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Donald Trump on Budget & Economy
2016 Republican nominee for President; 2000 Reform Primary Challenger for President
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Campaigned for Glass-Steagall; but administration opposes it
I don't love all regulations--no one does--but some problems can be solved only when our government writes and enforces a set of rules.For starters, we should put in place a modern version of Glass-Steagall and separate plain-vanilla banking like
checking accounts and savings accounts from crazy risk-taking on Wall Street. This doesn't have to be partisan. My first cosponsor for a twenty-first-century Glass-Steagall bill was the Republicans' 2008 presidential nominee, Senator John McCain.
In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned on this idea, and, at his insistence, adopting Galss-Steagall was added to the Republican platform. But the Republican leadership has refused to move any such legislation and now President Trump has put in place an
economic team that is headed in the opposite direction.
Here's another idea: The SEC should hire a leader who doesn't work for Wall Street.
Oh, and here's a good one: when CEOs break the law, they ought to go to jail, just like anyone else.
Source: This Fight is Our Fight, by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, p. 93-4
, Apr 18, 2017
Restart engine after worst financial recovery in 65 years
We must honestly acknowledge the circumstances we inherited: 94 million Americans are out of the labor force. Over 43 million people are now living in poverty. More than 1 in 5 people in their prime working years are not working. We have the worst
financial recovery in 65 years.We've lost more than 1/4 of our manufacturing jobs since NAFTA was approved, and we've lost 60,000 factories since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Our trade deficit in goods with the world last year
was nearly $800 billion dollars.
To accomplish our goals at home and abroad, we must restart the engine of the American economy--making it easier for companies to do business in the United States, and much harder for companies to leave.
Right now, American companies are taxed at one of the highest rates anywhere in the world. My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone.
Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
, Feb 28, 2017
We're dying at 1% GDP growth; we don't make things anymore
India is growing at 8%. China is growing at 7%. And that for them is a catastrophically low number. We are growing right around the 1% level. And I think it's going down.Last week, they came out with an anemic jobs report. Look, our country is
stagnant. We've lost our jobs. We've lost our businesses. We're not making things anymore, relatively speaking. Our product is pouring in from China, pouring in from Vietnam, pouring in from all over the world.
GDP is at 1% now, and if [Hillary] got
in, it will be less than zero. But we're bringing it from 1% up to 4%. And I actually think [with my economic plan] we can go higher than 4%. I think you can go to 5% or 6%. And if we do, you don't have to bother asking [about jobs], because we have a
tremendous machine. We will have created a tremendous economic machine once again. To do that, we're taking back jobs. We're not going to let our companies be raided by other countries where we lose all our jobs, we don't make our product anymore. I
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace
, Oct 19, 2016
Economic machine to increase US growth rate to 5% or 6%
Q: Our national debt, as a share of GDP, is now 77%. That's the highest since just after World War II. Under Secretary Clinton's plan, the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says, debt would rise to 86% of GDP over the next 10 years.
Mr. Trump, under your plan, it would rise to 105% of GDP over the next 10 years.TRUMP: Well, I say they're wrong, because I'm going to create tremendous jobs. And we're bringing GDP from, really, 1% [growth rate], which is what it is now, and if she
got in, it will be less than zero. But we're bringing it from 1% up to 4%. And I actually think we can go higher than 4%. I think you can go to 5% or 6%. And if we do, you don't have to bother asking your question, because we will have created a
tremendous economic machine once again, the likes of which we haven't seen in many decades. And people will again go back to work, and we'll have companies that will grow and expand and start from new.
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate in Las Vegas
, Oct 19, 2016
U.S. 1% growth is almost no growth, and due to high taxes
We have no growth in this country. If China has a GDP of 7 percent, it's like a national catastrophe. We're down at 1 percent. And that's, like, no growth. And we're going lower, in my opinion.
A lot of it has to do with the fact that our taxes are so high, just about the highest in the world. And I'm bringing them down to one of the lower in the world.
