Trump says economic plan would help poor, but rich would win most

Much of Trump’s plan, laid out during a nearly hour-long speech interrupted multiple times by protesters at the Detroit Economic Club, sounded familiar — reheated ideas on trade and regulatory cuts he has discussed piecemeal over the past year. Trump’s latest proposal puts him in line with what congressional Republicans are proposing, which is politically significant given that Trump had refused until Friday to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., for re-election and has seen several top GOP candidates repudiate him in recent days. The impact of the updated plan might be just as bad for the country’s economy, analysts said, while also providing greater benefits for the wealthiest Americans. Since middle- and lower-income people pay proportionately less in taxes, they wouldn’t realize more. [...] Trump spells out what federal programs he would reduce or eliminate, Levine said, Trump’s proposal would detonate the budget. “Unless he can get Mexico to pay our taxes after they get done building the wall, this proposal could cause a lot of damage to the U.S. economy,” Levine said, facetiously referring to Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and assuring that Mexico will pick up the tab. A political subtext of this speech was to turn attention away from Trump’s tumbling poll numbers, the result of a series of gaffes, insults and off-track remarks since the GOP convention that have distracted him from challenging the record of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. On Monday, he tried to refocus his campaign by saying Clinton “is bought, controlled and paid for by her donors and special interests,” while he — a wealthy political outsider who doesn’t need anybody’s money — was better equipped to tackle the nation’s problems. [...] many of his proposed solutions, like lowering taxes and reducing government regulations, sounded like the trickle-down economics that the GOP has been advocating for decades. A 2010 federal study found that the effective corporate tax rate was 27 percent, and most profitable businesses successfully use loopholes to pay about half that much, according to a 2014 federal government study. Since corporate profits have already been on the upswing and unemployment is under 5 percent nationally, Levine wondered how a tax cut would spur hiring. China engages in illegal export subsidies, prohibited currency manipulation and rampant theft of intellectual property, Trump said. Under current law, fund managers can have the bonus taxed at the 20 percent capital gains rate if they hold the income long enough, instead of the 39.6 percent personal income tax rate.