Tax cuts have never paid for themselves, but that’s not stopping the Trump Administration from repeating that falsehood over and over again. Today’s editorial from the New York Times calls out the Administration for repeatedly claiming that the GOP tax scam would not add to the deficit, even after they caused the deficit to exploded. The editorial board points out that two years after the law was enacted, the deficit has not only swelled to $1 trillion, but the law has provided the largest benefits to the wealthiest while exacerbating economic inequality – just as Dems predicted. Key excerpts:
“This week, Mr. Mnuchin repeated the risible fantasy that the Trump administration’s 2017 tax cuts will bolster economic growth sufficiently for the government to recoup the revenue it has lost by lowering tax rates. ‘I’ll stick with my projections that the tax deal will pay for itself,’ he said from Switzerland.”
“The claim that tax cuts don’t cost money is a lie that won’t die… Republicans have steadily insisted for almost four decades that tax cuts are free, even as each new round of tax cuts fails to pay for itself. Mr. Mnuchin and other proponents of the most recent tax cuts were already peddling a delusion when they made the claim in 2017.”
“Two years later, the results are in. The annual federal budget deficit has topped $1 trillion. And it is even more difficult to understand how anyone could make such a claim.”
“The cuts also were designed to provide the largest benefits to wealthy households and big companies. Administration officials predicted the cuts would catalyze a wave of capital investment, which in turn would produce a sustainable increase in economic growth. Mr. Trump went so far as to predict growth would reach 6 percent a year, an astonishing figure.”
“The distribution of the tax cuts also has served to exacerbate economic inequality.”
“This week, Mr. Mnuchin repeated the risible fantasy that the Trump administration’s 2017 tax cuts will bolster economic growth sufficiently for the government to recoup the revenue it has lost by lowering tax rates. ‘I’ll stick with my projections that the tax deal will pay for itself,’ he said from Switzerland.”
“The claim that tax cuts don’t cost money is a lie that won’t die… Republicans have steadily insisted for almost four decades that tax cuts are free, even as each new round of tax cuts fails to pay for itself. Mr. Mnuchin and other proponents of the most recent tax cuts were already peddling a delusion when they made the claim in 2017.”
“Two years later, the results are in. The annual federal budget deficit has topped $1 trillion. And it is even more difficult to understand how anyone could make such a claim.”
“The cuts also were designed to provide the largest benefits to wealthy households and big companies. Administration officials predicted the cuts would catalyze a wave of capital investment, which in turn would produce a sustainable increase in economic growth. Mr. Trump went so far as to predict growth would reach 6 percent a year, an astonishing figure.”
“The distribution of the tax cuts also has served to exacerbate economic inequality.”
Issues: