Trump Reality Show Today – Part I

Donald Trump, under obvious prodding from his daughter Ivanka, has actually released a policy proposal. The two-pronged proposal covers paid maternity leave and tax credits for child care. As far as I can make out, the maternity leave proposal simply offers unemployment benefits to mothers during the six weeks that the plan provides for. In addition, the plan provides for an income tax deduction for care of up to four dependents. The tax credit would apply to incomes as high as $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a family. Note that it is an income tax credit. For those families who are on the low end of the income scale, there will be spending rebates of $1,200 per year. Unfortunately, for those receiving the rebate, that $1,200 will only cover about one month’s worth of child care as the annual cost can run as high as $20,000. And for those receiving the tax credit, they will only get that once a year whereas the cost of child care is continual throughout the year.

Since this is a Trump proposal, there was really nothing in the plan that showed how these benefits might be paid for. According to the plan, the maternity leave proposal would be paid for by eliminating waste and fraud in the unemployment insurance program. That really means they have no plan to pay for it. And there was nothing about how these child care tax breaks would be paid for. This is pretty much standard procedure for Trump – from his tax plan to building the wall, there is never any serious detail on how it will all be paid for. Perhaps it will all be paid for by the numerous donations to the Trump Foundation in order to curry favor with the Donald.

In his speech outlining these plans, there was once again another bald-faced lie as he accused Hillary of not having a plan for family leave and child care and saying she “never will”. Of course, Hillary has had detailed plans for both along with how the benefits would be paid for months, outlined on her website but also in her campaign appearances. But no speech is ever complete without at least one whopper of a lie or, as the NY Times euphemistically calls it, “stretching the truth”. The true target of this plan is really wealthy, educated, white women who will benefit the most from the child care tax break. It is a demographic that Trump is getting killed in and, if he has any chance to win the election, he needs to improve his standing with these voters.

For Republicans in general, Trump’s plan is a significant break with the party’s usual position. For most Republicans, paid family leave is an unwelcome burden on employers. So it is good to see that the nominees of both parties are both now on record as supporting it. Whether the Republican party will fall in line remains to be seen.