Trump’s 100-Day Plan: part five

Trump mentions plans to ‘Build that wall,’ make childcare more affordable and strengthen national security

Throughout his campaign, many Trump supporters would chant “Build that wall,” referring to Trump’s plan to build a wall on the Mexican border. This section of the plan reiterates those plans. (Submitted)

Story by Emilee Wentland, Staff Writer

President-elect Donald Trump tackles a wide variety of issues in the final portion of his 100-day plan.

In “Donald Trump’s Contract with the American Voter,” the president-elect promises to propose acts that involve making child and eldercare more affordable, combating corruption in Washington and building the infamous wall on the Mexican border.

UW-Eau Claire political science professor Rodd Freitag said Trump feels that, when he is president, he has a mandate to accomplish the goals on the list because he’s talked about them so frequently throughout his rallies.

Freitag also mentioned the acts listed are more starting points for what could be proposals, due to their lack of details, and the plans will likely undergo many changes before they’re finalized.

“What a proposal looks like when it goes into the legislative process is often times very different than what it looks like coming out,” Freitag said.

Trump plans to make childcare and eldercare more affordable. He said he’ll let people deduct these expenditures from their taxes as well as give incentives for employers to provide childcare service.

Additionally, Trump plans to implement tax-free savings accounts to encourage Americans to save for child and eldercare. Freitag said this is a “common conservative approach” to the subject and would ultimately lead to a loss in revenue for the government.

The document also reiterates Trump’s intent to build a wall along the Mexican border, for which Mexico will reimburse the United States. Trump’s “End Illegal Immigration Act” will also require prison sentences for those who re-enter the U.S. illegally.

Going about ending illegal immigration in that manner would likely lead to negative effects in the United States economy, Freitag said.

“ (the general population of immigrants) works, pays taxes and generally follows the laws,” Freitag said. “So…we’re going to lose their productivity, we’re going to lose the tax revenue that they provide.”

College Democrats member Anna Schmidt, said she thinks the U.S. should be “building bridges, not walls” when it comes to our relationships with other countries.

Schmidt said she also finds Trump’s plans to “drain the swamp” contradictory.

“It’s pretty evident with the cabinet members that he has introduced that is not necessarily ‘draining the swamp’ as he so claims to want to do,” she said.

Trump also plans to “reduce surging crime, drugs and violence” by creating a task force that Freitag said would be a group of people hired to study and determine a solution to the problem.

“It’s kind of what you do when you don’t know what to do,” He said.

Freitag said surging crime is location-specific and the overall crime rate in the U.S. has dropped.

The president-elect’s “Restoring National Security Act” tackles many issues at once. In this act, Trump wants to rebuild the military, provide veterans with proper medical care, secure the infrastructure to prevent cyber attacks and enhance screening to prevent people who don’t support American values from immigrating to the U.S.

The final plan listed on the document echoes Trump’s campaign promises to “drain the swamp,” which refers to cleaning up the corruption in Washington, D.C., Freitag said.

College Republicans Treasurer Nathan Kane said this section has many positive aspects. He emphasized the “Ending Illegal Immigration Act” as something Americans would find as a necessary initiative.

Kane said he has confidence in Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell and that they’ll succeed in passing Trump’s proposals while he’s in office.

When Trump takes office Jan. 20 he’ll introduce each of these acts, as well as many other legislative measures, in hopes of restoring a government “of, by and for the people.”