President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress last week proved to me that he is the President I was looking for. I did not agree with all the policy prescriptions, but it was a magnificent speech. His delivery was natural, clear and inspiring. He spoke to his base, in simple and understandable terms. He described how far he had come in 40 days toward accomplishing what he had promised and he took responsibility for his blunders.
In tone and substance, the President reached out for reconciliation and proposed ways for Republicans and Democrats to work together for the common good. On infrastructure, immigration and health care, his approach should make Democrats – especially the ten senators who will be running for reelection in states he won in a landslide – hesitate to continue saying no to everything.
From first to last, President Trump spoke about unity. Referring to recent threats and desecration of Jewish monuments, he called for us to stand united in condemning hate and evil. He talked of the greatness of the United States, and our unity and strength. He said again that we all bleed the same blood, salute the same flag, and in my words are made by same God. After laying out his plans and goals, he concluded by acknowledging that we can only get there together.
I found it particularly refreshing to listen to a Presidential speech with not a single mention of the politics of identity, a theme that was present in every speech made by his predecessor. President Trump addressed us as a single nation, where our identity as children of God first, then as citizens of the United States, are all that matter, not differentiation by race, color, religion, culture or all the newly-invented identities of gender and preference.
There were some specifics in his proposals and goals that I particularly liked, and others that I was not so happy with.
President Trump was absolutely correct to state that businesses in the United States face the highest tax rates in the world and that it is critical to cut those taxes if we are to return to historical rates of economic growth. This is the centerpiece of the tax reform package developed by Speaker Ryan and Chairman Brady of the House Ways and Means Committee, along with a reduction in taxes on the middle class. The President also discussed how the United States is being taken advantage of by other countries that tax the goods we export to them and rebate taxes to their companies that export to us. In doing so, he came very close to endorsing another key provision in the tax reform proposals, which is to treat our imports and exports in exactly the same way that other countries treat theirs. This so-called border tax adjustment would no longer allow companies take a deduction for the cost of goods they import and then resell, and it would stop taxing revenue from exports. This means that if a company wants to sell here, they will do well to invest here, and these tax changes would put American businesses on the same footing as their competitors.
I emphasize this because eliminating handicaps in the tax system is a far better approach to trade than erecting tariff barriers or creating “buy America” programs. Many Republicans, as well as all economists, were very unhappy with the way Candidate Trump played up job loss caused by imports and threatened to erect trade barriers. Trade barriers always hurt the consumer, and if his speech indicated a willingness to substitute tax policy for trade restrictions, it is a welcome change.
As I discussed in a previous column, I agree that we need to scrutinize carefully all entrants from countries that spawn Islamic terrorism, and that getting reliable background information from countries of origin is critical to doing so. But for immigration from other countries, especially Asia and Latin America, we need to open our doors in a prudent way. His proposal to move to a merit-based system of granting permanent resident status is a good start, but we need to go much further. First, we should repeal the 1917 and1965 Immigration Acts and eliminate all quotas. I would instead give a temporary green card to anyone who passes a strengthened vetting process and accepts a condition that they will be ineligible for public assistance for some period of time. During that time, every applicant for residence should be required to learn English and have no criminal record. If all goes well, at the end of that time, they would become permanent residents eligible for citizenship and all other benefits.
I believe that if we remove quantitative restrictions on immigration, it is critical that we make sure that we admit only immigrants willing to work, assimilate and contribute to the economy. Instead of allowing immigrants to go immediately on welfare, we should let our communities and churches do their job of aiding and integrating them. I would happily increase my contributions to Catholic Charities, our Annual Diocesan Appeal and the Society of Saint Vincent dePaul to support immigrants who are in need thru no fault of their own. This return to the old-fashioned notion of taking care of each other would make charity meaningful again, as we would have to make personal decisions to welcome strangers rather than voting to spend someone else’s money on them. This approach would also favor assimilation and discourage the creation of separate identities.
I am not so happy about the President’s fascination with infrastructure. Infrastructure spending has been dominated by boondoggles designed to put a project in every Congressional district and award members of the appropriations committees. Democrats and too many Republicans see these projects as a right of their office. I was in charge of evaluating these kinds of expenditures while at the Congressional Budget Office, and we found that nowhere near as much spending is needed as the road lobby and others claim. Estimates of substandard highways and bridges, for example, often include a large number of structures that simply have lanes or shoulders a little narrower than current standards. Infrastructure spending needs to be approached critically and with a tight purse. Keeping costs down also requires avoiding the Buy American requirements the President recommended.
