Donald Trump has a new economic proposal that’s making waves: getting rid of taxes on tips. He’s pitching it as a game-changer for the middle class, especially for those who rely on tips—waitresses, drivers, caddies—the people who, in Trump’s words, “everybody loves.” And sure enough, the idea got cheers from his audience. But if you take a closer look, it raises some interesting questions—and even more interesting contradictions.
On the surface, the idea sounds like a win for working folks. After all, who wouldn’t want to keep more of their hard-earned money? But not everyone is buying it. Economists are already wondering how this would actually work and what it might cost. Labor experts, on the other hand, are pointing out a pretty big irony: just a few years ago, Trump was pushing policies that could have let employers dip into those very same tip jars. At the time, his administration planned to give employers greater discretion over the tips their employees earned, provided that the latter were paid the federal minimum wage. What has changed?
With an eye on an achievable return to the White House, Trump is changing his platform, and he’s doing it at lightning speed. The former president seems to be constantly reinventing himself, adapting his message to the group he is speaking to, whether it be on the subjects of TikTok, cryptocurrencies, or tipping. Skeptics are saying that he is merely expressing what he believes the public wants to hear–without any intention of delivering on the promise.
Consider TikTok. Recall how Trump was determined to outlaw the app due to its ties to the Chinese Communist Party at one point. That was in his first term, when the focus was mostly on national security issues. But now that TikTok is more widely used than ever, Trump has completely changed course. He now presents himself as the platform’s rescuer and even calls on its millions of users to support his campaign. “We’re going to save TikTok,” he said, somehow implying that China would gain from its prohibition.
Cryptocurrency is another example. Trump made it obvious that he wasn’t a fan of digital currencies back in 2019 when he cautioned that they were risky and unstable and may be used for illicit purposes. Nowadays, however, Trump is not only taking donations in bitcoin but also offering Trump-branded goods that can be purchased with the currency. He recently stated at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville that he saw the United States becoming the “crypto capital of the planet” as he promised to support the business going forward and accused the Biden administration of inhibiting innovation.
So, what’s driving all these shifts? Some say it’s just Trump being Trump—constantly adapting, opportunistic, always looking for the next angle. Economist Stephen Moore, who counseled Trump’s 2016 campaign, believes it’s a component of a larger embrace of technology. Moore believes that Trump has changed his mind on the importance of technology for both the future of America and, not coincidentally, his own political career, as seen by his changing positions on TikTok and cryptocurrencies.
Will he, however, get the backing he seeks from these new positions? That is a more difficult question. It’s possible that Trump may have trouble winning over hospitality workers despite his new tip-friendly policies. Given Trump’s prior experience with labor issues, Kamala Harris has already received the endorsement of the influential union Unite Here, which works on behalf of a large number of those people. They are aware that Trump had controlled casinos and hotels where employees frequently had to struggle for decent pay. The past, after all, is not something you can change your mind about too quickly
