08 August, 2016
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he would lower taxes and reduce business regulations to improve the U.S. economy.
The businessman outlined his main economic policies Monday during a speech to the Detroit Economic Club.
Trump began by talking about how in the past, the U.S. auto industry had made Detroit the "economic envy of the world." He noted that today, the city is one of America's poorest, with high unemployment, poverty and crime rates.
He said Detroit is an example of how failed economic policies including high taxes and government regulations hurt the city. Trump said his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's economic plan supports these kinds of policies, which can lead to U.S. job losses.
"The one common feature of every Hillary Clinton idea is that it punishes you for working and doing business in the United States. And that's why she tries to distract us with tired political rhetoric that seeks to label us, divide us, and pull us apart."
He said his campaign is "about reaching out to everyone as Americans, and returning to a government that puts the American people first."
Trump read from prepared text during the speech, which was interrupted numerous times by protesters.
The protesters stood on chairs and shouted at the candidate before they were removed by security. At one point, Trump said he thought the protests were "very well planned out."
Across the board tax cuts
Trump proposed "across-the-board" tax cuts that he said would especially help middle-income Americans. "This will lead to millions of new good paying jobs. The rich will pay their fair share, but no one will pay so much that it destroys jobs, or undermines our ability to compete."
He said his plan would simplify U.S. tax regulations and that many American workers would pay no income tax. "These reforms will offer the biggest tax revolution since the Reagan Tax Reform, which unleashed years of continued economic growth and job creation."
Trump also pledged to lower the business tax rate. He said high taxes on companies punishes them for making products in America.
"Under my plan, no American company will pay more than 15 percent of their business income in taxes. Small businesses will benefit the most from this plan."
He said part of his plan would also allow parents to fully deduct the average cost of childcare spending from their taxes.
Proposed ban on new regulations
Trump said another cause of jobs leaving the U.S. is the high level of government regulation on businesses. He said if elected, he would issue a temporary ban on new agency regulations.
"This will give our American companies the certainty they need to reinvest in our community, get cash off of the sidelines, start hiring new jobs, and expanding their businesses."
He repeated his criticism of international trade agreements approved by previous administrations. He said he would try to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
He said his plan calls for "strong protections against currency manipulation and tariffs against any countries that cheat by unfairly subsidizing their goods."
He also vowed to reform U.S. energy policies and regulations that he said have destroyed millions of U.S. jobs. "We will put our coal miners and steel workers back to work, where they want to be."
Critics said Trump's proposals reflected Republican economic positions but lacked detail. The speech comes after he announced Friday his 13-member economic advisory team. The team includes all male executives from the real estate, oil and banking industries.
At a rally Monday in Florida, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton called the list of Trump's economic advisers the "six guys named Steve."
"Now, they tried to make his old, tired ideas sound new," Clinton said. "He wants to basically just repackage trickle-down economics."
Clinton will also head to Detroit on Thursday to deliver her own economic speech to counter Trump's proposals.
I'm Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Additional material came from the Associated Press and Reuters. Hai Do was the editor.
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Words in This Story
regulation – n. a rule made and enforced by an authority
distract – v. prevent from giving full attention to
rhetoric – n. language intended to influence people that may not be honest or reasonable
across-the-board – adj. affecting everyone or everything in a group
unleash – v. to allow or cause to happen suddenly
manipulation – n. to use of change in a skillful way or for a specific purpose
subsidize – v. support an organization or activity financially