Donald Trump’s New Tax Promise: Eliminating Income Taxes for Americans Abroad

[webfact]

After turbulent year, Trump to tout strong economy in speech to Congress

By Steve Holland

 

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks before a luncheon for ambassadors to the United Nations Security Council at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 29, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, battling a probe into his campaign's alleged ties with Russia and struggling to sell Americans on his leadership abilities, will take credit for U.S. economic gains in the past year in an address to Congress on Tuesday night.

 

Facing a deadline on an immigration controversy and strong Democratic opposition, Trump will also call for a bipartisan compromise of the type that has eluded him during a first year in office marked by heated political battles.

 

Trump will visit Capitol Hill to deliver his first State of the Union speech at 9:10 p.m. (0210 GMT on Wednesday).

 

In preparing for the event, Trump told U.S. television network anchors that he would offer a message of unity, in what would be a rarity for the politically polarizing president.

 

"I would consider it a great achievement if we could make our country united," he told the anchors during a lunch, according to comments released by the White House.

 

Aides said the Republican president would use the televised speech to tout the benefits of a tax overhaul approved by the Republican-controlled Congress in December that was his first major legislative victory.

 

"The economy will be front and centre," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told NBC News on Tuesday.

 

The atmosphere in the House of Representatives chamber where Trump will speak could be tense. Several Democratic lawmakers have said they will boycott the event. Some Democratic women who will attend plan to wear black in support of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.

 

Ahead of Trump's speech, Republicans and Democrats were deeply divided over immigration, which has been linked to congressional efforts to pass a spending bill. Lawmakers face a Feb. 8 deadline to reach a compromise on the issue and pass a new budget measure to avoid a second government shutdown after a brief closure earlier this month.

 

To attract Democratic votes for an immigration deal, Trump has said he is open to letting "Dreamers," a group of immigrants brought into the country illegally as children, stay in the United States.

 

In return, he has demanded funding for his long-proposed wall along the border with Mexico and measures to curb family sponsorship of immigrants, proposals that have failed to gain traction with Democrats in the past.

 

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said the two sides had made little progress so far in bridging differences on immigration.

 

"We didn't agree on anything," Durbin said after a meeting with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Monday.

 

RUSSIA PROBE

 

Trump will also promote a $1.7 trillion plan to rebuild America's aging roads and other infrastructure, but he is not expected to offer many details.

 

Trump is expected to address the various global issues that have preoccupied his administration, such as the challenge posed by North Korea's nuclear and weapons programs, and Iran's clout in the Middle East.

 

The speech comes as the president is buffeted by a series of headlines about U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether Trump or his aides colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

 

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the campaign using hacking and propaganda to attempt to tilt the race in Trump's favour. Russia has denied meddling. Trump, who has called Mueller’s probe a “witch hunt,” has denied any collusion with Russia or that he has obstructed justice in his actions related to the federal investigation.

 

Americans, at the same time, are voicing concerns about Trump's fitness for office. Opinion polls show his job approval ratings are about 40 percent, a number that is alarming to Republicans as they seek to maintain control of the U.S. Congress in midterm elections in November.

 

Leaders of the two parties had sharply different expectations for the speech. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was "excited" to hear a State of the Union speech when things were so promising.

 

"It's really encouraging to be able to come and hear an upbeat tone at a State of the Union," Ryan told reporters. "Economic confidence is coming back to America."

 

Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, said Trump's theme of a "safe, strong and proud America" did not reflect reality.

 

"That may be the theme, but that's not what has happened over the last year," he said, adding that Trump had alienated U.S. allies, hollowed out the diplomatic corps and increased the national debt with tax legislation.

 

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump should thank his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, for the strong economic outlook. "Like many things in life, he inherited the healthy economy," Schumer said of Trump.

 

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Susan Cornwell, Amanda Becker and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Frances Kerry and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-31

[Get Real]

50 minutes ago, webfact said:

will take credit for U.S. economic gains in the past year in an address to Congress on Tuesday night.

