At his press conference yesterday, former President Trump made it absolutely clear that he was the candidate for tax cuts and Kamala Harris was the candidate for tax increases.

Maybe she thinks she’s the new Walter Mondale, who campaigned for tax increases and lost 49 states. After all, her running mate is, like Mondale, a far-left progressive from Minnesota.

With stock markets shaky, unemployment rising and the economy faltering, Trump’s promise of tax cuts – and his fight against Harris’ plans to raise taxes – will be a key issue in the final three months of the campaign.

PROPERTY PRICES ARE FINALLY STARTING TO FALL – AND THESE 3 CITIES HAVE FALLEN THE MOST

FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP: They always say, “We’re going to give you a tax increase.” But in all my years studying politics, I’ve never seen anyone get elected because they said, “We’re going to give you a tax increase.” | And I’m going to make it so that there’s no tax on Social Security for retirees. I’m also not going to tax tips.

That’s it. That sends a very strong message to voters, particularly middle-class voters who are increasingly worried about unemployment. For example, columnist Salena Zito in the New York Sun reminds us that America’s middle class, after battling high prices, is now facing rising unemployment.

In fact, while overall unemployment has risen from 3.4% to 4.3%, unemployment among people without a college degree recently reached 4.6%. That’s a double whammy: high prices and job losses.

These are typical working peopleConstruction workers, oil and gas workers, people who work with their hands every day. They’re an unknown species on Wall Street and Silicon Valley, but they’re the backbone of America, and Trump speaks directly to them when he says, “I’m going to cut your taxes and raise your wages.”

TRUMP: Our tax cuts, the largest in history, are coming very soon, as you know. If they are not extended, it will be a four-fold increase in taxes than now and will devastate the economy.

It’s important to remember that typical families took a pay cut of about 4% during the Biden-Harris years. To make the threat of a tax increase from Kamala-nomics even clearer, MAGA PAC even publishes a “Kamala Tax Calculator.”

Here’s an example: A married man under 65 filing a joint tax return, earning $75,000, and having two children would lose $2,828 each year from a Kamala-nomics tax hike. That’s real money. As for the struggling economy, which may be in the early stages of a recession, I believe that lowering tax rates would be much more beneficial to the economy than an emergency Fed rate cut.

If the Fed starts to drastically cut interest rates and increase the money supply, we will see a new wave of inflation. The last thing we need is another Fed stimulus to the economy. The world is already over-leveraged and over-indebted.

The Japanese yen carry trade has shaken the stock markets. Domestically, the seven glorious technology stocks are over-indebted.

Consumers have also taken on far too much debt, while the number of arrears is increasing. Business It’s not a lack of money and debt, it’s a lack of free-market incentives. But suppose Washington were really worried about a recession, how about an emergency cut in corporate and personal tax rates, which would increase economic incentives to work more and produce more goods, which would increase growth while curbing prices?

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And then there’s the “drill, baby, drill” to produce more oil and gas at lower energy prices. More growth, lower inflation.

That’s essentially what Mr. Trump is talking about. Tax cuts promote growth and opportunity. Tax increases send us into recession. That’s why Mr. Trump’s message of tax cuts hits home.

This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the August 9, 2024 edition of Kudlow.