Trump Therapy
link: Trump driving migrant debate among GOP field – The Washington Post
Donald Trump continues to dominate the news headlines with his populist rants about what ails the nation. As noted in earlier pieces, the fact that these numerous festering issues have been brought forward for public discussion is a refreshing change from the PC sensibilities of both political parties and the media in general.
Until Trump, public figures were unable to speak candidly about numerous social and economic topics for fear of negative media characterization. It’s as if someone had imposed an omerta edict, banning honest discussions on key social issues that could be spoken of in polite company. Immigration, unemployment and the general fecklessness of the sitting administration and congress are issues which affect most every citizen. Many likely feel that the America they’ve known is disappearing because of problems created by ill conceived policies. Until Trump, no one had the cojones to talk about solutions for them in blunt unvarnished terms. Indeed, at this point in the election process, the combatants appear to be less Republicans vs Democrats and more of the people vs Washington elites. Trump’s great feat is that he’s able to discern that people hate all politicians, tapping into that antipathy to become the de-facto spokesman for the silent majority. Imagine that, Trump speaking for the common man!
Many of his proposed solutions resonate with the average guy since they seem to have some basis of common sense. Building a wall to protect the southern border may have populist appeal, but we’re not sure if he can do that without hiring low cost Mexican workers. Union labor rates would cripple the project. On that note, one of Trump’s other populist notions is to bring back jobs from China. Hmm…not sure he’s thought this one through.
Over the past few generations, the manufacture and fabrication of virtually all consumer goods has been ceded to China. Why? Because workers there are cheap, plain and simple. The result is that the west has grown accustomed to cheap clothes, cheap electronics, cheap iPhones, cheap furniture, even cheap rocks. So now, that’s Americans’ favorite price point, cheap. But now, let’s say we could mandate that companies use only domestic labor for manufacturing. That means that the price of everything skyrockets. Wal Mart would go bust. So would Costco. No more buying one suit, getting 3 free at Joseph.A.Banks.
What Trump likely knows and is not revealing is that the real way to rebuild wealth in the west is not to bring back low wage jobs. How much can you pay someone to put the caps on toothpaste? It’s only by dismantling the obstacles and regulations and taxation constraints that stymie business formation and growth that wealth creation can happen. The villains aren’t in China or Mexico. The guys with the twirly mustaches sit in government offices in state and federal capitols in the USA! If Trump doesn’t make that point clear, then he is catering to populist sensibilities….like the politicians he claims to loathe.
Still, Trump is the right man at the right time. The pendulum of political correctness and progressive policies has swung so far to the left that a catalyst was needed to swing it back. Trump is like chemo therapy for a cancer patient; strong medicine for a severe ailment.