On the Day After Cruz Dropped Out, the Predictable Trump Flip-Flops Began

05 May, 2016 by Dave Blount

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That didn’t take long. One day after Ted Cruz dropped out, Trump began his easily foreseen tack back to the far left positions that have characterized him for decades. He isn’t yet the official nominee and already he has flip-flopped, suggesting he might adopt the progressive position on minimum wage:

When asked by CNN whether he would support an increase in the federal minimum wage, Trump replied, “I’m looking at that, I’m very different from most Republicans.” He added, “You have to have something you can live on.”

This is a major shift from his statement during a debate in November when he made it clear, at least for that time and audience, that he did not support the federal government forcing an increase in the minimum wage. At the time, Trump claimed, “I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is.”

Also in November, Trump reiterated his opposition to the government increasing the minimum wage, during an appearance on MSNBC.

There is no constructive much less conservative argument for minimum wage. Artificially raising the cost of unskilled labor puts businesses out of business and workers out of work. It makes it more difficult for entry level workers to get off welfare and become productive members of society. It also drives up inflation, making every dollar you have saved worth less. The higher the minimum wage, the more destructive its effects.

With most issues, there is another side, but there is no upside to minimum wage. Leftist demagogues promote it anyway for two reasons: (1) some minimum wage workers literally do not have the cognitive capacity to understand that working their way up the ladder is a far more effective way to make more money than to have Big Government coercively price them out of the labor market, and some politicians are not above pandering to them; and (2) as everyone with even a sixth grade comprehension of economics knows, higher minimum wage means higher unemployment — and higher unemployment means more voters reliant on socialist politicians.

Evidently Trump is signaling a switch on minimum wage to appeal to Bernie Sanders voters. Trump supporters might finally acquire their first clue from the appalling spectacle of a presumptive Republican nominee competing with Shrillary Clinton for a communist’s supporters while openly shafting the conservatives he supposedly represents — not that many true conservatives will be voting for Trump anyway.

Oh, and Trump’s resolution to self-fund, because he is supposedly a billionaire and his own man? Out the window:

After spending months stating over and over again that he was self-funding his campaign, adding that all of his opponents were puppets of special interest groups and big money donors, bought and paid for with the money being infused into super PACs supporting their campaigns as part of a “corrupt system,” Trump announced that he will be opening his Rolodex, calling his wealthy friends, and creating a “world-class finance organization.”

Trump bragged during the primary that he had rich friends who wanted to donate money to his campaign, but he refused to accept as he continued to push the notion that taking big money from individuals and special interests makes you a puppet and “bought and paid for.” It looks like Cruz leaving the race completely changed his stance against not only accepting money from large donors but also accepting money from a super PAC.

In addition to calling on his wealthy buddies for money to fund his general election campaign, which is expected to cost $1 billion, Trump will also be supported by a super PAC, the very type of group that he demonized for the last 10 months.

The self-described outsider will also begin joint fundraising with the Republican National Committee.

This is why the wise donate to individual candidates, but never the RNC.

The $2 billion in free advertising Trump received from Fox News et al. got him the nomination, but it won’t get him the White House, so his promise was quickly discarded.

Every other promise he has made will follow given time.