POL200 "Will the Trump administration exceed the checks-and-balances of the other branches of government in a way that constitutes an "imperial presidency""

“In giving great power to Presidents, Americans had declared their faith in the winnowing process of politics… <assuming it> would eliminate aspirants to the Presidency who rejected the written constraints of the Constitution and the unwritten restraints of the republican ethos.” ~ Arthur Schlesinger 1973 Imperial Presidency

“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” Donald Trump, January 2016, Iowa rally

Schlesinger’s Imperial Presidency

A controversial presidency is not new to American Politics. In the presidential election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln was purported to be not on ballots in some of the south; Southern states refusal to give up their right to own slaves. 156 years and other such controversial administrations later, America again experiences a highly charged political environment. This essay will discuss the if President Trump is exceeding “checks-and-balances of the other branches of government in a way that constitutes an "imperial presidency”. “

This is not the first presidency that scholars have considered have broached the grey line of becoming an imperial presidency. Our textbook proffers that every presidency since 1963, with the “relentless pursuit of war” by the Johnson and Nixon administrations, has become more of an imperial presidency.

Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., in 1973 wrote The Imperial Presidency based on fears that the presidency had become uncontrollable, surpassing constitutional limits. Schlesinger is succinct in his query: “What if men not open and modest, even at the start, but from the start ambitious of power and contemptuous of law reached the place once occupied by Washington and Lincoln?”

Paul Joose, of the University of Hong Kong, purports that the so-called “Trump Phenomenon” leads an enlightening premise aiming to connect “how charisma destabilizes traditional and/or rational-legal social orders.” Joose uses empirical data of the “Trump Phenomenon” to describe the current POTUS and the achieved popularity is irrationally based on obvious misinformation/misleading.  

44th & 45^th

Barack Obama, 44^th POTUS, had a background rich in political servitude and community organization. Obama lectured on constitutional law at University of Chicago Law School for 12 years. Compare that with businessman Trump, with no prior government experience. The reality TV star and real estate developer was elected 45^th president. Trump’s background is rich in bankruptcies, and civil action lawsuits.

The preceding comparison is important to answer the original question posed: Will the current administration make some major history, forever marking this era, for good or ill gains? Will history add to our great accomplishments such as passing the 13^th amendment to end slavery (1865), opening the panama canal(1904-1915), dropping the bomb(1945), going to the moon (1969), be out of control and exceed constitutional limits(2016-).

Today’s scholars believe that has already happened. Jay Cost, author of The Price of Greatness: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and the Creation of the American Oligarchy says “I contend that Donald Trump represents the apotheosis of the imperial presidency, whereby a single person has come to exercise almost total spiritual, moral, and psychological control over civil society.”

Exposing violations of liberty

The “Whistleblower Protection Act” according to the CRS Report for Congress, protects "any disclosure" that a employee believes signals "any violation of any law, rule, or regulation," or "gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, and abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety."

Edward Snowden’s exposure of government documents which revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) was wiretapping millions of United States Citizens. Wiretapping without awareness and consent is illegal without a warrant. That millions of innocent Americans were/are being spied on is illegal; a violation of civil liberty.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo openly advocated the death penalty for Edward Snowden in an interview with Pete Kasperowicz. That Trump’s cabinet member would wish to kill a man who exposed illegal actions under a legal treaty for the specific action of reporting gross government mismanagement, is an example of exceeding the checks and balances of government.

Compare this with Obama, under whose term this occurred. Even at his dislike for the situation, President Obama told the Huffington Post he "welcomed this debate" and thought it was "healthy for our democracy."

Conclusion

During his first year as president the “Washington Post tallied over 2,000 false or misleading claims – an average of six a day.” According to our textbook. That the current POTUS has falsely mislead the American people with alacrity and swiftness is a warning. Merriam-Webster tells us that falsely and misled are synonyms for untruthful, inaccurate, deceived and with deep chagrin it should be noted is also a synonym for: suckered.

Would a president with both background and foreground rife with questionable ethics, corruption and overt lies use to any advantage his abilities to attain personal gain? Be unaccountable and out of control? It certainly seems to many, he already has.

Bibliography

Cost, Jay. Donald Trump and The Imperial Presidency. 18 Dec 2018. 30 Jan 2020. <https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/12/donald-trump-modern-imperial-presidency/ >.

German, Michael. ACLU. 2 Aug 2013. 30 Jan 2020. <https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/secrecy/edward-snowden-whistleblower>.

Johnson, Luke. Obama Defends NSA Programs, Says Congress Knew About Surveillance. 7 Jun 2013. 30 Jan 2020. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/obama-nsa_n_3403389>.

Joosse, Paul. "Countering Trump: Toward a Theory of CharismaticCounter-Roles." Social Forces 97.2 (2018): 921-944. Document. 30 Jan 2020. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?>.