I was disappointed that along with the need for infrastructure investment for future generations, President Trump did not mention two much clearer threats to our economic future: the crises of spending on welfare and social security. No matter what is done to cut spending elsewhere in the budget, the national debt will continue to rocket upwards unless spending on these programs is cut. Action is needed on all three to secure our future: prudent infrastructure spending, cutting welfare, and reforming Medicare and Social Security.
On the other hand, I thought the President’s presentation of the need to repeal and replace Obamacare was astute. He made it clear that this action is not a matter of partisan politics but of necessity. Obamacare is not just bad policy. It is in crisis, with insurance companies pulling out and costs of insurance policies skyrocketing.
Even without more specifics of the repeal and replace proposal, I was very pleased with his comment that legal reforms are needed to protect from unnecessary costs. This is another important drain to the swamp. Malpractice suits play a huge role in generating excessive testing and treatment as well as creating astronomical malpractice insurance and settlement costs that are all passed on to patients. Institutional change of this type can play a huge role in making medical care more affordable.
It was also wonderful to hear the President talk with sympathy about the cycle of violence that plagues our cities, and to do so without blaming it on the police. Again, his message was of unity: the police are also members of the community, and divisive rhetoric has to stop. I would put it more strongly: activists, mayors and State’s Attorneys whose actions have prevented police from providing effective law enforcement in poor neighborhoods have only inflicted greater suffering on those they hypocritically claim to champion. But in this case, the President toned down his message.
Finally, I was both touched and pleased by the way the President recognized those who sacrifice to protect our freedom. I thought his tribute to Senior Chief Ryan Owens was appropriate and heartfelt. My heart went out to Senior Chief Owens’s wife, whose appreciation and grief was open and sincere. It has been eight years since our President showed such deep and open respect and affection for our troops.
It is a shame that her courage and the President’s tribute have been met by despicable attacks from the President’s detractors. The supercilious left could only make fun of him and the widow of Senior Chief Owens for showing emotions they do not share and cannot understand.
I am confident that the President meant it when he ended by asking God to bless the United States of America. This is the President I hoped for.
David Montgomery was formerly Senior Vice President of NERA Economic Consulting. He also served as assistant director of the US Congressional Budget Office and deputy assistant secretary for policy in the US Department of Energy. He taught economics at the California Institute of Technology and Stanford University and was a senior fellow at Resources for the Future.
David Jeffery says
Mr. Trump’s speech referenced above may be a highlight of his tenure to date. Yet it needs to be put in the context of his odious past, fist in the puss temperament, comprehensive ignorance, and fact-free tweeting before first light. So, there’s still room for improvement.
Joan Murray says
It is appalling that David Montgomery is so biased against Democrats that he makes such an outrageous statement as
“the supercilious left could only make fun of him (Trump) and the widow of Senior Chief Owens for showing emotions they do not share and cannot understand.” For Mr. Montgomery to say that liberals have never understood what it is like to lose a loved one during a war is shameful.
And to state that” It has been eight years since our President showed such deep and open respect and affection for our troops.” is ridiculous.
Obama consistently showed the utmost respect for the troops. Trump on the other hand 1) attacked a Gold Star family, 2) told McCain that he was not a war hero because Trump didn’t like people who were captured, and 3) after initially calling the rushed raid in Yemen a success, then blamed the generals on the death of Navy Seal William “Ryan” Owens. Owen’s own father has asked for an investigation into his son’s death.
Trump had four draft deferments during the Vietnam war, and dodged the draft a fifth time because of bone spurs. This is not someone who has held the military in high regard.
I don’t want to read the Spy anymore when the writing is so prejudiced.
David Montgomery says
You seem to have missed this: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/01/former-clinton-volunteer-in-hot-water-after-swipe-at-widow-fallen-seal.html
Deirdre LaMotte says
There will be people who support Trump no matter what. Really, anyone who can speak positively about this lying narcissist obviously is dense and/or so enamered
with corporate tax cuts that they will put up with him . Trump supporters have no character and have put our nation in peril. Odious people, all of them.
David Montgomery says
You consider slightly less than 50% of the voters in the United States to be odious? I am reminded of Pauline Kael’s comment in 1972 that “I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon.”