Donald Trump's 15-year-old book on public policy reveals what kind of president he'd be

[icymist]

“Let's cut to the chase,” insisted Donald Trump. “Yes, I am considering a run for the presidency of the United States.”

Trump didn't write those words three months ago. He wrote them 15 years ago.

<snip>
The most interesting thing to come out of Trump's dalliance with dreams of the Oval Office was a book entitled The America We Deserve. Written with the help of author Dave Shiflett, it's a 304-page compendium of policy proposals for a theoretical Trump administration. With Trump's current place atop the pile of GOP 2016 candidates, it's worth going back and looking at exactly what he advocated for a decade and a half ago.

While the book is packed with stream-of-consciousness self-aggrandizement, self-mythologizing, and a nearly chapter-long appreciation of Oprah, it's also the most complete record that exists of the intellectual and policy foundations of the Republican party's current standard bearer.

It's important to note that this book was written in 2000. There was no financial crisis, no 9/11, no second Iraq War, no Obama Administration. Not everything he wrote about is still entirely relevant, nor necessarily representative of his positions today; however, most of the major issues haven't changes in the past 15 years. Washington is still arguing over tax cuts, China, and the solvency of Social Security.

This is what Trump thinks America should do:

http://www.dailydot.com/politics/donald-trump-the-america-we-deserve/?fb=dd

[Fred Sanders]

1. Who gives a fuck what the fascist thinks? Now or ever. He is a fascist!

[Beartracks]

2. He's hugely popular. Fight him; don't dismiss him as irrelevant.

Wrong, yes. But not irrelevant.

================

[happyslug]

3. So he wants more control on Alcohol

1. In simple terms he wants to increase the taxes on alcohol to pay for the damage alcohol does. he is NOT advocating prohibition, thus Trump may be open to legal marijuana, but under the very same strict rules he would impose on alcohol.

2. He is for school choice, what else do you expect from someone who went to a private school.

3. He is for longer jail sentences and for the death Penatly, again what else is new?

4. He is for a waiting periods to buy guns

5. He opposes trade with China on the grounds China will use such trade to its advantage.

6. If North Korea ever developed a Bomb (Some people said they have, other said they have not) Trump would attack they ability to make that bomb.

7. Trumps oppose relations with Cuba but also opposes using force for Cuba is NOT a threat to the US (Trump will reserve force against potential threats to the US).. Now Trump would want to extradite Castro, but only through legal methods.

8. Trumps oppose illegal immigration AND has indicated that he oppose immigration if the purpose is to reduce wages.

9. Trump wants to use a lottery to pay for spying.

10. He would put a 14.5% tax on the WEALTH of any person or holding company over 10 million dollars and use that money the cut taxes of people earning less then $100,000 a year.

11. He would eliminate the Inheritance tax and the Capital gain Tax, thus INCOME would not be taxed but WEALTH would be,

12. He would privatize Social Security, but keep it at the same time (Yes a conflict but one he sees as workable).

13. Canadian Style single payer medical coverage independent of employment status.

14. He is for retaining private donation to candidates, but he wants them all to be public record. i.e. people should know what politician owns what favor to what billionaire.

Yes, at times he is clearly right wing, but at other times a lefty (Medical care and the tax on WEALTH).

[MFrohike]

4. The national debt and bonds bits are funny

As I recall, Australia did just that around the time he wrote this book. As I recall, that experiment ended in a hurry when they realized they'd just killed a ton of necessary liquidity in their financial markets.