term in office.  Conservatives are supposed to be for limited spending and deficits, and yet they cheer this?  They praise his tax cuts, but never mention the spending part.  A tax cut without a corresponding spending cut accomplishes nothing.
      And then there are the tariffs and the trade wars - and the constant threat of MORE of the same.  Or worse:  he has threatening to shut down a border or two.  A true conservative would be consistently and unashamedly pro-free market and pro-free trade, rather than trying to hold international commerce as a hostage.
      To his credit, Trump has reduced a few regulatory burdens, mostly related to environmental laws.  (I agree that bureaucratic regulation is a terrible way to fix societal problems, environmental or otherwise; but that's another topic for another essay.)  However, we're talking about just a miniscule, tiny blip here, compared to all the OTHER bureaucracy and regulation that American businesses must face.  He has NOT eliminated any federal departments, bureaus, agencies, or major programs.  He did not even repeal Obamacare, as promised (although he did scale it back - a little). 
      Otherwise, nothing he has done can be remotely be linked to economic stimulus.  Yet, the economy HAS indeed grown.  Why?  To whom should we credit the economic boom?  My vote goes to Thomas Jefferson, the U.S. founding father who correctly recognized that individual freedom and limited government are the keys to prosperity and stability. 

      And so now let us address Fact #3: the immigration explosion.  No president in U.S. history has spent more time and energy fighting immigration than has Trump.  He has redirected military and customs agent to help secure the border, and his "zero-tolerance" philosophy has resulted in all sorts of draconian measures that have been described as cruel and inhumane.  Yet the immigrants just keep on coming.
      If you're going to credit Trump with the economic growth simply because he is presently sitting in the White House, then you must also "credit" him for the immigration explosion.  But as explained above, the facts don't jibe.  The truth is that NEITHER of those phenomena are a direct result of his policies. 
      So how does one explain it?  It's actually quite simple:  the man in the White House does not have as much power as we tend to presume.  The economy and the immigrants are pretty much going to do what they are going to do, regardless of what he/she does or says.  
      Keep this in mind as we head into the next frenzied election season.

No comments:

Post a Comment