Trump's two-track strategy: The rich get richer, and the poor get distracted

[Demovictory9]

Thanks to a combination of hyperpartisanship, Trump’s willingness to say things that others wouldn’t and a stronger economy, Trump’s tenure as president has been an explicit manifestation of what once was a tricky balance. For years, many Republicans have worked to effect sweeping cuts and benefits for the wealthiest Americans while maintaining a non-wealthy voting base by engaging in robust cultural fights.


Trump has nearly perfected it.

He will argue, of course, that his economic policies have been an unalloyed good for the American worker. He did so in that tweet disparaging the Koch brothers. But his track record doesn’t quite match that rhetoric.

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Where the cuts have been effective is where critics suggested they would be. Corporate executives are getting massive payouts from companies that are flush with cash that once would have gone to pay taxes. Half a trillion dollars has been spent by companies to buy back stocks, passing those tax cuts back to shareholders. Those shareholders are heavily concentrated among the richest Americans.

At the same time, Trump’s other economic moves are introducing other uncertainties for lower-wage Americans. The tariffs imposed by his administration have had the desired effect of destabilizing international trade agreements, but the effect for a lot of U.S. companies is increased costs and, in some cases, layoffs. Unemployment’s steady drop since the recession continues, and, for the first time since the number began being tracked two decades ago, there are more job openings than unemployed Americans. People are finding jobs — just not necessarily great jobs.

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Everything becomes a play for the base, keeping it energized to stand with him and, therefore, to keep meeker Republicans in line as they worry about November elections. Meanwhile, with the economy holding steady, even if it’s not improving, the administration can continue to alleviate whatever burdens remain for the richest Americans, among whom are Trump, his friends at Mar-a-Lago and his putative nemeses in the Koch family.

When the tax cuts were proposed, Trump repeatedly insisted the bill would hurt his bottom line. There’s almost no evidence that the cuts hurt him; the evidence suggests the contrary.

But this is part of Trump’s political gambit. He’s a blue-collar guy who lives in a gold-plated penthouse. He is the embodiment of the political pitch he makes: obsessed with cultural issues as the policies he passes benefit his enormous wealth. Neither his wealthy nor his poor supporters seem to care about the inherent tension in that duality — any more than Trump does.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/07/31/trumps-two-track-strategy-the-rich-get-richer-and-the-poor-get-distracted/?utm_term=.0b8e7f508135