Source: Second 2016 Presidential Debate at WUSTL in St. Louis MO
, Oct 9, 2016
FactCheck: Fed keeps interest rates low, but apolitically
TRUMP: "We are in a bubble right now. The Fed, by keeping interest rates at this level, is doing political things. The Fed is being more political than Secretary Clinton."THE FACTS: This is a recurrent claim by Trump with no evidence to back it up.
It's the Federal Reserve's job to help improve the economy and to the extent that happens, political leaders may benefit. But presidents can't make the Fed, an independent agency, do anything.
Under former chair Ben Bernanke and current chair
Janet Yellen, the Fed has attracted controversy by pegging the short-term interest rate it controls to nearly zero for seven years. It is still ultra-low at between 0.25% and 0.5%, a rate that some economists worry could spark a stock-market bubble or
inflation. Bernanke was initially appointed by Republican Pres. George W. Bush, and reappointed by Obama.
One reason Yellen is keeping rates low is that, in some ways, she agrees with Trump that hiring needs to keep growing to provide jobs.
Source: U.S.News & World Report on First 2016 Presidential Debate
, Sep 27, 2016
Our jobs are fleeing to Mexico; China uses us as piggy bank
Our jobs are fleeing the country. They're going to Mexico. They're going to many other countries. You look at what China is doing to our country in terms of making our product. They're devaluing their currency, and there's nobody in our government to
fight them. And we have a very good fight. And we have a winning fight. Because they're using our country as a piggy bank to rebuild China, and many other countries are doing the same thing. So we're losing our good jobs, so many of them.
When you look at what's happening in Mexico, a friend of mine who builds plants said it's the eighth wonder of the world. They're building some of the biggest plants anywhere in the world, some of the most sophisticated, some of the best plants.
With the US, as he said, not so much. So Ford is leaving. You see that, their small car division leaving. Thousands of jobs leaving Michigan, leaving Ohio. They're all leaving. And we can't allow it to happen anymore. [See OnTheIssues Fact-Check!]
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
, Sep 26, 2016
Worst recovery since Great Depression; we're in a bubble
We have the worst revival of an economy since the Great Depression. And believe me: We're in a bubble right now. And the only thing that looks good is the stock market, but if you raise interest rates even a little bit, that's going to come crashing
down. We are in a big, fat, ugly bubble. And we better be awfully careful. And we have a Fed that's doing political things. This Janet Yellen of the Fed. The Fed is [being] political by keeping the interest rates at this level.
And believe me: The day Obama goes off, and he leaves, and goes out to the golf course for the rest of his life to play golf, when they raise interest rates, you're going to see some very bad things happen,
because the Fed is not doing their job. The Fed is being more political than Secretary Clinton.
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
, Sep 26, 2016
The Fed should refinance debt to reduce interest payments
Trump boasted how "I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal." When pressed, though, he said a country is different and he didn't mean to renegotiate the U.S. debt, only to "refinance" existing debt. Of course,
refinancing debt saves money only when rates go down, which raises the question of what the Fed should do with rates.Trump wants rates to remain low to prevent the dollar from appreciating, which would bring "major problems."
But another consideration, he noted, was the [interest payments on the] national debt: "What do we do with all of the money that we owe everybody when rates go up and now all of a sudden we have to borrow at two points more? One point more, even, is
devastating. It has to be handled very, very carefully." For the Fed to base interest-rate decisions on the national debt would blur the lines between monetary and fiscal policy. It's heresy by today's standards, but [was done in the 1960s].
Source: Wall Street Journal, "Lean on the Fed?", by Greg Ip
, May 6, 2016
Make economy dynamic; bring back jobs from China & Mexico
We're going to make a dynamic economy from what we have right now. We're going to bring jobs back from Japan, we're going to bring jobs back from China, we're going to bring, frankly, jobs back from Mexico where, as you probably saw,
Nabisco is leaving Chicago with one of their biggest plants, and they're moving it to Mexico. We're going to bring jobs and manufacturing back. We're going to cut costs. We're going to save Social Security, and we're going to save Medicare.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
, Oct 28, 2015
Use increasing debt ceiling as bargaining chip
Q: We're about to have a fight over the government's ability to borrow money, the debt limit. Do you think it's an economic problem if the debt limit is not raised? Will that hurt the economy?
