24 MAY 2017: If you still think Donald Trump will “Make America Great Again” just skip this and go on to the next article. America didn’t need to be made “Great Again” it was doing perfectly well till 09 November 2016. Now, the first federal budget proposed by Trump eliminates Brand USA – an agency responsible for adding almost $9 billion to the economy last year – but that’s just for starters. Trump also cuts programmes for the poor, health care (of course) and food stamps, student loans and disability payments. In fact, this budget royally screws a great many Trump supporters. It does however include US $1.6 billion to begin work on a border wall, that Mexico has, so stubbornly, refused to pay for.
The plan would also cut by more than US $72 billion the disability benefits upon which millions of Americans rely. It would eliminate loan programmes that subsidize college education for the poor.
The administration projects a three percent annual growth which experts believe is pretty well impossible. In a Washington Post column on Tuesday, Larry Summers, the former treasury secretary, said the idea was a “logical error of the kind that would justify failing a student in an introductory economics course.”
“Apparently, the budget forecasts that US economic growth will rise to 3.0 percent because of the administration’s policies — largely its tax cuts and perhaps also its regulatory policies,” Summer wrote. “Fair enough if you believe in tooth fairies and ludicrous supply-side economics.”
Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said that neither of the White House’s assertions – that Trump’s tax plan would be both revenue neutral and fuel budget coffers by $2 trillion to $2.6 trillion through economic growth – are realistic, added to three or four percent growth “is nearly unprecedented. You’d need productivity growth at a level you’ve never seen.”
Fortunately, it is highly unlikely to be passed.
But the fact is – that is what this Administration has proposed.
But let’s stay with travel and tourism.
U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on the proposed elimination of the Brand USA tourism marketing agency in Trump’s federal budget document:
“With all that’s going on in the world, unilaterally disarming the marketing of the U.S. as a travel destination would be to surrender market share at the worst possible time. It’s especially perplexing that the elimination of Brand USA is on the table when both Commerce Secretary Ross and OMB Director Mulvaney each have supported it previously.
“The creation of Brand USA was a bipartisan effort led by Republicans that passed both chambers by overwhelming majorities. The agency was responsible for adding $8.9 billion to the U.S. economy last year, according to the firm Oxford Economics—a 28-to-1 return on investment. Brand USA isn’t funded with a dime of taxpayer money, reduced the deficit by $50 million, and by the OMB’s own accounting eliminating it would put the federal budget further in the red.
“With international visitation being the country’s No. 2 export supporting 15 million American jobs, we’re struggling to understand how cutting Brand USA squares with this administration’s stated priorities.”
I think we have all learned in just a few short months Mr. Dow, that this administration’s priorities and promises are about as permanent as the shifting sands of Caladesi Beach.
Here’s the weird thing – the funding for Brand USA, which is a non-profit, private partnership, comes from a mix of donations from more than 700 partner organizations. Taxpayer money isn’t used to fund Brand USA’s marketing efforts which comes in contributions from partners such as tourism boards and are matched by fees international travellers pay to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) programme.
The organization received no advance warning of the budget’s proposals.
By law, Brand USA can’t advocate or lobby Congress and must rely on other travel associations such as U.S. Travel to advocate on its behalf
The organization will keep, “pushing the pedal to the floor,” said Anne Madison, a spokesperson for Brand USA. “As a practical matter, it is also important to note that the budget any administration presents is a statement of priorities—not a budget that is presented to Congress to vote on.”
Does dumping Brand USA make any sense?
At Brand USA’s March 22 board meeting, the board said it has identified $84.4 million in ESTA submissions for fiscal 2017 that puts the organization on target to reach its $100 million contributions match goal.
Partner contributions from tourism boards and other travel brands “continue to be strong if not stronger than ever before,” said Madison. In March, the board said partner contributions were $9.5 million ahead of budget year-to-date.
Brand USA’s expenses were $24 million below budget year-to-date in March, the board said, primarily due to a shift of strategy and timing differences in marketing expenses. Expenses were expected to be within budget for fiscal 2017.
“We continue to operate leanly and our overhead has consistently been below 10 percent,” said Madison.
While Brand USA has helped increase international visitation and spending in the US, the organization conceded last year that the Obama Administration’s goal of attracting 100 million annual international visitors by 2021 may not be possible at least in part because of the Trump administration’s travel policies, including the controversial travel bans from certain Muslim-majority countries.
Brand USA’s marketing efforts added $8.9 billion to the U.S. economy last year, according to Oxford Economics, which estimates Brand USA’s marketing initiatives helped bring more than three million international visitors and approximately $21 billion in visitor spending to the US over the past three years.
Brand USA helps make America Great – ‘A Land of Dreams.’
It actually does make many global travellers consider “America First.”
Not anything one can say of Donald Trump who continues to prove he is the antithesis of everything America stands for.