136 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 36 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 5/24/17

The Trump Budget: cuts to the poor fund tax cuts for the rich: neoliberalism on steroids

By       (Page 1 of 3 pages)   17 comments

dale ruff

Donald Trump, as an alternative to Clinton, was supported because Clinton was a "neoliberal."

visuals/2017/05/2017-05-95661-500-Images-7026_6525577721_67cc558e03.jpg

Neoliberalism is the ideology of the fat cats..................

Today, with the publication of Trump's Budget, which we may view as a moral document, it is clear that his entire economic program is neoliberalism on steroids.

First a brief history of neoliberalism: it was once a restatement of classical liberalism, associated with laissez faire unregulated markets and a prohibition against state intervention. It's most austere articulation was the Austrian School which claimed that state intervention always failed and led to, in Hayek's terms, serfdom.

In the 80's, the Chicago boys and Hayek all traveled to Chile to create the neoliberal model, using brutal force (with thousands killed and disappeared) in the hands of the bloody dictator Pinochet to impose "free market reforms." The result: a human rights catastrophe accompanied by economic collapse and nearly half the population reduced to poverty...and the creation of an instant class of millionaires. The same process was followed in Russia when the drunken dictator Yeltsin brought in conservative, free-market Harvard economists to administer shock therapy.

The result? The creation thru "privatization" or the selling off of public assets at pennies on the dollar to create an instant class of million and billionaires. This was the shortcut to the capital accumulation that is the goal of capitalism. The other result was economic collapse, as Yeltsin shelled Parliament with tanks, banned political parties and critical media, and the GDP fell by 40% and the per capita income fell to a level lower than under Communism, at $2K per year. (Today, after 16 years of Putin's rule, the per capita income is $14K and Russia has bought back many of the assets given away by Yeltsin).

As I am writing this essay, here is the headline from the Washington Post:

"Trump advisers call for privatizing some public assets to build new infrastructure

The Trump administration, determined to overhaul and modernize the nation's infrastructure, is drafting plans to privatize some public assets such as airports, bridges, highway rest stops and other facilities, according to top officials and advisers.

In his proposed budget released Tuesday, President Trump called for spending $200 billion over 10 years to "incentivize" private, state and local spending on infrastructure.

Trump advisers said that to entice state and local governments to sell some of their assets, the administration is considering paying them a bonus."

Almost all roads, bridges and airports are owned by the government, from cities to the Federal government, and airports, for instance, are a source of government revenue which helps keep taxes down. Speaking of keeping taxes down, in the same breath tht privatization is being proposed, Trump's economic advisors are considering raising the Federal gasoline tax. The one dollar day tax cuts a median wage earner will get from the Trump tax plan (Trump will get millions) will be eaten up by such tax hikes.

The planned 200 billion investment (borrowed or funded by selling off public assets) has bipartisan support but the Trump budget shortchanges this investment but cutting funds for infrastructure.

The Post reports: "when Trump's budget proposal was released, Schumer condemned the president's "180-degree turn away from his repeated promise of a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan," saying the budget contains deep cuts in spending on roads, transit projects, public housing and more.

"The fuzzy math and sleight of hand can't hide the fact that the President's $200 billion plan is more than wiped out by other cuts to key infrastructure programs," Schumer said in a statement."

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 2   Valuable 2   Well Said 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Dale Ruff Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

retired, working radical egalitarian/libertarian socialist old school independent, vegan, survivor

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact EditorContact Editor
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Trump Leading 67% to Hillary's 19% in National Poll of 50,000

How Sanders/Stein can win the Presidency: and it's incubating now!

Women's March costs Soros (or is it the CIA?) over half a billion today alone!

Politics as Psychopathology: Trump's Attention Deficit, Oppositional, and Sleep Disorder

The Trump Secret to Wealth: slave labor/ no taxes/ propaganda.

The Enemy IS the People: Critics should shut up and be fired

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend