Grading The 2024 GOP Platform

With the GOP convention happening this week in Milwaukee, the party has released its platform of policy principles. All quotes in italics below are taken directly from the platform itself with an assessment of its potential impact on taxpayers and the economy as a whole. So, without further ado: the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 2024 GOP platform.

The Good

“We will soon be [the number one producer of oil and natural] again by lifting restrictions on American Energy… Republicans will unleash Energy Production from all sources, including nuclear, to immediately slash Inflation and power American homes.”

• America is in desperate need of a source-neutral approach to energy. Too many taxpayer dollars have been spent trying to incentivize inefficient means of energy production in the marketplace. By removing regulatory restrictions and enabling all sources to compete effectively, the free market will be able to more efficiently power homes and lower costs for Americans.

“Republicans will immediately stabilize the Economy by slashing wasteful Government spending.”

• This is perhaps the most pressing need facing the nation. Lawmakers have seemingly resigned themselves to multi-trillion-dollar deficits every year. America’s political parties are effective at calling for spending cuts when they are in opposition, but typically turn around and ramp up spending when they control the levers of power. Given the record levels of debt added during the last Trump administration with a GOP Congress, and skyrocketing interest costs on the accumulated national debt, the American people should be vigilant about holding the GOP to this particular platform promise should they return to power.

“Republicans will reinstate President Trump’s Deregulation Policies, which saved Americans $11,000 per household, and end Democrats’ regulatory onslaught that disproportionately harms low- and middle-income households… Republicans will slash Regulations that stifle Jobs, Freedom, Innovation and make everything more expensive.”

• One of the highlights of the prior Trump administration was its policy of eliminating two regulations for every new one implemented. During the current administration, regulatory overreach has again become a hallmark of the executive branch. This would be a welcome return to an approach that fuels economic growth and small businesses.

“Republicans will make permanent the provisions of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”

• The sunset of some key provisions of the TCJA has caused uncertainty for American businesses. Families also face a return to higher rates and a lower standard deduction, increasing tax complexity. Reinstating and making permanent those provisions of the TCJA will ensure the economic growth that followed the TCJA will continue sustainably through the future, with added assurance for America’s business community.

“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology.”

• Artificial intelligence (AI) could very well be the frontier of a new industrial revolution. Regulations at this early stage in its development will hinder the innovations that could come out of it and greatly benefit the American economy. AI, like the internet before it, should be allowed to grow and thrive under a light-touch regulatory framework.

“Republicans will revive the U.S. Auto Industry by reversing harmful Regulations, canceling Biden’s Electric Vehicle and other Mandates.”

• The Biden administration’s focus on electric vehicles (EVs) has indeed been harmful. It subsidizes the affluent Americans who can afford to drive them, yet has failed to meaningfully increase uptake. It also ignores the side effects EVs have on the environment due to the costs and necessities of producing EV batteries, as well as the added strain on the electric grid. Any reverse to this approach would be a welcome addition to any new administration.

“Republicans believe families should be empowered to choose the best Education for their children. We support Universal School Choice in every State in America. We will expand 529 Education Savings Accounts and support Homeschooling Families equally.”

• Many municipalities underperform in education, leaving America’s children victim to a poor system. School choice empowers families to make the best decision for their children’s wellbeing. Further, 529 education savings accounts should be neutral, not prioritizing certain programs over others. This will promote innovation and competition that will lead to better education for the nation’s students.

“We are going to close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send it back to the States, where it belongs.”

• The Department of Education costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars each year to deliver middling results. The Tenth Amendment – in its wisdom – allows states to be laboratories of democracy. States and localities should have the freedom to innovate without heavy-handed regulations from bureaucrats woefully unfamiliar with the reality on the ground.

“We will ban the Federal Government from colluding with anyone to censor Lawful Speech.”

• This practice, known as “jawboning,” is antithetical to the First Amendment. Platforms are free to moderate content. However, if that censorship comes at the behest of government bureaucrats, it may be unconstitutional. Checking the current practice of jawboning within the federal government is needed.

The Bad

“We will eliminate Taxes on Tips for millions of Restaurant and Hospitality Workers.”

• Tax cuts are great. However, the narrow focus on tips is unwarranted. All types and sources of income should have lower tax status. The solution to the problems facing restaurant and hospitality workers can be found in tax cuts that benefit the entire economy. Further, a tax cut focused solely on tips might lead many industries to start categorizing pay and benefits as “tips,” leading to a distortionary impact that will likely warrant destructive tax hikes. While the idea is well-intentioned, it is not well-thought-out.

“To help new home buyers, Republicans will… promote homeownership through Tax Incentives and support for first-time buyers.”

• This point is relatively mixed. In other parts of this area of the platform, the party acknowledges the need to reduce inflation, open up federal lands for private use, and eliminate regulations that raise housing prices. However, this plank is – plainly and simply – a call to socially engineer through the tax code. Home ownership – as opposed to renting – is not a unique social good. It works for many people, but for some it makes less sense. Much like with higher education, the federal government should not be in the habit of incentivizing financially risky decisions with taxpayer dollars. Such policies also tend to inflate the cost of housing, creating a vicious cycle of subsidization. Homeownership already receives one of the most generous carveouts in the tax code through the mortgage interest deduction.

“We will protect Free Speech online.”

• On its face, there is nothing bad about this claim. However, reading between the lines, this could mean an unconstitutional attack on platforms. Many politicians making this claim have called for the repeal of Section 230, a legal provision granting platforms immunity from liability so that they can effectively host speech of all sorts. In this instance, “protecting free speech online” almost certainly means leveraging the power of the federal government to attack platforms that make content decisions with which the administration disagrees. It runs directly counter to platform’s plank against “jawboning.”

The Ugly

“Republicans will continue forging an America First Trade Policy… standing up to Countries that cheat and prioritizing American Producers over Foreign Outsourcers. We will bring our critical Supply Chains back home.”

• Such “Buy American” policies rarely have their intended effects. Tariffs are a destructive policy that increase prices for domestic consumers. They prop up certain industries at the expense of others. The fact that other nations impose these destructive tariffs is not a reason to bring that same economic calamity to the United States. This is a misguided response to other countries’ actions.

“Under Republican Leadership, the United States will create a robust Manufacturing Industry in Near Earth Orbit, send American Astronauts back to the Moon, and onward to Mars.”

• This already has profligate spending written all over it. The platform does, in parts, acknowledge the “rapidly expanding Commercial Space sector.” That is precisely where this innovation should happen. If any number of the private space exploration ventures want to re-explore the Moon or even Mars, they should be free to do so – unfettered by regulation. However, the federal government, with no discernible objective to going back to the Moon or Mars (other than that they think they can), should leave taxpayer dollars out of this.

“We will protect Medicare, and ensure Seniors receive the care they need without being burdened by excessive costs.”

• Medicare is one of the most costly, wasteful programs in the federal government today. Further, at the end of the prior Trump administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pushed a policy that amounted to price controls in Medicare Part D. This is not how excessive costs ought to be tackled. Rather, the government should incentivize competition and facilitate the bringing of low-cost alternatives to market. The platform offers no specifics on how Social Security and Medicare will be protected, and ignore the fact that without changes, these programs will face automatic cuts within roughly a decade.

“Our Trade deficit in goods has grown to over $1 Trillion Dollars a year. Republicans will support baseline Tariffs on Foreign- made goods.”

• Every American has a “trade deficit” with their local grocery store. This simply means that U.S. citizens buy more from foreign nations than foreigners import from the U.S. Americans receiving more goods than they send away is not a bad thing. Those goods come into the U.S. to benefit U.S. businesses, families, and individuals. The U.S.’s enormous internal economy generates enough wealth through domestic trade to make this possible. Tariffs promote inefficiencies domestically and raise the price of everyday goods. This would be an unmitigated disaster.

“Republicans will strengthen Buy American and Hire American Policies, banning companies that outsource jobs from doing business with the Federal Government.”

• Companies don’t choose to outsource jobs because they woke up one morning and decided they hate America. They do so because it is, in some cases, more efficient to do so. The inability to buy from overseas manufacturers will result in massive cost overruns for a federal government that is already struggling to pay its bills. The solution is to make the cost and regulatory environment in the U.S. more attractive than it is overseas, not to inflict arbitrary punishment on American taxpayers.