Trump at one year
When I think of President Donald Trump’s first year, two phrases come to mind: missed opportunities and broken promises.
While there was much to be offended by, Trump’s 2016 campaign did identify several important issues facing our country, which Democrats and Republicans could have worked together to address. Many families spend too much on healthcare. We need to rebuild and modernize our infrastructure. Too many workers are stuck in jobs where their pay has not gone up. Our tax code is outdated and overly complex. But on each of these issues, the president has either failed to propose any meaningful action or made things worse.
Like many Democrats, I was hopeful the Trump administration would come out of the gate with a strong infrastructure plan, which would both modernize and secure our electric grid, highways, bridges, roads, airports and other public works, and bring broadband access to the 23 million Americans who lack access. This work is both long overdue and would create thousands of good paying jobs.
A year later, there isn’t even a proposal.
Similarly, despite campaigning as the champion of “forgotten” men and women, nothing has been done to boost the wages of the millions of working Americans who pulled the lever for Trump in November 2016. No action has been taken to raise the minimum wage, increase worker bargaining power or improve education and worker retraining.
And those are only the acts of omission. There were also acts of commission.
Take health care. Despite bipartisan interest in the U.S. Senate on bringing down health care costs, the administration has instead focused on sabotaging the Affordable Care Act at every turn. This Includes ending cost-sharing-reduction payments and the ACA’s individual mandate, which experts believe will lead to soaring health care costs.
Need another example? Look no further than how quickly the tax plan went from “reform” — remember the “lower the rates and broaden the base” rhetoric? — to massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and giant corporations.
My hope for 2018 is that instead of increasing division, the Trump Administration will focus on these and other important issues, many of which enjoy bipartisan support.
Ethan Corson is executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party.
This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Trump at one year."