Sarah Palin is not enthused about Donald Trump’s recent deal for the American worker.
The former Alaskan governor’s latest op-ed warns against “crony capitalism” in Trump’s new agreement with the Carrier Corporation to keep 800 jobs in the US, in exchange for tax breaks (paywall). Palin was the folksy running mate to 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
In an article published Dec. 2 called “But… Wait… The Good Guys Won’t Win With More Crony Capitalism” on news site Young Conservatives, Palin warns that Trump’s deal with the heating and cooling company could signal favoritism, and set a dangerous precedent for government meddling in the free market.
She writes:
When government steps in arbitrarily with individual subsidies, favoring one business over others, it sets inconsistent, unfair, illogical precedent. Meanwhile, the invisible hand that best orchestrates a free people’s free enterprise system gets amputated. Then, special interests creep in and manipulate markets. Republicans oppose this, remember? Instead, we support competition on a level playing field, remember? Because we know special interest crony capitalism is one big fail.
“Politicians picking and choosing recipients of corporate welfare is railed against by fiscal conservatives, for it’s a hallmark of corruption. And socialism,” she writes, urging a focus on policy instead of individual companies.
“Gotta’ have faith the Trump team knows all this,” she concludes with a call for the full terms of the deal to be made public.
Palin publicly supports the president-elect but has been vocal elsewhere about holding him accountable to his campaign promises.