Breaking

Analysis: Trump's big power move leaves workers in limbo
Aug 10, 2020 4 mins, 7 secs
His executive actions appear hurriedly written and thought out — designed for a political flourish rather than as a sound foundation for governing.

While the President claims to have stepped in to protect American workers, his actions may not deliver the help Americans need -- especially since his memorandum on unemployment benefits actually lowers federal payments from the $600 level under a previous Congressional package and his order for "assistance to renters and homeowners" does not extend the eviction moratorium that has already expired.

That is a process that could take weeks until Trump and Democrats reassess the political fallout of the clash and one side decides it has to break for political reasons.

The President's move, for instance, to defer payroll tax contributions for some Americans is already faltering amid Constitutional arguments that only Congress sets tax policy and signs of wariness among many companies and the fear of saddling employees with a big end-of-year bill if deductions are halted.

View Trump and Biden head-to-head polling

Meanwhile, Trump's plan to extend special federal unemployment benefits, albeit at a lower level, rests on states finding more money for laid-off workers and is sure to be undercut by the busted budgets of governors who have seen treasuries cleaned out by the fight against the coronavirus.

"Well, if they don't, they don't," Trump said on Saturday about governors agreeing to his plan.

And we're going to save American jobs and provide relief to the American workers," Trump said on Saturday, repeatedly and, either by accident or design, misleadingly referring to the actions, which lack the weight of congressionally-passed law, as "bills."

From a political perspective, after months taking heat over his botched pandemic leadership, Trump at least looked proactive and tried to position himself as a voice for working Americans as he trails in Midwestern swing states.

But if already obvious deficiencies in his executive action strategy do materialize and money fails to reach the unemployed quickly, the saga may only reinforce his reputation for incompetence.

And long-term, Trump's moves could do much more than just harm his own political standing.

Many of the measures he signed come with serious long-term consequences -- cutting the payroll tax could worsen the already shaky finances of Social Security -- that will unfold years after Trump leaves office.

And they involve power grabs that challenge Constitutional norms -- but that are ruled legal by a White House Counsel's office that often accommodates Trump's belief that a President can do what he wants.

Praise from many Republicans over Trump's move also reflected the hypocrisy of many conservatives who raised the alarm when President Barack Obama flexed executive power but meekly go along with this President's own far more flamboyant power grabs.

Confusion from Trump's own advisers

One of Trump's top economic advisers, Larry Kudlow, threw out a bewildering collection of figures -- ranging from $700 to $800 to $1,200 -- apparently conflating the maximum ceiling of state and federal benefits and a payroll tax holiday -- that represent an absolute best cast scenario for the President's scheme.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Kudlow said the White House hadn't even asked which states could afford to pay $100 a week to workers in benefits -- the amount Trump is demanding states shoulder as part of his plan for a reduced $400 in federal payments.

"We will probably find that out today and tomorrow," Kudlow said.

Trump's memorandum calls on states to pay out 25% of the total federal unemployment benefit of $400.

But if a majority of Americans take the position that the lack of a deal is a typical foul up in Congress with both sides playing politics, Democratic leaders may have miscalculated less than three months before Election Day.

In either case, and whether Trump is being disingenuous or not, the spectacle of politicians squabbling while millions of laid-off Americans struggle is not a good look for either party at a fraught national moment.

House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump's actions, which required the federal government only to study the issue of rent forgiveness — far short of the President's claims of an eviction moratorium, were characterized by "meagerness" and "weakness."

"Either the President doesn't know what he's talking about -- clearly, his aides don't know what he is talking about -- or something's very wrong here about meeting the needs of the American people at this time," Pelosi said on "State of the Union" on Sunday.

Administration officials argued that federal unemployment payments of $600 a week were acting as a disincentive for people to get back to work — despite the fact that the coronavirus is still raging in many regions, forcing local officials to impose limits on business activities in an effort to get it under control.

While Trump claimed to be standing between millions of Americans and penury, Pelosi accused the White House of callously underestimating the toll of the crisis on Americans.

"We were willing to say, we will come down a trillion.

RECENT NEWS

SUBSCRIBE

Get monthly updates and free resources.

CONNECT WITH US

© Copyright 2024 365NEWSX - All RIGHTS RESERVED