TRUMP: Well, I think what they should do is use the debt limit as a strong negotiating tool to make other changes and to cut costs elsewhere. The Republicans don't know how to negotiate.
Q: But let me ask you about that question of the debt ceiling. Do you think that, if it's breached, that that is an economic problem, leaving aside the question of negotiation?
TRUMP: Well, I don't want to say. And I'll tell you why. We should use it as negotiation. And the problem we have in this country is that we're so predictable.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 interview by Bob Schieffer
, Oct 25, 2015
Strong on debt limit; ask for a pound of flesh
Q: Would you be willing to use a debt limit and risk the possibility of the country going into default to get more spending cuts?TRUMP: OK, I would use the debt limit. I want to be unpredictable, because, you know,
we need unpredictability. Everything is so predictable with our country. But I would be very, very strong on the debt limit. And I could see asking for a very big pound of flesh if I were the Republicans.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Oct 18, 2015
Grow the economy at 6% annually by ending inversions
TRUMP: Under my plan we're going to grow the economy. If China does a 7%, they're having a terrible year. We're saying we can't do a 3% and 4%.Q: But we just had 4% the last quarter.
TRUMP: But if you look at the overall average, we're doing less
than 2% for the year. If China can do 7% -
Q: Right, but an emerging economy is always going to do 6%, 7%. Our sweet spot is 3% to 5%.
TRUMP: Right. If we do 6% or 7% under my plan, everybody benefits in jobs.
Q: We've never had a year of 6% or 7%. How is that gonna look?
TRUMP: Well, number one, corporate inversion is a big deal. There are many companies right now that are talking about very seriously leaving this country.
And you're talking about thousands of jobs.
Q: What you're saying is, you make it all up with growth.
TRUMP: Not all up with growth. We also start cutting.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interview moderated by Chuck Todd
, Oct 4, 2015
Cut defense budget, & entire EPA & Dept. of Education
Q: Are you going to get rid of entire departments?TRUMP: I would get rid of some. For example, the Department of Education. I would certainly get rid of a lot of it. I want local education.
We could save a fortune with Environmental Protection--
Q: what is another agency you'd get rid of?
TRUMP: Even in the military, I'm going to build a military that's much stronger than it is right now.
But you know what? We can do it for a lot less.
Q: So you believe you can spend less money on defense than we do today?
TRUMP: I think we can make our defense much stronger and spend somewhat less money.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interview moderated by Chuck Todd
, Oct 4, 2015
If debt reaches $24T, that's the point of no return
If we have another 3 or 4 years--we're at $8 trillion now--we're soon going to be at $20 trillion. According to the economists--who I'm not big believers in, but, nevertheless, this is what they're saying--that $24 trillion--we're very close--that's the
point of no return. $24 trillion. We will be there soon. That's when we become Greece. That's when we become a country that's unsalvageable. And we're gonna be there very soon. We're gonna be there very soon.
Source: 2015 announcement speeches of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jun 16, 2015
We prospered after 9/11; we'll prosper after Great Recession
What transpired on Wall Street on September 15, 2008, is one day for the history books. I had predicted this would happen about two years ago and again about eight months ago when I appeared on Neal Cavuto's show. That the landscape of Wall Street could
be altered this rapidly is something we should think about. Sept. 15, 2008, was the worst day on Wall Street since right after 9/11 attacks, with a fallout of some financial giants that we thought were untouchable. Here's my view of this situation.
We survived and prospered after 9/11, and we will do the same this time. The components are different, but I believe the government is doing the right thing with this financial mess. They have worked hard and long, but a mess is a mess.
