[Reason] When It Comes to Policy, Biden and Trump Aren't That Different

"When It Comes to Policy, Biden and Trump Aren't That Different":


https://reason.com/2021/03/18/when-it-comes-to-policy-biden-and-trump-arent-that-different/

When It Comes to Policy, Biden and Trump Aren't That Different
The president's approach to immigration, trade, and industry may sound familiar.
VERONIQUE DE RUGY | 3.18.2021 11:50 AM

Several of my friends have expressed relief now that Joe Biden is president and Donald Trump is gone. They no longer have to watch the news constantly, declaring that they know "the country is now in good hands."

There's no way to defend Trump's poor behavior and insulting style. Yet, there is more to a president than his decorum. And on at least three signature Trump policies for which he'll be remembered the most, often with dread, the similarities between Biden and Trump are unsettling.

Take immigration. President Biden campaigned against separating migrant kids from their families at the border. But, sadly, such separations are still happening. In fact, February 2021 recorded a 61 percent increase over January. As The Wall Street Journal editorialized, "The Washington Post reports that more than 8,500 migrant children are at facilities run by the Department of Health and Human Services, while another 3,500—'the highest figure ever'—are stuck at [Customs and Border Patrol] stations waiting for a spot to open at the shelters."

***
Biden shares other traits with Trump, such as his fiscal irresponsibility, a willingness to bomb foreign countries, and a soft spot for defense spending. So yeah, Trump is gone, but for those still paying attention and still watching the news, we realize that many of his policies are still firmly in place.

VERONIQUE DE RUGY, Ph.D., is a contributing editor at Reason. She is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
​

more at the link

​

 

lol. not sure I follow your complaint AT ALL.

but of course the author must be "intellectually dishonest": https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/veronique-de-rugy

so I will concede whatever point it is that you're making in your own mind

 

not that I can see. perhaps people who read her as suggesting that could provide textual evidence from her article that supports that interpretation

 

GOOD COMMENT!!! WAY TO GO CHOWD!!! EXCELLENT COMMENT!! great point, excellent contribution.

 

additional background:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...sed-house-minors-separated-family/4587455001/

 

honestly, (and I'm going to direct a personal comment at you now--apologies in advance) . . . you and comments like this one are why the D&D is so very tedious.

 

one last thing before I sign off for a couple of hours. I interpret De Rugy making a very conventional point--i.e., there is very little substantive difference between Democrats and Republicans, generally speaking, on matters of policy. What many political scientists argue is this--that the two parties differ in matters of rhetoric and style, but not very much on substance.

see for example someone like Bryan Caplan: https://www.econlib.org/archives/2008/09/how_dems_and_re.html

although certainly there is room for sincere and open-minded disagreement on the point, see for example Rappaport's comments on Caplan: https://lawliberty.org/the-differences-between-the-political-parties/

anyway. have fun poo-slinging if that's your thing.

 

I see by your editing you've decided to double down on this assertion. Let's just quote everything she says about the issue and you can identify where she "falsely equates" child separation with unaccompanied minors:

Take immigration. President Biden campaigned against separating migrant kids from their families at the border. But, sadly, such separations are still happening. In fact, February 2021 recorded a 61 percent increase over January. As The Wall Street Journaleditorialized, "The Washington Post reports that more than 8,500 migrant children are at facilities run by the Department of Health and Human Services, while another 3,500—'the highest figure ever'—are stuck at [Customs and Border Patrol] stations waiting for a spot to open at the shelters."

While the Biden administration promised an end to Trump's immigration policies, the sheer number of kids effectively still locked up in deplorable conditions exposes the Biden administration's delayed action—or possibly unwillingness—to reform the underlying policies that drive migrant children to show up unaccompanied at the border.

For starters, families who show up to ask for asylum are sent back, while unaccompanied children who cross the border will get into the country. That's an incentive to send kids alone. Moreover, it's still the policy to separate children from their more distant relatives when they show up at the border. These rules, combined with the large population that has built up over time under Trump, explains part of the increase in these border detentions.

What's more, the Cato Institute's immigration expert David Bier wrote recently that the Biden administration's changes to the "remain in Mexico" policy make the situation even worse. Families that try to cross together are still sent back to Mexico; however, unlike under the Trump administration, they aren't given a court date to make their case for asylum, or any sort of asylum process, for that matter. They are just sent back to wait in Mexico. Wait for what? It's unclear.
​

that's what she says. I'll wait.

again, this is a far more polite way of addressing the same concern, and again, I don't see her "conflating" any such thing. The Trump policy of separating children from parents is no longer in effect; but children are still separated from non-parent ("distant") relatives such as grandparents. And as she notes in the final paragraph, the Biden alternative to Trump's separation policy is to simply send families back to Mexico, where they sit in a kind of purgatory waiting to make their case for asylum. So clearly she notes the difference in policy, and relies on David Bier's opinion that this policy is even worse than the Trump policy in some ways. ("What's more, the Cato Institute's immigration expert David Bier wrote recently that the Biden administration's changes to the 'remain in Mexico' policy make the situation even worse.")

 

this is a good response, and I don't have much to disagree with here

 

this is a dumb comment, made by someone who is reading into the article what he wants to read into it