Is It Possible To Sustain the American Dream Under Trump’s Policies? Experts Weigh In
Written by
Kerra Bolton
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Trump’s policies reflect a fiscally conservative approach to achieving the “American Dream” that would depend on individual circumstances, financial strategies and a broad economic environment. However, the former president’s policies have been criticized for favoring high-income earners, making it challenging for many Americans to save, invest and build wealth — three pillars of the American dream.
Wealth Building
The American dream is driven by money — how much you earn, spend, save and invest.
Fiscal conservatives believe it’s easier to achieve your financial goals and priorities if you pay fewer government taxes.
“Most personal success comes from our own hard work, long-term planning, avoiding major mistakes and seeing and taking advantage of opportunities when they arise,” said Dustin Siggins, founder of Proven Media Solutions and a former political journalist.
Making his 2017 tax reforms permanent is a centerpiece of Trump’s reelection campaign. These reforms included eliminating the personal exemption in favor of nearly doubling the standard tax deduction to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. They also limited local and state income tax deductions to $10,000.
“History has shown over the last fifty years that any attempts to spark the economy by advantaging the highest earners fails because that wealth never actually ‘trickles down,'” said Cheyenne Hunt, a Gen Z economic expert and attorney.
Economic Stability and Growth
Economic stability and employment growth are among the chief components of achieving the American dream.
Trump’s solutions include permanently reducing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%. Economists for the Tax Foundation, a public policy watchdog, said that lowering the tax rate for companies leaves more resources for businesses to reinvest in creating jobs and opportunities.
However, other economists, like Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at the Pacific Research Institute, said Trump’s economic policies are contradictory.
“We need fiscal discipline,” Winegarden said. “We’re spending so much that the value of the dollar is better spent in the private than the public sector.”
Education
Sustaining the American dream traditionally required access to affordable, high-quality education, a component of upward mobility.
Proponents of Trump’s policies said his support for school choice, reduced federal oversight and allowing parents to use 529 savings plans to pay for private school would improve overall classroom quality.
However, critics contend that siphoning money from public schools creates a privatized, two-tiered education system, leaving children from low-income families at a significant disadvantage.
Homeownership
Buying a home to raise your children, selling or renting it as an income stream and passing it on to your children is another component of the traditional American dream.
The Trump campaign recently proposed lowering housing costs by encouraging new housing construction outside of cities and suburbs, where the land is cheaper.
Healthcare Affordability
Trump recently shifted from wanting to weaken the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as “Obamacare,” to strengthening it. Trump’s 2017 tax laws eliminated financial penalties for those who choose not to participate in the federal healthcare insurance program.
Immigration
Embedded in the American dream are the millions of families who came to the United States to achieve a better life for themselves and their children. However, immigration laws remain at the center of a heated national conversation.
Trump said he would again end the practice of releasing immigrants to the community while they wait for their court hearing, commonly known as “catch and release.” The former President also said he would reinstate a policy requiring asylum seekers from Central America to remain in Mexico while their claims were decided.
Consumer Spending
Accumulating the latest and most expensive status symbols, such as cars and gadgets, is also part of the traditional American dream.
To encourage consumer spending and lower the cost of goods, Trump said he would continue to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports. Trump also recently said he would impose up to 20% in tariffs, double the 10% he initially recommended, to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.
Retirement and Estate Taxes
The sunset of the American dream includes relaxing during your golden years through pension, Social Security, investments and other retirement income before passing your assets on to your children.
Former President Trump said he wouldn’t cut Social Security benefits, but he hasn’t proposed significant expansions to the federal subsidy. Nevertheless, he advocated for addressing issues of theft and bad management within federal entitlement programs.
Finally, President Trump doubled the estate tax exemption to nearly $11.2 million for individuals and $22.4 million for married couples to pass on to their heirs.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. For more coverage on this topic, please check out Is It Possible To Sustain the American Dream Under Harris’s Policies — Experts Weigh In.
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