A great man that takes credit for something that has been absolutely out of his control. The real facts is that after a relatively deep dip in world economy, most of the countries in the industrial world are starting to see a better economical futire with higher gains on basically everything. That´s the simple economic explaination for the US economy result. Trump just happened to be in the right place att the right time to take a credit for what has happened to the US automatically out of the economical structure of the world.

[tonray]

I bet he is using the white out on the "stock market at all time highs" section....

[attrayant]

Let's hear it for that strong economy.

 

[Credo]

I spend considerable time in the States and have over the past 4-5 years.   The economy has been steadily improving and seems to have picked up a fair amount of pace.   

 

There is no doubt that Trump's business acumen is good for confidence in the economy.   Unfortunately, there are a whole lot of other problems he is failing miserably at.   

[lannarebirth]

1 hour ago, Get Real said:

A great man that takes credit for something that has been absolutely out of his control. The real facts is that after a relatively deep dip in world economy, most of the countries in the industrial world are starting to see a better economical futire with higher gains on basically everything. That´s the simple economic explaination for the US economy result. Trump just happened to be in the right place att the right time to take a credit for what has happened to the US automatically out of the economical structure of the world.

Couldn't agree more except for maybe the "great man" part.. Trump had no more to do with the economic upturn than his predecessor did. The global economy is directed by central banks, for the better and for the worse.

Edited January 31, 2018 by lannarebirth

[Get Real]

10 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

Couldn't agree more except for maybe the "great man" part.. Trump had no more to do with the economic upturn than his predecessor did. The global economy is directed by central banks, for the better and for the worse.

The "Great Man" should have been written like that. It was sarcasm, all from start! 

[EVENKEEL]

2 hours ago, Get Real said:

A great man that takes credit for something that has been absolutely out of his control. The real facts is that after a relatively deep dip in world economy, most of the countries in the industrial world are starting to see a better economical futire with higher gains on basically everything. That´s the simple economic explaination for the US economy result. Trump just happened to be in the right place att the right time to take a credit for what has happened to the US automatically out of the economical structure of the world.

One man's opinion.

[Get Real]

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

One man's opinion.

If you say so. The facts are. It´s the inevitable and always recurring circle of ups and downs that controls all countries ups and downs in economy. That is extremely related to world economy. The fact that Mr Trump might be a very good business man, does not make him an artist at gobal or national economy.

Going out with a statement like he do, is about the same as PM May would say that she is to thank for the Bitcoin value in UK, which everybody understand would be impossible.

Edited January 31, 2018 by Get Real

[boomerangutang]

I challenge Trump to give a speech in front of Americans who aren't hand-picked to laud him.

 

He would be boo'ed so hardily, he wouldn't be able to finish.  Too much reality. 

 

That's why he only speaks to hand-picked and/or deeply partisan Republican crowds.  It's also why, whenever he's within 50 meters of journalists, those journalists are forced to shout their loudest to get him to answer.  Even then, Trump is always moving away, saying fake "Thank you's".  He even has a phalanx of defenders, usually women, who also repeat 'thank you's' non-stop.  A thank you, from Trump or his shielders, translates to "Shut up. Go away."

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Yes, we have all seen when the republicans bubble starts to grow, right before they take down the world economy.

 

The next big crash is coming and it will not be far off. Lets see who 45 blames it on when it happens. 

[EVENKEEL]

6 hours ago, ALLSEEINGEYE said:

Yes, we have all seen when the republicans bubble starts to grow, right before they take down the world economy.

 

The next big crash is coming and it will not be far off. Lets see who 45 blames it on when it happens. 

Wow, so insightful. I suggest you sell off all your shares before it's too late.

[ilostmypassword]

12 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

Couldn't agree more except for maybe the "great man" part.. Trump had no more to do with the economic upturn than his predecessor did. The global economy is directed by central banks, for the better and for the worse.

More conspiratorial nonsense.

