Opinion: Team Trump’s new tax pledge

View in [Browser] | Add [nytdirect@nytimes.com] to your address book. Tuesday, December 6, 2016 [The New York Times] [NYTimes.com/Opinion »] [Opinion] Tuesday, December 6, 2016 It's tempting for Democrats to dismiss as meaningless almost everything that Donald Trump or his aides say during the transition. The president-elect, after all, has a history of saying whatever he feels like saying, independent of its relationship to reality. So deep skepticism is warranted. But I think it's a mistake to ignore every signal coming from Trump Tower. For one thing, Trump and his aides have probably not yet figured out exactly what they want to do after taking office. (Remember: They didn't expect to win.) For another thing, there are going to be tough political battles in the next few years, and the markers that Trump's team are now putting down can be used in those battles. As Luigi Zingales [argued] in our pages a few weeks ago, the most effective way to fight Trump is to treat him as a regular politician. [My column] this morning focuses on the most surprising comment to come from Trump's world in recent days: the statements from his designated Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, that taxes on the rich will not decline. They were unambiguous, as I mentioned in [a newsletter last week]. And they're important. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including [a piece by Christopher Suprun] already getting some attention. Suprun, a Texan and one of the 538 members of the Electoral College, says he will not vote for Trump when the electors convene this month, because Trump has repeatedly shown himself to be unqualified. "The election of the next President is not yet a done deal," Suprun writes. "Electors of conscience can still do the right thing for the good of the country. Presidential electors have the legal right and a constitutional duty to vote their conscience. I believe electors should unify behind a Republican alternative." David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist  ADVERTISEMENT  Editorial [Why Does Donald Trump Lie About Voter Fraud?] By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Millions of people did not vote illegally, but top Republicans are happy to let the country believe they did.  Op-Ed Columnist [Steven Mnuchin speaking to reporters last week.] [Team Trump’s New Pledge on Tax Cuts] By DAVID LEONHARDT The next Treasury secretary says taxes will not drop for the rich. He should be held to the vow.  Mike McQuade [Op-Ed Contributor] [Why I Will Not Cast My Electoral Vote for Donald Trump] By CHRISTOPHER SUPRUN The Electoral College is supposed to determine if a candidate is qualified to be president. Mr. Trump has not met its standards.  Editorial [The Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.] [The Stain of Racism in New York’s Prisons] By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Wanton brutality is only one aspect of a prison system in which there is little respect for the rule of law or human rights. Editorial [Alexander Van der Bellen celebrating in Vienna on Sunday.] [A Momentary Setback for Europe’s Right-Wingers] By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Austrian voters reject an anti-immigrant candidate, but the populists are far from vanquished.  Editorial Notebook [Police shut down Connecticut Avenue outside Comet Ping Pong, a pizza restaurant that was the subject of a fake news story.] [Fake News Brings a Gunman to Washington] By ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s pick for national security adviser, has been in the habit of spreading pernicious conspiracy theories.  [Prime Minister Matteo Renzi speaking to the media in Rome, on Monday.] Prime Minister Matteo Renzi speaking to the media in Rome, on Monday. Tony Gentile/Reuters [Contributing Op-Ed Writer] [Don’t Worry About the Italy Vote] By BEPPE SEVERGNINI It was a rejection of the prime minister, not of the European Union.  Op-Ed Contributor [Syrian government soldiers in Aleppo on Saturday.] [How the War Ends in Syria] By PETER W. GALBRAITH It’s happening, so the U.S. should work with Russia for the least bad outcome. Op-Ed Contributor [Alexander Van der Bellen celebrated with his supporters in Vienna on Sunday.] [The Far Right Suffers a Defeat in Austria. What Can We Learn?] By FLORIAN BIEBER Presenting an alternative — not pandering — is the way to win against Europe’s right-wing populists. Room for Debate [Is It Wrong to Have a General Run the Pentagon?] The law bars officers from being defense secretary for seven years after service. For Gen. James Mattis, Congress must pass a waiver. Fixes [Dr. Surah Grumet making a housecall at a retirement home in North Carolina.] [A Year of Big Ideas in Social Change] By TINA ROSENBERG New strides in how to make doing the right thing easy were one recurring theme of the Fixes column during the year just ending.  [Trevor Noah, far left, with his cousins in Johannesburg in an undated photo.] Trevor Noah, far left, with his cousins in Johannesburg in an undated photo. Courtesy of the Noah family [Trevor Noah] [Let’s Not Be Divided. Divided People Are Easier to Rule.] By TREVOR NOAH That was, after all, the whole point of apartheid.  ADVERTISEMENT  From The Blogs Paul Krugman [Trade, Facts, and Politics] By PAUL KRUGMAN Statistics don’t win elections. Does that mean we shouldn’t look at them? Dot Earth [A detail from the "thought map" drawn by Jeremy Zilar as the Dot Earth blog was being developed in 2007.] [After Nine Years and 2,810 Posts, a Dot Earth Farewell] By ANDREW C. REVKIN After nine years and 2,810 posts, a blog seeking a sustainable path for humans on a finite planet comes to an end.  Letters to the Editor Letters [Gen. James Mattis met with President-elect Donald Trump in New Jersey last month.] [Donald Trump’s Choices for Cabinet Posts] Readers question Ben Carson’s qualifications, praise Gen. James Mattis, cite Patton’s anti-Semitism and criticize Tom Price’s free-market approach.  A NEW ELECTION PODCAST Listen to Opinion columnists and contributors on The Run-Up, a new podcast from The New York Times covering the final three months of the election. 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