Why Trump?
People should vote for someone based on three things and three outcomes.
The three things (these are often ignored by the media that focuses on unimportant character traits that have not translated to successful presidencies):
- What policies/law the candidate will sign as President
- What policies/laws (including executive orders) that the President will push as President
- What policies/laws the President will oppose as President
The three outcomes (these are subjective, but these are what I think most people want out of a President, but they can be measured):
- Will Americans be safer from enemies both externally and internally?
- Will poverty rates decline?
- Will the economy grow, jobs grow, and wages grow (especially for lower wage workers)
Over my lifetime, I have watched government balloon but starting in 2020 the size of government relative to the size of the economy has grown dramatically. But with all this new spending, new regulations, and new entitlements poverty levels have gone up, so something is wrong. Government spending is addressing the poverty level. Unemployment rates today are higher than before the pandemic. Wages have declined after adjusting for inflation since before the pandemic. The economy has squeezed out some inflation adjusted growth, but it seems the wealthy not low wage workers have enjoyed most of the benefit. All of this happened under an administration that claimed it represented “the working guy”… remember… Blue Collar Joe from Scranton, Pa.
Reagan said government doesn’t solve problems, government is the problem. In many ways, every new entitlement, every new spending bill, every new regulation makes sense. But when you layer them one on top of another, you not only get no results, it appears that we go backwards.
Trump was not perfect, his policies were not perfect, nothing about Trump was perfect. But America avoided wars and even things inside this country seemed safer except for the violent riots in largely Democratic cities, that it seems the mayors were unwilling to confront. Poverty rates declined to 10.5% the lowest level since government began tracking poverty rates. And the economy grew 2.3% a year even with the pandemic, wages grew 7%, and job grow was such that every American who wanted a job could get one and even more importantly for many Americans they could climb the economic ladder by one or more rungs as better paying jobs opened up.
Do I wish someone other Trump was running in his place that was less of a bully, womanizer, braggart, etc. Of course. But I am not voting for someone to be my friend, I am voting for someone based on what policies they will sign, what policies they will push, and what policies they will oppose. I am voting for someone based on how I think those policies will translate into great safety, lower poverty, and greater economic growth and opportunity.
If Harris would lay out a concrete platform that made clear what she would sign, propose, and oppose, perhaps I could be influenced, especially if she reconciled those points with her pass voting record. But based on her past voting record, I expect more government, more entitlements, more regulations, and higher poverty rates, more unemployment, less economic growth, and wage losses for working Americans.
To be honest I am among the 20% that prospered under Biden at the expense of the 80% who lost ground. On paper, I should support policies that sound good, but ultimately make the rich richer. But history shows those policies end in tears for everyone rich and poor alike. So, I am going with a candidate, whose policies have proven to work for the poor and working wage people.
Confirmation of my opinions regarding the two candidates came out yesterday in the Rasmussen poll which showed people earning less than $100K were supporting Trump and those earning more were backing Harris. Voters are figuring out which candidate is better for them, I am just an outlier, a rich guy siding with poorer voters. How about you?