[ilostmypassword]

13 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

Couldn't agree more except for maybe the "great man" part.. Trump had no more to do with the economic upturn than his predecessor did. The global economy is directed by central banks, for the better and for the worse.

Persiglage.While it's true that Presidents rarely can seriously influence the economy, Obama had the misfortune to become President in the wake of the Great Recession, the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression and have his opportunity, It is almost universally accepted by serious economists both liberal and conservative that his stimulus program pulled the USA out of the Great Recession faster than any other developed economy.

http://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/economic-stimulus-revisited

 

If there was a problem with his proposed stimulusit was that it was too small. But I guess he figured he could go back later and ask Congress for more. Unfortunately the 2014 elections put paid to that. It is so bizarre that Republicans were all afire about deficits and stimulus during the depths of the great recession but now that the economy is humming along, they could care less about deficits and want to stimulate the economy.

Edited January 31, 2018 by ilostmypassword

[lannarebirth]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Persiglage.While it's true that Presidents rarely can seriously influence the economy, Obama had the misfortune to become President in the wake of the Great Recession, the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression and have his opportunity, It is almost universally accepted by serious economists both liberal and conservative that his stimulus program pulled the USA out of the Great Recession faster than any other developed economy.

http://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/economic-stimulus-revisited

 

If there was a problem with his proposed stimulusit was that it was too small. But I guess he figured he could go back later and ask Congress for more. Unfortunately the 2014 elections put paid to that. It is so bizarre that Republicans were all afire about deficits and stimulus during the depths of the great recession but now that the economy is humming along, they could care less about deficits and want to stimulate the economy.

 

I care about deficits every year, no matter who is president.  It's a big deal whether others think so or not. You will never find a post of mine arguing that deficit spending is ok, no matter who is president.

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, lannarebirth said:

 

I care about deficits every year, no matter who is president.  It's a big deal whether others think so or not. You will never find a post of mine arguing that deficit spending is ok, no matter who is president.

Actually, the government of the Eurozone agrees with you. During the throes of the Great Recession, they tried on something called "Expansionary Austerity." Basically, the idea was that limiting spending was the best way to a recovery. The result was that the economy stagnated there while nations that used deficit spending to get out of the recession did much better. The UK, not being in the Eurozone, recovered far more quicklyly.  And before you say that nations that use deficit spending to get out of the recession  just kicked the an down the road, the fact is that cutting spending during a recession actually led to decline in revenues and further piling on of debt. It's been almost a hundred years since Keynes and still people just don't get it. It was the anti-Keynsians, the so called rational choice economists, who led the way to the disaster of the Great Recession. Rejecting Keynes is like rejecting Einstein and clinging to Newton.

 

[lannarebirth]

21 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

Actually, the government of the Eurozone agrees with you. During the throes of the Great Recession, they tried on something called "Expansionary Austerity." Basically, the idea was that limiting spending was the best way to a recovery. The result was that the economy stagnated there while nations that used deficit spending to get out of the recession did much better. The UK, not being in the Eurozone, recovered far more quicklyly.  And before you say that nations that use deficit spending to get out of the recession  just kicked the an down the road, the fact is that cutting spending during a recession actually led to decline in revenues and further piling on of debt. It's been almost a hundred years since Keynes and still people just don't get it. It was the anti-Keynsians, the so called rational choice economists, who led the way to the disaster of the Great Recession. Rejecting Keynes is like rejecting Einstein and clinging to Newton.

 

 

I would never make the comparison between European economies and the US economy. The US is a much more dynamic economy than Europe.

 

Anyhow, with respect to deficits, they appear much more tolerable than they will become, so long as borrowing rates continue down or stay low. When that reverses I think people will find them more meaningful.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

On 1/31/2018 at 8:02 PM, EVENKEEL said:

Wow, so insightful. I suggest you sell off all your shares before it's too late.

Already done.

 

Saving up my cash to invest when the bottom hits.

 

I suggest you do the same.

 

Unless you like to buy high and sell low.