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EE_
19th April 2020, 06:42 AM
DeMuth: Unlike Bush and Obama, Trump Succeeded in Crisis by Decentralizing Power
JOEL B. POLLAK18 Apr 2020

Christopher DeMuth of the Hudson Institute argues in the Wall Street Journal this weekend that President Donald Trump has made history by decentralizing power during a crisis, unlike his predecessors, who used crisis to build a bigger government.

DeMuth points out that Trump has empowered state and local governments, while enlisting the help of the private sector and cutting red tape. He has asserted federal prerogatives, but mostly as a way of keeping people in line — not abusing his power.

Contrary to claims that the federal government mismanaged the early stages of the crisis — in testing, for example — DeMuth notes that departments like the FDA did exactly what they were supposed to, until Trump intervened to reduce regulations.

He writes:

Throughout history, national emergencies have led to a more powerful and centralized federal government and to the transfer of federal power from Congress to the executive branch. This time, the federal response rests largely on state and local government and private enterprise, with a wave of deregulation clearing the way. The Trump administration has seized no new powers, and Congress has stayed energetically in the game.

In response to the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration and Congress created two gigantic agencies with extraordinary powers and insulation from congressional control, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence … In response to the 2008 crisis, the [Obama] administration arranged corporate mergers and bailouts with only fig leaves of statutory authority. It spent hundreds of billions of dollars without congressional appropriation. These crisis expedients provided the template for the Obama administration’s unilateral responses to mere political frustrations—congressional inaction on its climate change, immigration and other legislative proposals. At the same time, the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 commissioned an army of new regulatory authorities with unprecedented discretion and autonomy.

Mr. Trump has received criticism from all sides for these measured responses. … But mainly he has given pride of place to federalism and private enterprise—lauding the patriotism and proficiency of our fantastic governors and mayors, our incredible business leaders and genius companies, our heroic doctors and nurses and orderlies, and our tremendous truckers. By shouting out many of them by name and documenting their deeds on a daily basis, he has vivified the American way in action (once reluctantly aroused). When asked why he has not issued orders for nationwide home and business lockdowns, he has emphasized that the intensity of the epidemic varies widely and is best met by calibrated state and local judgments—and added pointedly that such steps would conflict with the Constitution.

DeMuth adds that the recent dustup over Trump claiming he had “total” authority to reopen the national economy — after stating, for weeks, that states had primary authority — was typical “jousting” over the federal and state “division of labor.”

He adds that the challenge for reformers will be to seize on the present deregulations and decentralizations — in telemedicine, for example — and use them to spur a wave of innovation that will benefit all Americans when the coronavirus is long past.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/18/demuth-unlike-bush-and-obama-trump-succeeded-in-crisis-by-decentralizing-power/

osoab
19th April 2020, 07:57 AM
More .gov/corporate "partnerships".

Yea Fascism!

Ares
19th April 2020, 08:44 AM
More .gov/corporate "partnerships".

Yea Fascism!

The article does have a point. If this "crisis" (crisis is definitely subjective here as it really seems overblown.) had happened under say a Hillary Clinton administration, Obama, Bush etc. We would have seen more centralization of power.

I will give Trump credit for attempting to undo decades worth of centralization here, you can't exactly tell the states that you're on your own here after decades of states being dependent upon daddy government to solve all of their problems.

horseshoe3
19th April 2020, 06:04 PM
Of course decentralization works. Over in the middle east, the most powerful army the world has ever seen has been stalemated by cavemen with pointy sticks. Why? Because to defeat them, you would have to force every household to surrender. In a centralized society, you have "leaders" who can surrender on behalf of hundreds of millions of people.

EE_
19th April 2020, 06:04 PM
Who knows how more dependent we'd be on China by now if a filthy Democrat was in office? Trump is the only president willing to do something about it.

Donald Trump: Coronavirus Exposed Dangers of Supply Chains Dependent on China

President Donald Trump said Saturday the biggest lesson of the coronavirus crisis was that the United States should not rely on China for their supply chains.

“We’ve learned a lot about supply chains,” Trump said. “We’ve learned that it’s nice to make things in the U.S., I’ve been saying that for a long time.”

The president discussed the issue during the White House press briefing, recalling he ran for president on the dangers of America’s dependence on bad trade deals and foreign countries while gutting our country’s industries.

“If one thing comes out of this more than anything else is that we should make product in the United States,” he said.

Trump noted that he also promised as a candidate to be tough on China and successfully pressured them with tariffs to make an important trade deal.

“With China, we made the deal, and it became friendly, but then this happened,” he recalled.

Trump recalled reading a story about America’s car companies facing a struggle to return to normal, as it would be difficult to get all the parts they needed from around the world.

“What happens when you’re in a war, and you have a supply chain where half of your supplies are given to in other countries?” Trump asked. “Who are the people that thought of it? These are globalists. It doesn’t work.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/19/donald-trump-coronavirus-exposed-dangers-of-supply-chains-dependent-on-china/

Hitch
19th April 2020, 06:35 PM
“If one thing comes out of this more than anything else is that we should make product in the United States,” he said.]

It takes balls to say this, slapping the face of the globalist agenda.

Good on Trump! Our history of hardworking people, and our founding fathers, were productive people. We need to return to that.

EE_
19th April 2020, 06:37 PM
What do you think here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=226&v=BpwndRgw-kI&feature=emb_title

Cebu_4_2
19th April 2020, 06:42 PM
What do you think here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=226&v=BpwndRgw-kI&feature=emb_title

I think Trump is doing Trumps things. Throwing out the rope for them to hang themselves. If you actually follow what he does and how he does it this is status quo. I still think the guy is a genius.