According to numerous economists and officials from the Center for American Progress (CAP), Trump’s proposed policies would decimate the middle class. His plan would hike costs by $2,500 for average households while lavishing tax breaks on the ultra-wealthy. Last week, he proposed a policy that could gouge middle-class families with tax increases up to $8,300, all while the wealthiest Americans reap massive windfalls.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
The rich pay less, and America pays more. That’s the agenda of the twice-impeached convicted felon and former President Donald Trump.
According to numerous economists and officials from the Center for American Progress (CAP), Trump’s proposed policies would decimate the middle class. His plan would hike costs by $2,500 for average households while lavishing tax breaks on the ultra-wealthy. Last week, he proposed a policy that could gouge middle-class families with tax increases up to $8,300, all while the wealthiest Americans reap massive windfalls.
Grocery and gas prices are poised to skyrocket under Trump’s disastrous economic vision, compounding the betrayal of his unfulfilled job promises from 2018. Officials at the Biden-Harris campaign said American families cannot withstand Trump’s broken economic promises and punitive tax hikes.
“Donald Trump’s economic agenda is nothing short of catastrophic for middle-class Americans,” Biden-Harris spokesman James Singer said. “He is corrupt and a disaster, enriching the ultra-wealthy at the expense of everyone else. American families can’t afford Trump’s broken promises, trickle-down lies, and middle-class tax increases.”
The CAP underscored the stark contrast between Trump’s reckless approach and President Joe Biden’s strategic rebuilding of America’s industrial base. Biden’s administration has combined targeted tariffs and national investment, spurring unprecedented factory growth and a manufacturing job boom exceeding pre-pandemic levels. CAP officials noted that this strategy is delivering quality jobs nationwide, showcasing the power of federal investment, regulation, procurement, and trade in revitalizing American competitiveness.
Officials said Biden’s tariffs are laser-focused on protecting key future industries like semiconductors and clean energy technologies from China’s predatory practices. The calculated, strategic approach contrasts sharply with Trump’s chaotic, knee-jerk trade policies. International allies are now mirroring Biden’s decisive measures against China.
Officials opined that Trump’s recycled tactics from his first term—damaging alliances and failing to spur manufacturing or job growth—are poised to worsen. His latest plan hinges on sprawling, untargeted tariffs that would slam families with tax hikes and fuel inflation. Wall Street analysts warn that Trump’s tariffs could spike the inflation rate by 2.5 percentage points.
Analysts said Trump’s ludicrous proposal to replace all income taxes with tariffs is mathematically impossible. If enacted, it would balloon income inequality to unprecedented levels. Middle-income households would face tax hikes between $5,100 and $8,300, while the top 0.1 percent would enjoy a $1.5 million annual tax cut. In a closed-door meeting, Trump even suggested an “all tariff policy” to eliminate income tax—a notion that economist Paul Krugman estimated would require an absurd 133 percent tariff rate on imports.
The progressive income tax system ensures that higher-income Americans pay a fairer share. Tariffs, conversely, are regressive, crushing low-income families. If tariffs replaced income tax, the bottom 90 percent of families would see tax hikes, while the top 10 percent would benefit immensely. This regressive scheme would slash income for the bottom 20 percent by 25 percent while boosting the top 1 percent’s income by 20 percent.
Trump’s tax blueprint, scrapping the Affordable Care Act, and imposing sweeping tariffs would result in a net $1,600 tax hike for middle-income families. Conversely, the top 0.1 percent—earning over $4.5 million annually—would enjoy a $325,000 tax cut.
Biden campaign officials starkly contrast the candidates’ trade policies. “President Biden’s strategic tariffs and manufacturing investments are igniting an industrial renaissance, creating good-paying jobs across America,” Singer insisted. “Former President Trump’s reckless, untargeted tariff-and-tax-cut schemes would perpetuate failed trade policies, raising taxes on families already crushed by inflation.”