President Trump with Air Force One in the background. White House photo

By Papa Doug Manchester

For the first time in decades we have an opportunity before us to form a vision of a stronger economy at home, a more secure place in the world, and a greater chance of success for all. From the struggles of inner cities and rust belt communities, to the beautiful coast of San Diego, we have a renewed hope of prosperity thanks to the capitalist approach of our current government — a strategy that we have not had before in the oval office.

Leaders in business have also acknowledged this. Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris stated that President Donald Trump was leading “the most pro-business administration since the founding fathers. That language of business is being spoken at the White House.” Finally, America the beautiful, the greatest nation on earth, has re-positioned itself in the national and global economy as pro-business, pro-jobs and pro-America again.

Economists for the Trump administration have proposed sweeping reforms in tax, trade, energy and regulatory policies that would boost growth to 3.5 percent per year on average, well above the 2 percent growth rate currently projected by government forecasters. We can do this. We’ve done it before. Growth averaged at least 3.5 percent per year in the last 55 years between World War II and 2000. With faster growth, we could provide 25 million more people with jobs in the workforce over the next decade.

I agree whole-heartedly with Trump’s plan and believe that manufacturing jobs will be brought back to the United States as a result of the tax policy and regulatory reforms. Over-regulation costs our economy $2 trillion a year and reduces average household wealth by almost $15,000. When small and large businesses alike have lower tax burdens, they’re better positioned to hire more people. Corporations and industries can transact more fluidly without paddling through time-intensive red-tape and legalities of regulations. This makes companies more productive, empowering them to hire more people and pay higher wages.

One strategy is to have a pro-growth tax plan where every income group receives a tax cut. Currently, millions of Americans are being removed from the income tax rolls and low-income Americans are paying no income tax at all. The greatest percentage reduction in tax goes to working and middle class taxpayers. If we lower the business tax rate to 15 percent from the current rate of 35 percent — one of the highest in the world — and reduce the repatriation tax to 10 percent, we could bring trillions of dollars back into the U.S. economy by bringing companies back to America.

The Trump pro-growth tax plan provides child-care deductions for children up to 13 years of age with an income cap, so that new deductions apply only to those with the greatest need. The plan also eliminates the carried-interest loophole currently benefiting Wall Street and the estate “death tax,” which falls especially hard on small businesses and farmers.

In addition to modifying taxes, I applaud Trump’s plan for a trillion-dollar infusion of funding to address our nation’s infrastructure. The time is now to address crumbling bridges, overflowing sewage drains, and rusting railroad tracks. We have become too accepting of decay, from urban traffic congestion to slow-moving trains to flights that are often disrupted due to outdated air-traffic-control systems. Making America’s infrastructure great again will provide millions of good-paying jobs to Americans everywhere. In San Diego, America’s Finest City, we must fix our deteriorating roads, sidewalks and storm drains, and also improve our park lands. The effort, already budgeted and approved, will add thousands of jobs to our local economy. Let’s get to work!

The president has also proposed an increase in military spending. For San Diegans, such an increase would be a tremendous boost to our military and for all of the corporations and industries in the military supply chain. It would mean good-paying jobs for tens of thousands of people in our community and a significant positive impact on our local economy.

As it pertains to energy, I believe we can become the world’s leader in energy production with a policy that will make us energy independent, creating millions of new jobs, and protecting clean air and clean water. We have one of the world’s most diverse resource bases — from abundant coal, oil, and natural gas, to geothermal, solar and wind. We are also the world’s leader in energy technologies like nuclear power.

Trump economists have stated that lifting unnecessary restrictions on all sources of American energy (such as coal and onshore and offshore oil and gas) will increase GDP by more than $100 billion annually, add over 500,000 new jobs annually, and increase annual wages by more than $30 billion over the next seven years. Lifting these restrictions will increase federal, state and local tax revenues by almost $6 trillion over four decades and increase total economic activity by more than $20 trillion over the next 40 years.

Above all, we need to get to work and ensure that America’s low-income communities step into prosperity with more affordable housing, better education, and more job opportunities. In addition, America’s middle class must find pathways to economic stability through a renewed emphasis on home-grown products and services, a return of manufacturing jobs to the United States, and execution of the toughest and smartest trade deals on behalf of American workers.

I believe we can restore confidence and strength in U.S. jobs and reinforce our belief that America leads the world in innovation, imagination and a commitment to succeed. I envision a nation that once again is proud to have products MADE IN THE USA. Let’s Get To Work!

Article from the Times of San Diego