Reagan budget director goes off on billionaire's defense of Trump's 'dog's breakfast' plan
Ronald Reagan's budget director over the weekend for roasting a billionaire's defense of Donald Trump's economic plans.
It started with a post by billionaire Bill Ackman, who said, "I think President Trump's goal of reducing credit card interest rates is a worthy and important one."
"My concern about capping rates at 10% is that doing so will inevitably cause millions of Americans to have their cards cancelled as credit card companies lose the ability to adequately price subprime credit risk," he added. "Consumers denied credit cards will be forced to turn to loan sharks whose rates and terms will be vastly worse for borrowers."
Ackman goes on to say, "I commend the President for his focus on affordability for all Americans. Mortgage spreads and rates are coming down significantly due it his actions. Finding a way to bring down credit card rates without taking credit away from many Americans would have a very positive impact on the most disadvantaged Americans."
That led to a Reagan-era official erupting with a missive of his own.
David Stockman, a politician and former businessman who was a Republican U.S. Representative from the state of Michigan and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, said, "Hey, Bill, stop kissing his a--. When it comes to economics he's an unhinged whirligig of statist humbug, hoo-doo and ham-handed hammering of free markets and economic liberty. The very idea of government intervention in the credit card market is neither 'worthy' nor 'important'. Its just a stupid attempt to address the real affordability problem that is caused by massive deficits and endless money-printing at the Fed---both of which the Donald wants more of."
"The truth is, there is absolutely nothing redeeming about the dog's breakfast of protectionism, easy money, Keynesian deficits and crony capitalism that passes for Trump-O-Nomics," he then wrote.