I won't equivocate on that. I saw the indications that the world was in for a tough period of time, so I can't say I'm terribly surprised.
Source: Think Like a Champion, by Donald Trump, p. 83
, Apr 27, 2010
2006: Warned about impending implosion of financial sector
As we've noticed with the recent upheaval on Wall Street, things aren't always as solid as they seem. That calls for individual responsibility and financial intelligence. I have always been wary of the stock market. It's a gamble, but it can be
lucrative, which is the lure.In short, there are no guarantees. That means being alert to nation and world markets. Do your homework daily I shouldn't need to emphasize this if you've paid attention to what's transpired in the United States from
2006 until now, which is late 2008. There was an implosion in the financial sector that was unprecedented in our history. I see it as a wake-up call.
I tried to warn people back in 2006. Now I'm back to tell you loud and clear that this area of
your life is of great importance. We are all businessmen and women, whether you see it that way yet or not. If you like art and can't make money at it, you eventually realize that everything is business, even your art.
Source: Think Like a Champion, by Donald Trump, p. 86
, Apr 27, 2010
Prepare for upcoming crash, bigger than 1929
I hope I’m wrong, but I think we may be facing an economic crash like we’ve never seen before -probably sooner rather than later. The next president could be in office for a stock market crash worse than the one in 1929.
I’m not saying this crash will ruin us, but we have to anticipate it and know how to rebound. Right now I’m not seeing the leadership we’re going to need.
Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p. 26
, Jul 2, 2000
Rent control only benefits a privileged minority
At 100 Central Park South, many tenants were fighting to protect the ultimate in New York real estate: beautiful apartments with great views-at an unbeatable location. Most important, with rent control and rent stabilization, they were enjoying one of
the great windfall subsidies in the free world. Rent control is a disaster for all but the privileged minority who are protected by it. As much as any other single factor, rent control is responsible for the desperate housing crisis that has plagued
NYC for the past 20 years. Like a lot of failed government programs, rent control grew out of a decent idea that ended up achieving exactly the opposite of its intended effect.
Unlike most developers, I don’t advocate eliminating rent control.
I just think there ought to be a means test for anyone living in a rent-controlled apartment. People with incomes above a certain sum would be given a choice between paying a proportionally higher rent for their apartment or moving somewhere else.
Source: The Art of the Deal, by Donald Trump, p.167-69
, Jul 2, 1987
One-time 14.25% tax on wealth, to erase national debt
Trump wants to soak the rich, including himself. He proposed a 14.25% tax yesterday on the net worth of wealthy Americans. He said the one-time tax package would:- Raise $5.7 trillion to erase the nation’s debt and save
$200 billion in annual interest payments
- Use the savings to save Social Security and slash taxes for the middle class
- Increase his personal tax bill by at least $725 million.
Source: (X-ref Tax Reform) Boston Globe, p. A19
, Nov 10, 1999
Predicts 35% boost to economy from eliminating national debt
Financial analysts said that Trump’s proposed tax on assets over $10 million could be a financial disaster, pricking the stock market bubble or risking capital flight out of the country. Trump dismissed the
doom-and-gloom scenarios. “It would not be a shock to the system,” he said, predicting a 35% boost in economic activity after he eliminates the debt, cuts income taxes and erases the inheritance tax.
Source: Boston Globe, p. A19
, Nov 10, 1999
Donald Trump on Personal Finance
FactCheck: Paid income taxes for 3 years out of 5 in 1970s
Clinton said of Trump's tax returns, "Maybe he doesn't want the American people to know that he's paid nothing in federal taxes, because the only years that anybody's ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities
when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax." That's not correct.Trump paid federal income taxes in three out of five years from 1975 to 1979, according to a report to the New Jersey Casino Control
Commission, which viewed Trump's tax returns when the Trump Plaza Corporation applied for a casino license in the state in 1981.
