What a Trump Win Will Mean For Administrative Professionals

By Paul A. Douglas, Ph.D, founder & CEO, P.A. Douglas & Associates Inc.

While speaking at an administrative professionals course in New Orleans a few weeks back, I had a participant ask me how I thought a Donald Trump win would impact on the lives and role of administrative professionals.

I answered that it’s hard to say because all we really have to go on is the many promises made by the presidential candidates, which history has shown often slide to the back burner when he, or she, moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But given that caveat, and now having given it some thought, I believe there are three areas where, the realization of the candidates promises could impact on the lives of administrative professionals:

The Economy

Donald Trump tax plan calls for a reduction in the corporate income tax rate, bring it down to 15% from the current 35%. He also says he will reduce the current seven tax brackets to three with the highest top rate becoming 33% and eliminate the Obama Care surcharge. Hillary Clinton has not announced any changes to the corporate income tax and has proposed a tax increase on the wealthy. Assuming that Trump’s tax changes made t through Congress, I think there is little doubt these changes would have a significant positive effect on the American economy. The reduction in the corporate income tax rate would spur growth in the economy as companies hire and invest at new levels. It would also reverse the current trend of companies moving their operations to countries where the tax rate is significantly lower than the United States.

Most economists agree that Trump’s tax plan would clearly increase disposable income and give a boost to the economy. There is also however significant skepticism as to whether these changes would be revenue neutral as Trump suggests; that is, they would likely have a deleterious effect on the national debt. Notwithstanding, if Trump’s proposals become law, I think it would positively impact lives and careers of many administrative professionals. Besides enjoying an increase in disposable income, corporate expansion would see hiring at rates we have not seen since 2008. Senior administrative professionals would be ideally positioned to break through the glass ceiling and see increased supervisory responsibilities, most importantly, the highly skilled administrative professional would be more in demand and the law of supply and demand would impact salaries in a positive way.

Keep in mind however that much of the growth in responsibility witnessed by many administrative professionals over the past two decades, resulted from the decimation of the ranks of middle management during that time. This in many ways made administrative professionals the new middle management. A buoyant economy may well be halt or reverse this trend.

Women’s Issues

The second factor we need to look at is the candidates pledges with regard to what is referred to as women’s rights. How steadfast is their commitment to pay equality and other gender issues? Notwithstanding the kinder, gentler Donald Trump of late, much has been made of his controversial comments about women. There is much evidence that he holds something of a “Mad Men’s” view of the world. Describing women as “fat pigs” and rating them on a 1-10 scale; his devaluation of Ted Cruz’s wife because she, in his view, is less physically attractive than his wife, a former Slovenian model. He has called breastfeeding women “disgusting,” told columnist Gail Collins she had the “face of a dog,” and we all remember his comment that Fox News host Megan Kelly had “blood coming out of wherever!”

I think this is in sharp contrast to Hillary Clinton who must be credited with trying to improve the lives of women, particularly poor women. Hillary, a strong supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, was lead sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act in 2005, 2007, and 2009, and also supported legislation to provide women with paid sick leave. Hillary Clinton has been a life-long fighter for women’s reproductive rights, including access to abortion, vigorously supported the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v Wade. She also repeatedly fought Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood.

Entitlements

Donald Trump has announced a couple of new entitlements or social programs that would benefit many administrative professionals. Six weeks of paid maternity leave and, perhaps more importantly, the deduction of child care expenses from your income taxes. Child care is a major expense for many admin pros and being able to deduct some or all of these expenses would be very beneficial. Hillary has not made the same commitments; however, she has had a history of helping women. While in the Senate, she joined with Senator John Thune to extend childcare benefits for the children of parents who died while serving in the military. During her husband’s administration she campaigned for the initiative to dedicate $1 billion to after-school programs across the country. As First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary helped establish the HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) program to promote early childhood education, which now operates in 21 states and the District of Columbia.

There you have it. As I see it, on the economy, a Trump win would likely benefit administrative professionals. With regard to women’s issues on the other hand, Hillary is more likely to move things along more rapidly. And, with regard to entitlements - it’s a toss-up.

While this type of speculation may be interesting, there are however many issues beyond these three that will influence who we will actually choose to lead us - temperament, trade, foreign policy, and the environment just to mention a few. So as always, all we can do is pick our poison and hope for the best.

I am firmly of the opinion that your success is less dependant on who is in the White House than how proactive you are in expanding your own skill set, learning how to deal with different and sometimes difficult people and dealing with the stress inherent in your chosen profession. These things will have a greater impact of your career and your future.

In that regard, let me wish you all the best.

Dr. Paul Douglas has taught more than 100,000 administrative professionals throughout the world over the past forty-four years. He has authored seven books and numerous articles, AV programs and webcasts for administrative professionals. His firm P.A. Douglas & Associates ( padouglas.com ) is the leader in administrative professional training and development.