Jonathon Trugman

Jonathon Trugman

Politics

A can-do attitude from Trump will bring the change we need

We have a new president, now how will his economic policies change the discussions around your kitchen table?

Wasting no time on the day of his meeting with President Obama at the White House two days after the election, President-elect Donald Trump and his team announced that Dodd-Frank will be replaced with new policies to encourage economic growth and job creation.

That’s something I have rallied for in this column for years!

What that means for the average American is easier access to the mortgage market, and to traditional small-business capital loans and lines of credit to start and grow new and existing businesses.

And it could mean much better growth for the overall economy, not just for the elites of Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

An offshoot of that could mean better-paying jobs, and more of them.

It also means home prices, that for many remain underwater, will likely rise substantially .

Trump has pledged to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare, which, as everyone in America knows, is anything but “affordable.” Last month, it was announced that ObamaCare premiums would be skyrocketing 22 percent for 2017.

Premiums, co-pays and deductibles have also increased, while access to numerous medicines has become more difficult. That’s a toxic combination for health care.

If Trump can create a nationally competitive health insurance market in which people can pick plans that are right for them and their stage of life, average Americans will get more competitive and less costly care.

If successful, it means more money in family pockets, which means maybe a night at the movies, or dinner out, or the family vacation that has been put off.

Trump has a tall order to fix this economy for all Americans, but especially for the forgotten — those left behind by Obama’s ‘hope and change.’

This will be his most complicated challenge, due to the complex regulatory structure assembled by the ObamaCare prevaricators, but one that will save households real money.

On the subject of lower taxes, we spoke with Larry Kudlow, one of President Reagan’s economic architects in the prosperous ’80s and today one of Trump’s economic advisers.

The president-elect’s pledge to lower corporate tax rates will be a boon for millions of Americans. “The biggest beneficiary is the middle-income wage-earner, where 70 percent to 100 percent of the benefits go to the wage-earner in the form of increases in wages and benefits,” Kudlow said. “Numerous studies have borne this out” he added.

US companies will have less incentive to leave the country to avoid today’s onerous taxes, and many companies will be compelled to expand here instead of overseas. That equals more jobs and better pay for Americans.

This will not be an all-or-nothing initiative, but if 50 percent of the companies stay here instead of leaving, and many reinvest their newfound capital from lower corporate taxes, the economic expansion will be great for manufacturing jobs, plumbers, electricians, contractors and office workers.

Both will help drive wages higher, a welcome reprieve from the Obama years.

Two key points Kudlow made didn’t get enough coverage during Trump’s campaign.

“[A] lower income tax plan will increase take-home pay, as will the increase in standard deductions,” Kudlow pointed out.

That appears to be the hidden gem in Trump’s tax plan.

If approved by what should be a very agreeable Congress, the new lower tax brackets of 12 percent, 25 percent and 33 percent will help the middle class very substantially, Kudlow went on to say.

Most people are unaware that their take-home pay will increase substantially under Trump’s plan. And who doesn’t like to keep more of what they make?

President-elect Trump has a tall order to fix this economy for all Americans, but especially for the forgotten — those left behind by Obama’s “hope and change.”

For decades, I’ve favored having a businessman or woman in the White House with a propensity for getting things done — not the usual rhetoric-babbling politicians.

I think we will see the some of the same “can-do” attitude that Trump showed when, after six years of city government inaction, he got the Wollman Rink in Central Park rebuilt in just four months — and under budget.