Although the returns were not disclosed, the report indicated that Trump paid $18,714 in taxes on $76,210 in income in
1975, $10,832 in taxes on $24,594 in income in 1976 and $42,386 in taxes on $118,530 in income in 1977. Trump reported income losses of $406,379 in 1978 and $3,443,560 in 1979, and thus paid no federal income tax for those years.
Source: USA Today fact-check on First 2016 presidential debate
, Sep 27, 2016
Not paying income taxes makes me smart
CLINTON: For 40 years, everyone running for president has released their tax returns. You can go and see 39 years of our tax returns. So you've got to ask yourself, why won't he release his tax returns? And I think there may be a couple of reasons.
First, maybe he's not as rich as he says he is. Second, maybe he's not as charitable as he claims to be. Third, maybe he doesn't want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he's paid nothing in federal taxes, because the only
years that anybody's ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax.TRUMP: That makes me smart.
CLINTON: So if
he's paid zero, that means zero for troops, zero for schools or health. And I think probably he's not all that enthusiastic about having the rest of our country see what the real reasons are, because it must be something that he's trying to hide.
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
, Sep 26, 2016
OpEd: 1990s bankruptcy due to ego-based purchases
In 1990 analysis said that of Trump's 22 assets, only 3 were running a profit. He had piled up a remarkable $3.2 billion in debt. The monthly cash balance from all his businesses was tumbling into the red. His net worth: negative $295 million.
The bad news seemed to weigh on his mind. "Nobody wants to write the positives," he shouted to the crowd. "Over the years, I've surprised a lot of people. The largest surprise is yet to come."
He prided himself on buying or building the very best, sometimes overpaying out of faith in the Trump name and an ever expanding market.
His propensity for purchases that played to his ego had been especially evident in his acquisition of one of New York's most storied properties, the Plaza Hotel.
Source: Trump Revealed, by Michael Kranish & Mark Fisher, p.189
, Aug 23, 2016
Keep mortgage interest deduction; knock out carried interest
Q: What tax loopholes would you close?TRUMP: I'm going to be bringing back jobs from China, from Japan, from India, from Brazil. This is going on at a level that you have never seen before. We now have corporate inversions, where companies are moving
out of the United States. And they will be moving out in big numbers if we don't do something quickly. And my plan stops all of that.
Q: So, you want to close the loopholes for tax havens?
TRUMP: And I want to bring back trillions of dollars that
is stuck in other countries that we won't let back in because we don't have intelligent people running our country.
Q: What about other loopholes on the personal side? Mortgage interest stays in there? Charitable giving?
TRUMP: That's right.
Mortgage interest deduction would stay, absolutely. Carried interest, though, would not stay. One of the ways that the hedge fund guys who make a lot of money pay very little tax, the carried interest deduction. I'm knocking that out.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 interview by Bob Schieffer
, Nov 8, 2015
Sought NYC deal with $4M property tax break
Trump was partial to sharp angles, shiny surfaces, and uncluttered design, he admired One Astor Plaza's sleek functionality. The key to the whole shiny project would be a big tax break, which Trump first tried to win from the state government in Albany.
When this approach failed, Trump turned to the city bureaucracy, where development officials helped him with a cleverly engineered scheme. Under this plan, the state's Urban Development Corporation would actually own the hotel and lease it to Trump.
The agency, which was tax exempt, could keep the property off the city assessment rolls. Trump and Hyatt would save more than $4 million per year.
This truth wasn't lost on other hoteliers. President of the Americana Hotel, complained that the deal was "immoral and unfair." Harry Helmsley wondered aloud whether "maybe too much is being given" to the Trumps.
Source: Never Enough, by Michael D`Antonio, p.103
, Sep 22, 2015
We owe $19T and we need a businessman to bring us back
Q [to Fiorina]: You've dismissed Donald Trump as an entertainer. Would you feel comfortable with Donald trump's finger on the nuclear codes?FIORINA: I think Mr. Trump is a wonderful entertainer. He's been terrific at that business. One of the benefits
of a presidential campaign is our judgment and temperament is revealed over time and under pressure.
