Some Leftover Items From My Writer's Notebook

Pump's Testy Call to the Australian P.M.
About the same time as Donald Trump called the Mexican President Nieto in January 2017, he made a call to the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Trump got embroiled over the subject of some Syrian refuges that former President Barack Obama had agreed to resettle in the United States. Trump said: "I hate taking these people." "I guarantee you they are bad. That is why they are in prison right now. They are not going to be wonderful people who go to work for the local milk people." "I think it is a horrible deal, a disgusting deal that I would have never made."

Fiduciary Rule
The Labor Department disclosed an 18-month delay in the fiduciary rule that requires brokers to act in the retirement savers'best interests rather than their own. The Economic Policy Institute's Heidi Shierholz says the 18-month deferral of the deferral rule -- past the current implementation date of January 1, 2018 -- will cost Americans saving or retirement an additional $10.9 billion over the next ten years.

Corporations' Taxes Far Less Than Commonly Believed
The Economic Policy Institute's Hunter Blair says that corporations actually pay an effective tax rate ranging from 13 to 19 percent. The deferral loophole allows large multinational corporations to avoid paying their taxes indefinitely on profits they made offshore. The deferred loophole has been used to book $2.6 trillion in profits offshore.

President Trump is proposing that the deferred loophole be made permanent.

DACA Deferred
Under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children were given work permits and protected from deportation. United States District Judge Andrew Hanen blocked enforcement of DACA in 2015, in a case that ultimately resulted in a 4-4 tie in the U.S/. Supreme Court.

The Trump administration has only until September 5 to defend the program or let it expire.

Trump on Trade
Trump tweet (August 14): "The Obstructionist Democrats have given us (or not fixed) some of the worst trade deals in World History. I am changing that fast!"

President Trump ordered the top trade adviser to determine whether to investigate Chinese trade practices that force U.S. firms operating in China to turn over intellectual property. If such turnover is occurring, it could lead to stiff tariffs on Chinese goods.

DeVos Prefers Private Over Public School Funding
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has cut $9 billion from her FY 2018 budget, including a $2.3 billion cut in teacher training grants, and $1.2 billion for after-school programs that serve children in some of the nation's poorest communities, while investing $1.4 billion on new public and private school choice opportunities.

DeVos joined Attorney General Jeff Sessions in rescinding guidance directing schools to let transgender students use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.