When Donald Trump campaigned for president in 2016, one of his most memorable and oft-repeated promises was to “drain the swamp” in Washington, D.C. This catchy phrase resonated with millions of Americans who felt alienated from their government and frustrated with political favors. However, eight years later, both the Harris and Trump campaigns are making it clear that their candidate doesn’t want to drain the swamp. They’d like more of us to jump in.
The “drain the swamp” slogan originally meant clearing out the entrenched interests, self-serving practices, rent seekers and systemic corruption that have taken root in our nation’s capital. Well-connected companies scratch the backs of politicians and in return get subsidies, tax breaks, protections and other special privileges. The rest of us are left to foot the bill.
In addition, there’s the revolving door between government and lobbyists. There are career politicians who seem more interested in their own power and income-earning opportunities than in serving the people. There’s the influence of big money, whose loudest detractors often fail to mention that an ever-expanding government creates the perfect swamp habitat.
Draining the swap is all fine. As someone who’d like to see all government-granted favors to private businesses terminated either constitutionally or legislatively, I’m for it. How many Boeing-type scandals do we need before legislators are embarrassed to continue passing out subsidies (including through the Export-Import Bank, an agency many of us call “Boeing’s Bank”)? How many more reports like those showing that most Inflation Reduction Act subsidies went to projects that were already in the works?
These debacles, and others like Solyndra, are cautionary tales about how politicians waste your money to help their friends and political allies — that is, their cronies. Sadly, most Americans don’t realize government handouts don’t do what politicians tell you they do.
And so, during Trump’s first term, we saw him proudly announcing steel tariffs — essentially a tax paid by U.S. consumers — on national television, surrounded by all his steel CEO friends. He distributed subsidies and bailouts to various companies, as well as payouts to farmers who were hurt by his tariffs. Then, with several enormous pieces of legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act and the infrastructure bill, the Biden-Harris administration took corporate welfare to a level unseen before.
The swamp is thriving and the creatures it supports are alive and well. Now both candidates want to add more swamp creatures to the mix: some of us.
Take Trump. During this campaign, rather than touting far-reaching pro-growth policies, he’s promised one favor after another to handpicked constituencies, including cutting taxes on Social Security benefits and maybe even lifting all taxes on the police and the military.
Not to be outdone, Kamala Harris promises forgivable business loans for specific minority entrepreneurs, better regulation of cryptocurrency to protect Black men, and subsidies for parents needing child care and for working mothers.
Both have promised extensive tax credits to parents, no taxes on tips, and subsidies to first-time homeowners.
If you don’t fit into the right categories, you’re out of luck. That’s because your tax bill will be higher than that of the Americans who receive the better breaks. More will come out of your pocket as the favors extended by pandering politicians take the form of debt and higher future taxes. Inflation, fed by all that circulating handout cash, will eat away at your savings and jack up the price of food and other necessities.
And, as if these consequences aren’t bad enough, both Harris and Trump have plans for those they like to blame for America’s problems.
Harris is committed to punishing whomever she can for the inflation that happened on her administration’s watch and hurt us all. That includes grocery stores and other retailers. When she speaks of taxing the rich, that mostly means innovators, employers and the highly successful.
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Trump, as always, promises to punish with tariffs consumers who feel compelled to purchase affordable goods and services originating abroad. He also promises to deport immigrants, including, it seems, many who work and cause no trouble.
Trump’s promise to drain the swamp tapped into a real and justified frustration with Washington. Entrenched corporate interests shouldn’t be rewarded by politicians with handouts at our expense. Neither should individuals singled out for favors by politicians on the campaign trail.
Veronique de Rugy is the George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.