Q: And his temperament regarding the nuclear codes?
FIORINA: That's not for me to answer; it is for the voters of this country to answer.
TRUMP:
As far as temperament, I think I have a great temperament. I built a phenomenal business with incredible, iconic assets. And I may be an entertainer, because I've had tremendous success with #1 bestsellers all over the place. But I will tell you this:
What I am far and away greater than an entertainer is a businessman, and that's the kind of mindset this country needs to bring it back, because we owe $19 trillion right now, $19 trillion, and you need this kind of thinking to bring our country back.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
, Sep 16, 2015
Known for "You're Fired!" but it's unpleasant & disruptive
It's ironic that I'm most known for the phrase, "You're fired!" [the catchphrase from The Apprentice]. It shows the power of television. I've come to terms with being so closely identified with a phrase that no one likes to hear or say. Firing anyone,
even the worst, most unpleasant, inept jerk, isn't fun. It can also be very disruptive to your business. Making the decision to fire an employee can be agonizing, and actually firing the worker can be tough to carry out.
Firing an employee can leave your business in a hole; that's why so many companies hang on to less- than- desirable workers. To replace an employee, you have to go through the entire costly and time- consuming hiring process again.
But frequently, you have no choice. If your business is to move forward, unproductive people must go.
Firing can be an essential and responsible business decision. It isn't pleasant, but lopping off a branch can save the tree.
Source: Trump 101, by Donald Trump, p. 32-3
, Oct 20, 2006
Money is part of your reward for succeeding
I'm the last person you would expect to downplay the importance of money, since I've been fortunate to earn lots of it. People associate me with money, and it's given me a remarkable life.
But making money should not be your primary purpose because if it is, you can end up with little else.
In reality, most of us need to make money; we have bills to pay. However, other objectives can be equally, or more, important, including the stimulation and satisfaction you receive from your work and its challenges.
There's also the pleasure of helping others and doing good or the opportunity to learn, grow, and deal with outstanding people, to name just a few.
Source: Trump 101, by Donald Trump, p. 85-6
, Oct 20, 2006
In early 1990s, I was $9B in debt; but I never went bankrupt
In the early 1990s, I had some financial troubles. In fact, I was $9 billion in debt. This amount of indebtedness would have crushed most people, but it made me determined to fight back. I took an attitude check and resolved to remain positive about my
circumstances. I knew the conditions would change for the better, and they certainly have.I honestly believe that my attitude, willingness to work hard, and determination pulled me through. Things are so much better now than they were back then, and
I came out of it better than I had been at my previous best.
The most important lesson I learned from that ordeal was that I could handle pressure. At that time, many of my friends also fell deeply in debt. Some went bankrupt.
Despite my tremendous debt and all the pressure, I never went bankrupt. I was able to work it out, and I learned I could take the heat. You don't know what pressure is until you owe billions of dollars to banks and they all want their money at once.
Source: Trump 101, by Donald Trump, p.122-3
, Oct 20, 2006
Optimistic about future of Atlantic City
A fact that’s gotten lost in all of the adverse publicity I encountered in 1990 is that, on the whole, my Atlantic City ventures have been extremely successful. Despite those tough times, I remain extremely optimistic about Atlantic City, and I’ll tell
you why. If the town can draw tens of millions of people and generate many billion in revenues and tax dollars at a time when there is so much about the area that seems designed to keep people out, think of what will happen when improvements are made.
It’s easy for people who’ve never been there to forget that crowds of people continue to pour in, by bus, by car, by helicopter, from almost everywhere east of the Mississippi. The maddening thing is that there’s really no excuse for the way the town
has developed. Atlantic City represents a unique situation; it is like no other town in America. In most places you’ll find ideas but not enough money to carry them out. In Atlantic City there is plenty of money, but there are almost no ideas.
Source: Surviving at the Top, p.164-66
, Jul 2, 1990
Page last updated: Mar 03, 2018