Kasperowicz, Pete. Lawmaker: 'Traitor' Snowden deserves death penalty. 11 Feb 2016. 30 Jan 2020. <https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/lawmaker-traitor-snowden-deserves-death-penalty>.

Mirriam-Webster. Thesaurus. n.d. 30 Jan 2020. <https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/false and /misled>.

Patterson, Thomas. We The People. 13th . New York: McGraw, 2019. page 361 & 394. 24 Jan 2020.

Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. The Imperial Presidency. Houghton Mifflin, 1973.

Whitaker, Paige L. "Whistleblower Protection Act, an Overview." 2007. PDF. 30 Jan 2020. <https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33918.pdf>.

 (requirement: 600-800 words, not including bibliography ; finished essay 732 words not including opening quotes or biblio. Original essay submitted Jan. 30, 2020, Mendocino College, Prof Liljeblad) 

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ENG205 Major Argument Essay November 2018 College of the Redwoods (Mendocino College)

Title

“The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people.”
~Andrew Johnson, American President. 1808-1875

Intro

“It’s no accident that we routinely refer to the wealthiest as the “top” and the rest as the “bottom.” In English, good is up and bad is down…we say, “things are looking up” and “she’s down in the dumps”...Calling certain folks upper class implies they are worth more not just materially but also morally.” [1]

Thesis Statement

Saiz and Aguilar produce a stirring opinion that the economic disparity is not just a societal crisis, but a crisis of injustice of human rights. “Economic inequality is clearly a human rights concern where it can be shown to be a cause or consequence of human rights violations. The link between rising inequality and economic and social rights abuses has come to the fore very clearly in the recent context of austerity and recession in many countries.” (Saiz and Aguilar)

With that premise, I propose four arguments to prove that our county should uplift its lower and middle class out of poverty. Following are four reasons and methods for solving this local and global issue.  

Argument 1 (education)

Heather Munroe-Blum wrote this to the Global Economic Symposium in 2009 “Education – primary, secondary and tertiary – is perhaps the most critical means of improving the welfare of disadvantaged populations....”. (Munroe-Blum)

Several qualifying reasons to have an educated citizenry: Higher educated persons choose better lifestyle habits. They are less likely to smoke cigarettes and eat fast food. Health care savings are in the potential billions from cigarette related illness and fast food related illness such as obesity and coronary problems.

Sakshi Jain presents a succinct reason for education: “The main aim of education is to create a rational personality that is free from the pre-conceived notions of prejudices, superstitions and other evils that pertains in the society.” (Jain) Superstitions are an inhibitor to a healthy lifestyle by their offering a lack of reasoning about the world utilizing educated information. Prejudices too are a hindrance to our society as well as morality in general; both of which either directly or indirectly have an impact in economy. Races and genders which are prejudiced against are in a lower income bracket and are less likely to have access to health care and education.

Argument 2 (tax)

A significant method of reducing the economic gap would be to take money from the wealthiest 1% and distribute it back toward the remaining poorest members. There is a growing consideration to do this with the use of a Progressive Tax. Tejvan Pettinger explains succinctly what a progressive tax is, compared to what we have now, which is proportional tax. “A progressive tax means that we take a higher % of tax from those on high incomes (e.g. a 50% income tax rate for income above £150,000).If everyone paid a flat rate of income tax of 20%, this would be a proportional tax. “ (Pettinger)

In America, the poor and the rich pay the same amount of tax in 43 of the 50 states. An average lower-class citizen pays California’s income tax; the highest state income tax rate in the nation: 13.3%. If one makes what KQED’s Matthew Green considers a living wage of $25,677 (Green) that payment is $3415.04 per year in income tax. That is either a barely-reliable car, or a vital dental procedure. Heaven help you if you need both that year. Compare that with an upper-class citizen’s salary. An average of $300,000 a year. The upper class is paying $39,900 in income tax a year. Though the percentage is the same, the noticeable difference is so significant that it would not require one to consider what to afford; health care or transportation.

Against (tax)

Not everyone feels cutting the tax of the rich is a good idea. Fortune’s Jonathan Chew reminds us that the Republican party’s presidential office holder would hope to give a hefty tax cut to the very richest, and only slightly less moderate tax cuts to the less grotesquely rich:

“An analysis of Donald Trump’s tax plan by a research institute reveals two interesting points: the U.S. government would get a lot poorer, and the wealthy would get a lot richer.

In the Tax Policy Center’s analysis of the Republican candidate’s proposal, the institute said that Trump’s plan would reduce federal revenues by $9.5 trillion over its first decade, and an additional $15.0 trillion over the next 10 years. Including interest costs, the Center said, the proposal would add $11.2 trillion to the national debt by 2026.

