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 One thing good about Donald Trump is that, whether one likes what he says or not, you know where he stands.  So, it makes it somewhat easy to prognosticate what his economic policies will be like and forecast the effects they will have.First, his plans to deport 11 million illegal immigrants, of which 8 million are employed.  Apart from the logistical challenge of achieving said goal, assuming he is able to do so, it will have an enormous impact on the labor market and tax receipts.  Removing 8 million taxpayers will decrease Federal revenue and potentially increase the Federal deficit.  Removing 8 million from the labor force  will  tighten the labor market, leading to wage pressure and inflation.  Some industries such as farming will be significantly impacted.  Either there will be fewer goods produced, leading to higher prices as demand outstrips supply, or those affected will have to pass off higher labor costs to the consumer, again fueling inflation.Second, his pledge to cut taxes, both personal and corporate.  This may increase corporate profits (and thus stock prices) but will, again, increase the Federal deficit.  Increased income for individuals will lead to inflation as demand surges, compounding wage pressure led inflation.Third, his propensity for tariffs.  Countries don’t pay tariffs, consumers do.  A 100% tariff on a thingamajig from China will mean a consumer will pay twice what s/he was paying before.  China won’t pay anything.  The idea behind tariffs is that companies will be forced to relocate to the US, where labor costs are much higher, leading again to inflation.  And as a corollary, prior tariffs did not lead to an influx of companies hiring in the US.  They simply moved to other low wage countries such as Vietnam.More on tariffs is his pledge of 100% tariffs if BRICS move away from the dollar.  This is already happening.  Global trade in US dollar has dropped in the past decade from 71% to 59%.  China, India are among the countries increasingly using their own currency for trade as their global heft rises.  They won’t let their hard won gains be sacrificed at the altar of the dollar. Trade is a soft power, and if tariffs and punitive use of dollar decrease US trade, US power will decreases.  Far from making America great again, it will have the opposite effect   By the time he finishes his term, US would have lost the EU, Mexican, Canadian, Chinese, Indian, SA and Saudi markets.  To name just a few.Finally, Trump’s plans using Musk and Ramaswamy to decrease the government by $2-$ trillion.  About 70% of spending is on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.  The DOGE brothers may be able to decrease Medicaid but no politician will have the courage to touch Medicare and SS.  This leaves only 30% of the budget where the DOGE brothers will be able to swing the ax.  First, Defense, which Republicans in Congress will be loath to touch.  So, they may be able to gut the Department of Education, defund NPR, etc. that will save at most $200 billion.  A drop in the bucket of $36 Trillion debt. So, between higher inflation, lower tax receipts, decreased trade with decreased global clout, I’m hard pressed to see how these policies will make America great again.A departing thought – there were many causes of the Great Depression.  Among them, the Smoot-Hawley tariffs, led by two Republican legislators, that started a trade war.  As the saying goes, history may not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.More By This Author:Vexing Viral Variants And Vaccination – In Vain?
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