Donald Trump’s Economic Policy Test: ‘Does it Create more Jobs and better Wages for Americans’

Donald Trump forecasts substantial economic growth if he’s elected President of the United States.

The Republican nominee says it’s time for “a national goal of reaching four percent economic growth,” and that all economic policies during a Trump administration will be tested on whether or not American jobs are created.

“Under this American System, every policy decision we make must pass a simple test: does it create more jobs and better wages for Americans?” he declared at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on Thursday.

“I’m running to be the president of the United States of America,” he added, clarifying he’s not running for president of the world.

“I will fight for every last American job” and American companies, he vowed. “We’re going to be fighting for you because you’re bringing the jobs.”

The Republican nominee attacked his rival Hillary Clinton and President Obama, blaming them for doubling the national debt.

“Right now, under Obama-Clinton policies, the economy grew only 1.1 percent last quarter – that translates to millions of lost jobs. This is the weakest so-called recovery since the Great Depression,” he said. “The only people that get rich under Hillary Clinton are the donors and special interest.”

Trump alleged that Clinton’s economic agenda surrenders the middle class to the “whims of foreign countries.”

“We take care of them better than we take care of ourselves,” he added of foreign countries.

Trump criticized his opponent, saying Clinton cannot create jobs. “The only thing she can offer is a welfare check.”

Trump vowed to turn around the failed Obama-Clinton economic policies through tax reform, eliminating intrusive regulations, reforming energy production and renegotiating trade policies.

He plans to lower taxes and move from seven tax brackets to three.

On regulations, Trump said, “I’ve proposed a moratorium on new federal regulations that are not compelled by Congress or public safety, and I will eliminate all needless and job-killing regulations now on the books.”

He continued:

This includes eliminating some of our most intrusive regulations, like the Waters of The U.S. Rule. It also means scrapping the EPA’s so-called Clean Power Plan which the government itself estimates will cost $7.2 billion a year. This Obama-Clinton directive will shut down most, if not all, coal-powered electricity plans in America. Remember what Hillary Clinton said? She wants to shut down the miners, just like she wants to shut down the steel mills.

“We’re going to put our great miners and steel workers back to work,” he added.

Trump vowed to lift restrictions on American energy sources and production.

In order to reform trade, Trump said he would take several steps:

I’m going to direct the Secretary of Commerce to identify every violation of trade agreements a foreign country is currently using to harm our workers. I will use every tool under American and international law to end these abuses, and I will use our greatest business leaders and finest negotiators – and I know who you are, many of you are in the room.

We are going to start with NAFTA, which is causing so much damage to our country. We will entirely renegotiate NAFTA into a deal that will either be good for us or will be terminated until a brand new and productive deal can be signed.

We are also going to keep America out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Next, I am going to instruct my Treasury Secretary to label China a currency manipulator, and to apply tariffs to any country that devalues its currency to gain an unfair advantage over the United States.

I am going to instruct the U.S. Trade Representative to bring trade cases against China. China’s unfair subsidy behavior is prohibited by the terms of its entrance to the WTO, and I intend to enforce those rules.

If China does not stop its illegal activities, including its theft of American trade secrets and intellectual property, I will apply countervailing duties until China ceases and desists.

Just the single action of enforcing intellectual property rules alone would add millions of new American jobs. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, improved protection of America’s intellectual property in China would add 2 million jobs a year to the United States every single year.

“We will make America wealthy again,” he declared.