Trump’s $5,000 pledge to voters is a shameless bribe | Steven Greenhouse

Not only would the plan do vast economic damage - it assumes that Americans are easily bamboozled

Whenever Donald Trump gives a speech, it's filled with so many lies and self-serving exaggerations that when he does utter something true, I see that as a sort of marvel. That's what happened nearly an hour into Trump's marathon speech last Wednesday at the Republican midterm convention, when he declared: Only I can make this promise to you." Trump said that just before he made a promise that was so shameless and irresponsible that what he said was indeed true: only Donald Trump could make such a preposterous promise.

Feeling very generous with other people's money, Trump promised to give $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in November. It certainly looked and smelled like a bribe.

Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues