What's Bernie Sanders' plan for the US economy; not his plan for government spending or taxes, but his plan to get the economy growing? If you are like most American voters, you don't know the answer. And what is Hillary Clinton's plan to get the economy growing? Again, most voters have no idea of the answer. The answer is not much different if you ask about Trump or Rubio or Cruz's plan to get the economy growing. Most voters have no idea what these candidates are promoting with regard to the economy and growth.
There are major differences among these candidates, however, and these differences ought to be guiding the votes of the American people. Sanders has offered no real plan for economic growth other than to raise taxes by huge numbers and to spend the proceeds on infrastructure. That won't work, however. We all learned in 2009 when Obama pushed through his "stimulus" bill that there just aren't infrastructure projects waiting to be built. Sanders' tax increase would siphon cash out of the economy but would never get to the point of putting that cash back to work before real damage was done to drive down growth or even lead to recession. Hillary Clinton's plan for the economy is to continue the policies followed by Obama, policies that got us into this mess of slow or no growth in the first place. Trump is pushing "smart deals" that sound much like protectionism. Those deals would push the cost of everyday goods up to high levels that the average American would find hard to manage. Just imagine how most people will feel when their clothing or their electronic items suddenly cost 50% more than now. Even if people buy a higher percentage of American goods than now, the cost increase will be such that the overall level of purchases will decline. It will be a disaster for the economy. Rubio and Cruz have more free market plans that work to make the USA a more attractive place to do business and which try to promote the creation of new businesses rather than discouraging those new companies the way Obama has done.
The simple truth is that if economic growth is the goal (and it surely ought to be), then voters ought to choose either Rubio or Cruz.
Let's put it this way: Sanders and Clinton focus on economic inequality. They have plans to reduce that inequality not by making the poor and middle income groups more wealthy, but by bringing down the wealthy. We will all be poor, but we will have equality. Rubio and Cruz try to allow everyone the chance to become wealthy. Think of it like this: If Rubio wins and manages to get the middle class to have incomes of $60,000 rather than $45,000 while the wealthy move their incomes from $100,000 to $133,000, the Democrats will not celebrate the improved standard of living for everyone. Instead, they will denounce the increase in income inequality. The Democrats will not be satisfied until everyone is poor.
There are major differences among these candidates, however, and these differences ought to be guiding the votes of the American people. Sanders has offered no real plan for economic growth other than to raise taxes by huge numbers and to spend the proceeds on infrastructure. That won't work, however. We all learned in 2009 when Obama pushed through his "stimulus" bill that there just aren't infrastructure projects waiting to be built. Sanders' tax increase would siphon cash out of the economy but would never get to the point of putting that cash back to work before real damage was done to drive down growth or even lead to recession. Hillary Clinton's plan for the economy is to continue the policies followed by Obama, policies that got us into this mess of slow or no growth in the first place. Trump is pushing "smart deals" that sound much like protectionism. Those deals would push the cost of everyday goods up to high levels that the average American would find hard to manage. Just imagine how most people will feel when their clothing or their electronic items suddenly cost 50% more than now. Even if people buy a higher percentage of American goods than now, the cost increase will be such that the overall level of purchases will decline. It will be a disaster for the economy. Rubio and Cruz have more free market plans that work to make the USA a more attractive place to do business and which try to promote the creation of new businesses rather than discouraging those new companies the way Obama has done.
The simple truth is that if economic growth is the goal (and it surely ought to be), then voters ought to choose either Rubio or Cruz.
Let's put it this way: Sanders and Clinton focus on economic inequality. They have plans to reduce that inequality not by making the poor and middle income groups more wealthy, but by bringing down the wealthy. We will all be poor, but we will have equality. Rubio and Cruz try to allow everyone the chance to become wealthy. Think of it like this: If Rubio wins and manages to get the middle class to have incomes of $60,000 rather than $45,000 while the wealthy move their incomes from $100,000 to $133,000, the Democrats will not celebrate the improved standard of living for everyone. Instead, they will denounce the increase in income inequality. The Democrats will not be satisfied until everyone is poor.
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