The essays, analyses and opinions presented as Community Voices express the perspectives of their authors on topics of interest and importance to the community, and are not intended to reflect perspectives on behalf of Salish Current.
Tariff talk, tax pledges, campaign promises continue as Trump administration prepares to take charge.
Voters are still dealing with a wide range of emotions in the wake of the presidential election. But whether they feel joy or disappointment, they share an apprehension in their pocketbooks.
According to the 2024 GOP platform, Trump wants to end inflation, bring more manufacturing back to the U.S., enact large tax cuts for workers and stop taxing social security. He promised that service workers who earn tips will no longer be taxed on them. Trump also wants to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which is set to expire in 2025. This would continue to give larger tax cuts to corporations and some of the highest earners in the country.
The Democratic party has an economic plan suited for the working class, not just the top earners. According to the 2024 Democratic Party Platform, “Democrats will protect everyone earning less than $400,000 a year from any tax increase; and we will fight to protect and expand other tax benefits for working people and families with children.” This may still guide the Democrats in Congress.
Trump’s tariff strategy has even taken a new turn since the election. He first proposed increasing tariffs on all imported goods, upping them between 10% and 20%. He recently pledged a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, as well as a 10% increase on Chinese goods. The idea is that tariffs will stimulate American manufacturing. He says the tariffs on our neighboring countries are incentive for them to improve border security.
A significant worry around tariffs is that companies will continue outsourcing to other countries while pushing the added costs of tariffs onto consumers.
“Tariffs are a mistake,” said Western Washington University economics Professor Mike Miller. “Most of the costs of the tariff will be borne by American citizens.”
However, Miller thinks Trump’s overall economic plan is better than the plan offered by Vice President Kamala Harris. He believes that lowering taxes for the corporations and top earners is a good decision by the Trump administration.
“If the lower tax and security of having taxes in place leads more people to be entrepreneurial, to work harder, be willing to earn more money, they could actually raise the amount of work that’s done, raise the revenue, which in turn will not affect the deficit,” Miller said.
Others are more wary. Ryan Ederer, a business student at Western Washington University, is concerned that Trump’s plan is not for the average person and only benefits the top one percent.
“I don’t think people who have a lot of money should get their taxes lower,” Ederer said. “It just makes the rich more rich and doesn’t help the people who need opportunities and haven’t had the chance to get those as much as people with a lot of money.”
In a reflection done by Northern Trust Investment Bank, financial analysts believe tax relief will boost economic growth in the short term, but not in the long term.
The Trump administration’s plan to lower inflation centers around the production of oil and natural gas, with the idea that by lowering the price of gas, groceries and other goods will become less expensive. Trump wants to roll back parts of the Green New Deal and lift restrictions on American energy production in order to increase output.
Other planned economic actions include cracking down on “wasteful government spending,” stopping illegal immigration which he claims has boosted the prices of housing and healthcare, and end global conflict in order to lower the prices of commodities.
Whether these economic policies work or not, they will still need to go through the legislative process. While the GOP has the majority in Congress and the Senate, the margin isn’t large enough to stifle Democrats. Top earners and the middle and lower classes all have a stake.
— By Miles Vander Vennet
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