Donald Trump, middle class billionaire

Since the late 1960's, both major parties have paid lip service to the middle class during campaign season. But once in office, Democrats generally push policies that benefit the underclass, whereas Republicans push policies which benefit the wealthy.

You don't hear the phrases "Great Society" and "trickle down economics" much anymore, but both concepts are still effectively in vogue with their respective parties.

As a result, the middle class -- the traditional backbone of this country --  is disappearing. 

The rich are doing quite well: income inequality has never been greater, thank you. And the poor are doing well enough to use their electronic benefit transfer cards at strip clubs, tattoo parlors, and liquor stores. 

But the middle class is suffering.

The Republican elites like illegal immigration because it provides cheap labor. The Democrats elites like it because it's a source of future Democrats. Or, maybe, because not liking it is "racist."

But illegals willing to work cheaply hold down wages, which hurts the middle class. And they tend to be a burden on government services, which the middle class pays for.

So far Trump is the only candidate willing to talk honestly about this. 

Corporations which export jobs abroad hurt the middle class. Apple, Nike, and many of other recent corporate success stories have inflated their profits using cheap foreign labor. And you can't phone certain support lines -- like Dell's -- without speaking to someone in India.

Trump is the only Republican talking about penalties for American companies which export jobs. 

It is ridiculous that the highest tax rate is for married couples who make $400,000. (Shouldn't those who make $10 million a year be taxed at a higher rate?) It is an outrage that hedge funders only pay the long term capital gains rate on their earnings when the money they manage isn't even theirs.

So far Trump is the only Republican talking about raising those rates. 

Trump has freely admitted that he's contributed to politicians to get favors from them later on. He's seen how this works from the inside, and is the only Republican talking about fixing this broken system. Trump's changes would come at the expense of the special interests, to the benefit of the middle class. 

It's hard to think of a less likely job description for a champion of the middle class than, New York real estate tycoon. But the rest of the Republican field, including several who are actually are middle class, have so far gone along with traditional Republican benefit-the-rich ("trickle down") policies.  

Trump may still be an egomaniacal blowhard, but that's actually the one area where he doesn't set himself apart from the rest of the field. Think about it: anybody who thinks he should be President is almost by definition a narcissistic personality: the job is too big for any man. The only difference between Trump and the others is that he is more honest about his ego, just as he is more honest about the other issues.

He's got my vote.