Of all the Reform candidates on offer, Donald Trump would seem to have the
best claim to being Ross Perot's logical successor. Both men prospered in
politically sensitive industries, although Trump is not quite the welfare
billionaire Perot is; both men think this background gives them special
insight into the workings of the economy as a whole; and this insight,
unsurprisingly, tends to be statist and protectionist. (Incidentally, look
for more Trump attacks on Bill Bradley, whose 1986 tax reform repealed a
lot of real-estate tax breaks to devastating effect for the industry.)
Both Trump and Perot, of course, also have egos that should get their own
zip codes.
We suppose it's a waste of time to analyze the economics of Donald Trump's
proposal for a "one-time wealth tax" of 14.25 percent on the wealthiest
one percent of the population. We could question whether eliminating the
national debt is so important or even a good idea; we could ask how Trump
got the idea that the wealthiest one percent of the economy owns "90
percent" of the country's wealth, when from 1983 to 1995 that figure
stayed in the low 30s; we could warn that capital would flee the country
before his plan was enacted, with disastrous consequences for the stock
market and the dollar; we could question his math. But the real problem
with Trump's plan isn't economic. It's moral. He's proposing outright
confiscation of wealth, a "one-time" act of grand larceny. It is the sort
of tactic used by dictators in countries with insecure property rights.
But then, the idea of a strongman taking charge of the country has always
been part of the Reform Party's appeal. It figures that the same party
that's brought us banana-republic politics should bring us economics to
match.
We hear the Clinton administration is demanding an amnesty for illegal
immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who have come here
since 1995. Counting their family members, that's about one million
people-and a pretty big policy change to proceed without much debate.
We're sure that this has nothing to do with Al Gore's election prospects.
And we're sure that, with NRCC chairman Tom Davis co-sponsoring an amnesty
bill, Republicans can be counted on to do the compassionate thing.
Guess who's been holding the line on education in the negotiations between
Congress and the White House? None other than Arlen Specter. The
Pennsylvania Republican is resisting the administration's scheme to
finance the hiring of 100,000 teachers. Will he prevail? Not proven — but
not likely.