To put that into perspective, Trump’s tax plan would cause the debt to GDP ratio to hit 180% by 2036, the Center found..” (Chew)

So what if the rich retain the cuts and the middle and lower class eek out a bare living? Under the tax reform, the poor will get a moderate $127 yearly tax cut. It’s all in a day’s work for our POTUS, whose tarrifs have (supposedly) contributed to the economy boom as well as lifting (pesky environmental) regulations so big business can steamroll ahead in their profit-making enterprises. Breitbart’s John Carney confidently reminds us that “the growth generated by Trump’s economic policies are very nearly paying for the tax cuts.” (Carney)

While no mega-rich have enthusiastically taken to the streets in protest to this issue, there is little doubt that they are well informed of the product of the plan on our nation and the citizens whose blood oil the gears of industry to keep the rich stocked with the pleasures to which they have become accustomed.

Argument 3 (medicade)

Many believe it is of vital importance for our country to strengthen and maintain safety net programs such as Medicaid. Health Affairs Patricia Gabow and Thomas Daschle published an inspiring piece on the importance of Medicade, on the 50^th Anniversary of the program July of 2015. 

Medicaid covers “70 million people, almost half of the births in the U.S. and approximately 40 percent of our nation’s children. If how children and their families fare in our society influence the country’s future, then Medicaid is critically important to the well-being of America. Not only is Medicaid the country’s largest single source of health care coverage, but it is also a principal provider of many essential services. There is a broad recognition that providing meaningful mental health care not only helps people lead productive lives, but impacts the daily functionality and safety of society.” (Gabow and Daschle)

The argument of the safety of our society is paramount to the productivity of our citizens and their ability as efficient providers to selves and others. Stressors from every day wage earning, child rearing while living below the poverty line is risk enough without having to worry about family health illnesses which in many cases can obliterate the savings of even a middle-class family. To a poorer family this may mean the difference between life and death.

Argument 4 (living wage)

Werner and Ling in the Journal of Business ethics reminds us that “Adam Smith…believed in paying all workers at least what we would call today a LW because it would ultimately benefit society in the form of increased productivity, wealth distribution and economic growth.” (Werner and Lim)

A living wage is yet another option to reduce the gap. A living wage differs from a minimum wage. Minimum wage is the lowest legal amount a person can be paid. A living wage is the wage at which a person must earn in order to meet basic human needs: health, food, housing, clothing. According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, in Mendocino county this living wage is estimated at $11.68 while the actual minimum wage is currently $11.00. (MIT) While this is close to a living wage, California’s minimum wage will be rising one dollar every year, making our state progressive in putting citizens’ needs first.

Conclusion

Our challenge, as a nation and as a people, is to attain equity for the benefit of all. It’s possible that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link” is also a correct metaphor for our society at large. For we are functioning at much less than full strength when our citizens are struggling in poverty. While most economists and congressionals agree on the main point, that our economy is suffering due to the ever widening distance between classes, it will require a bipartisan effort of equally epic proportion on these and other points, to begin closing the gap.

Works Cited

Carney, John. Breitbart; Carney: Trump’s Tax Cuts and Economic Programs Are Paying for Themselves. 26 10 2018. https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2018/10/26/carney-trumps-tax-cuts-and-economic-programs-are-paying-for-themselves/. 17 11 2018.

Chew, Jonathan. Fortune; Donald Trump's Tax Plan Would Make the Rich Richer, Uncle Sam Poorer. 23 12 2015. http://fortune.com/2015/12/23/donald-trump-plan-tax-policy-center/. 17 11 2018.

Green, Matthew. KQED; MAP: How Much Does It Really Cost to Live in California? 5 11 2015. https://www.kqed.org/lowdown/8545/calculating-the-real-cost-of-living-in-calfornia. 17 11 2018.

MIT. The Living Wage Calculator. n.d. http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/06045. 17 11 2018.

Munroe-Blum, Heather. Golbal Economic Symposium; Proposal - Overcoming Inequality through Education. 2009. http://www.global-economic-symposium.org/knowledgebase/the-global-society/overcoming-inequality-through-education/proposals/overcoming-inequality-through-education. 17 11 2018.

Pettinger, Tejvan. Economicshelp.org; Reducing the gap between rich and poor. 19 9 2011. https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/3364/economics/reducing-the-gap-between-rich-and-poor/. 17 11 2018.

Saiz, Ignacio and Gaby Ore Aguilar. Open Global Rights; Tackling inequality as injustice: four challenges for the human rights agenda. 30 3 2016. https://www.openglobalrights.org/tackling-inequality-as-injustice-four-challenges-for-h/. 17 11 2018.

Shenker-Osorio, Anat. Keep The Middle Class Alive; Educating people about Widening Inequality in the U.S. and abroad. 7 4 2011. http://keepthemiddleclassalive.com/do-you-think-the-poor-are-lazy/. 17 11 2018.

Werner, Andrea and Ming Lim. Journal of Business Ethics; The Ethics of the Living Wage: A Review and Research Agenda. 9 2016. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-015-2562-z. 17 11 2018.

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[1] http://keepthemiddleclassalive.com/do-you-think-the-poor-are-lazy/