The Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal ponders what a second Trump term might bring. Two slices:
The best argument for a Trump victory is that it would be suitable penance for the many Democratic failures at home and abroad. A spending-fueled inflation that shrank real wages. Adversaries on the march. Abuses of regulatory power and law enforcement. If Ms. Harris wins, progressives will claim vindication and pursue more of the same—perhaps checked somewhat by a GOP Senate. A Harris defeat would slow the forced march left, at least for a time.
…..
Mr. Trump has instincts but no clear philosophy of government, and his second term will be more of a policy jump ball. Most of his 2017 tax reform will expire at the end of 2025, and he has already complicated renewal by proposing tax giveaways that will make pro-growth provisions harder to finance.
He’s promising more deregulation, which is a big plus. But he wants much higher and across-the-board tariffs, which will introduce uncertainty that would slow growth. His second term could be a struggle between free-market advisers like those in his first term, and the protectionist, industrial policy, pro-Big Labor voices who surround JD Vance.
If Mr. Trump goes with the latter, the GOP will no longer be a party of free markets and smaller government. This is one way the U.S. turns into slow-growth Europe where the major parties are all statist.
Tad DeHaven, of Cato, warns that American businesses now confront modern Caesars. A slice:
The flip side to a president disfavoring particular companies is favoring particular companies. For example, Scott Lincicome notes the Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration’s “process for excluding certain goods from the tariffs suffered from political favoritism, untimeliness, and a lack of transparency.” Another study found that companies supporting Republicans, including Trump, were more likely to receive tariff exemptions. Trump also oversaw billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts for farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs.
Jason Hayes and Timothy Nash explain that rich people in market economies pay their fair share.
Walter Block exposes some of the damage to low-skilled workers by minimum-wage legislation.
