Reconsidering one’s decision to vote for Donald Trump.  Had just read that Trump was opposed to the 1986 Tax Reform Act, one of the cornerstones of the Reagan economic-revival.  Immediate thought:  If Trump does not understand that tax reform is one of the most important components of conservative economic policy (along with conservative fiscal and monetary policies and intelligent reductions in the regulatory burden on the private sector), then why should he run?  How easily could you distinguish his economic policies from those of the first Native American running for Vice-President?  Especially given Trump’s hostility to free trade, his perceived preference for international protectionism.

So, searched for the source of the alleged Trump/TRA comments.  Turns out it goes back to Trump’s pique over what the TRA did to the real estate industry, which took a bigger hit from that legislation than did any other business-sector.  He lost a lot of money, as did many other real estate people, such those who marketed tax sheltered real-estate investments.  But it was reported in the 7/28/15 online edition of Forbes Magazine, that “Donald Trump did not like the tax reform Ronald Reagan signed into law in 1986. In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, he called it ‘one of the worst ideas in recent history.’”

If you read the entire Forbes piece and the entire Trump op-ed, you realize that the Trump op-ed, written in 1999, focused on the aspects of the 1986 Act that affected real estate, not on the many, many other provisions of that act.  Turns out Trump was not opposed to tax reform, he just didn’t like being targeted by the TRA, which he thought was harder on real estate than on other commercial sectors.  When commentators describe Trump as being opposed to the TRA, giving the impression that he opposed tax reform in general, they are being misleading.  He was understandably piqued over his losses but did not indicate a generalized opposition to the essence of the TRA, which was to cut tax rates, cut tax deductions and credits, and simplify the tax code in general.

Trump is in fact fully on-board with the kinds of reforms embodied in the 1986 TRA, as is revealed by his published tax-reform proposal, at https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/tax-reform ,and by the comments of Steve Moore, one of Trump’s key economic advisors, in an interview published on June 1, 2016 in Conservative Review – https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/05/the-man-behind-the-curtain-the-economist-to-the-candidates

It is interesting to note that Moore also suggests that he is doing his best to convert Trump into a free-trader.  In choosing advisors like Steve Moore and Larry Kudlow, Trump is making a pretty solid statement that when it comes to fleshing-out the principles and specifics of his intended policies on economics, including fiscal policy and monetary policy, he will follow a decidedly conservative path.

Must say, the whole experience of tracking this down was enlightening.  With friends like the supposedly conservative Forbes, who needs leftist enemies?