Trump promises millions of jobs

Donald Trump made ambitious promises for his economic plan Thursday, saying his vision would create millions of new jobs and drive economic growth not seen in decades.

Speaking before the Economic Club of New York, Trump largely rehashed his plan for the economy if elected president, vowing a series of broad tax cuts, trimmed regulations and stricter trade policy to boost the U.S. economy.

But this time, he set specific targets for his policies. According to Trump, if his plan is enacted, the economy would grow on average 3.5 percent over the next decade and would create 25 million new jobs.

“It’s a bold, and ambitious, and forward looking plan,” said Trump.

The U.S. economy has not grown at a comparable rate since the early 2000s, but Trump predicted his plan could even exceed his own optimistic projections.

“I think we can do better than that,” he said, noting that his own economists didn’t agree.

Trump’s plan hinges on that expected economic growth, as it is a huge spike in economic activity that covers the costs of the tax cut he is proposing.

The GOP nominee has proposed a massive simplification of the U.S. tax code, which includes a lowering of taxes for every income class.

“By lowering rates, streamlining deductions and simplifying the process, we will add millions of new jobs,” he said.

Trump’s plan would also slash the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent.

But he argued that the costs of those tax cuts would be covered — assuming the economy grows as he expected.

Trump said that the $4.4 trillion cost of his tax plan would drop to $2.6 trillion if analyzed under dynamic scoring, which anticipates future economic activity in assessing the costs of a particular policy proposal. Then, Trump said his economic team has determined that his policy plan on trade, energy, and reducing regulations would lead to another $1.8 trillion to cover the costs. And finally, the remaining $800 billion would be addressed through “simple, common sense reforms.”

Trump added that if somehow the U.S. economy can hit 4 percent growth, his tax plan actually begins to reduce the deficit.

Trump’s speech did not discuss how he would address the costs of other initiatives he has said he would pursue, including rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and reinvesting in the military.

However, he did pitch a “penny plan,” which would reduce non-defense, non-entitlement spending by 1 percent every year, arguing it could add up to over $1 trillion in savings over a decade.

Trump also reiterated many of his previous economic proposals, including halting all new regulations, renegotiating existing trade deals and upping energy production in the U.S.

He also railed against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s economic agenda, arguing that she was tied to the lackluster economic recovery under Obama.

“She offers only more taxes…more regulating, more spending, and more wealth redistribution,” he said. “The only thing she can offer is a welfare check.”

And he was bleak about the prospects of the country if he is not elected.

“This election is going to be our last chance to really make America great again,” he said. “We’re going to be a large scale version of Venezuela … this is the last chance, in my opinion, our country has to really get better, to get well.”