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If you supported Donald Trump in the previous election believing he would boost economic liberty, it’s likely you were misled. After initiating an impulsive series of tariffs, the administration along with their supporters is now planning another round of manipulative tax code changes. These alterations resemble progressive policies aimed at social change rather than fostering growth. Additionally, they exhibit financial irresponsibility similar to errors made by those on the political left.

Support these policies if you wish, but let’s make one thing crystal clear: The administration demonstrates no consistent dedication to free-market ideals and is actually working against them. Their strategy would more accurately be termed centralized planning masquerading as economic nationalism.

This week’s illustration involves an executive order aimed at controlling prescription drug prices, akin to previous Democratic initiatives. Should this be put into practice, it could potentially diminish pharmaceutical research, development, and innovation.

The tariffs continue to be the most noticeable economic mistake made under this administration following President Trump’s implementation of what has become the sharpest increase in protectionist policies since the well-known Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. Despite today’s economy being significantly intertwined with international supply networks unlike the situation during the 1930s, these tariffs have caused widespread harm that is felt almost instantaneously. While tariffs appear as though they target imported goods, their true burden falls upon U.S. consumers, employees, and companies.

The president has indicated his comfort level with restricting consumers’ options, casually informing parents they may need to “compromise” with just two dolls rather than having access to all 30. Arrogant declarations regarding our shopping habits (that we shouldn’t do much of it) or preferred industries (like manufacturing) represent a form of economic authoritarianism.

This also points to a more profound governmental decay. Policy-making occurs through executive orders since unconscious congressional Republicans, akin to certain Democrats during the Biden era, permit the president to govern as though he were a monarch.

An outspoken Congress could make every president aware that many manufacturing jobs have been lost due to technological advancements which simultaneously generate new opportunities and employment within representatives’ constituencies. Growth happens solely via innovation and competition rather than pushing individuals back towards less productive job roles.

Now, even Trump’s tax agenda — once considered a bright spot by many free-market advocates — is being corrupted. Instead of championing the broad-based, pro-growth reforms we’d hoped for, the administration is doubling down on gimmickry: exempting tips and overtime pay, expanding child tax credits and entertaining the idea of raising top marginal tax rates.

These moves might poll well, but they’re unprincipled and unproductive. They undermine the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which aimed (however imperfectly) to simplify the code and incentivize growth, and not to micromanage worker and household behavior through the IRS.

And then there are the administration’s misleading, populist talking points about raising taxes on the rich to reduce taxes on lower and middle-income workers. The U.S. income tax system is already one of the most progressive in the developed world. According to the latest IRS data, the top 1% of earners pay more in federal income taxes than the bottom 90% combined. These high earners provide 40% of federal income tax revenue; the bottom half of earners make up only 3% of that revenue. Thankfully, the House of Representatives steered away from that mistake in its bill.

Meanwhile, some Republican legislators are pushing to extend the 2017 tax cuts without meaningful offsets, setting the stage for a debt-fueled disaster. As noted by Scott Hodge, formerly the longtime president of the Tax Foundation, the GOP’s proposed cuts could add more than $5.8 trillion to the debt over a decade. That’s nearly three times the cost of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, which many Republicans rightly criticized for fueling inflation and fiscal instability.

Certainly: It’s important to understand that pro-growth tax reform is crucial. However, not all tax reductions lead to growth, and no tax break can justify increased fiscal decline. While I typically endorse extending the 2017 tax cuts, this should not be mistaken for genuine tax reform.

Some of the provisions being floated — expanded credits, exclusions for tips and overtime, rolling back the state and local tax deduction cap — are not growth policies. They are wealth redistribution run through the tax code, indistinguishable in substance from the kind of demand-side, Keynesian stimulus Republicans once decried.

Hodge points out that these steps would primarily replicate aspects of the American Rescue Plan rather than rectify its costly errors. Moreover, given that the Federal Reserve continues to combat inflation, incorporating additional trillions in unpaid obligations into the nation’s budget is extremely reckless.

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Donald Trump’s Economic Plan Reveals Republicans’ Departure From Free Market Ideals.