The Republicans love tax cuts and don't mind the resulting steep deficits. They can then point to those deficits as the reason that Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and any other social program that will benefit average Americans must be eliminated.
2
So tired of this empty argument. Make the corporations pay their fair share--actually any share would be better than the status quo.
4
Trump has lying eyes, a bully's swagger, a patsy's negotiation stance, and a weak brain. Hope Republicans catch on before too much damage accrues.
3
To assert the existence of a "moment of truth" for "deficit hawks" implicitly assumes "truth" is a notion of concern for them. The conceptual
foundation of deficit hawkishness is based upon a false principle
that deficits are always wrong, evil, and not good since if the
same principle applies to individuals it should necessarily apply
to governments with control over their own currency. This is a
false principle as the likes of Krugman and Stieglitz have
tried to argue repeatedly. Governments operate under different
rules than families or individuals when it comes to debt. Issuing
debt is useful as long as there is confidence in the purchasers
of debt instruments that they will be repaid when they want to be. This
is not the context of individuals and their relation to debt.
Deficit hawks are constantly mixing up the two completely different
contexts and therefore end up insisting upon fiscal discipline
far greater than is needed if there is, simultaneously,
sufficient transparency in government accounting and growth
to insure confidence in repayment of debt.
I think the phrase "moment of truth"
would only apply to a deficit hawk once they
would acknowledge publicly this conceptual difference. Until
then they are just a crowd of mumbo jumbo mumblers looking
to block particular federal spending policy with which they disagree
on false ideological grounds- small government, glorious
nature of private enterprise etc etc.
foundation of deficit hawkishness is based upon a false principle
that deficits are always wrong, evil, and not good since if the
same principle applies to individuals it should necessarily apply
to governments with control over their own currency. This is a
false principle as the likes of Krugman and Stieglitz have
tried to argue repeatedly. Governments operate under different
rules than families or individuals when it comes to debt. Issuing
debt is useful as long as there is confidence in the purchasers
of debt instruments that they will be repaid when they want to be. This
is not the context of individuals and their relation to debt.
Deficit hawks are constantly mixing up the two completely different
contexts and therefore end up insisting upon fiscal discipline
far greater than is needed if there is, simultaneously,
sufficient transparency in government accounting and growth
to insure confidence in repayment of debt.
I think the phrase "moment of truth"
would only apply to a deficit hawk once they
would acknowledge publicly this conceptual difference. Until
then they are just a crowd of mumbo jumbo mumblers looking
to block particular federal spending policy with which they disagree
on false ideological grounds- small government, glorious
nature of private enterprise etc etc.
2
The removal of deductions for state and local taxes and mortgage interest will mostly hurt those of us in coastal blue states. These states already contribute more in taxes than they receive. So now we'll be expected to provide even more revenues to all those red states that somehow expect the government to support them, as they rail against "big government"??
4
Tax cuts for businesses will only lead to hiring if *customer demand* necessitates it. If you are making too little money from too few customers, there is no reason to use your tax cut to hire more people. Look at what happened with Kansas and the GOP.
A better solution would be to give a massive tax cut to the middle and working classes. They will use the money to buy goods and services, which will lead to more hiring.
A better solution would be to give a massive tax cut to the middle and working classes. They will use the money to buy goods and services, which will lead to more hiring.
7
Why not do what Eisenhower did? Raise the tax rate on the wealthy significantly, and then offer them attractive deductions if they specifically open new factories, add storefronts, hire more people, and other things that truly help the middle class. Republicans pretend to think that the wealthy will do that on their own with all their surplus money, but they don't. They just keep it for themselves, and then we have to make up the difference out of our own pockets.
12
There has never been a problem that Republicans didn't believe (or, rather, argue) could be solved with tax cuts.
4
Deficits are bad only when the Democrats are in charge. How difficult is it to understand that?
2
Major newspaper forgets the past three decades and once again succumbs to the delusion that Republicans mean what they say about the deficit.
1
For Republicans, there are no such thing as deficits whenever tax cuts for the rich are under consideration.
I remember when Cheney publicly stated a long time ago that deficits don't matter. I was naive then and surprised. Now nothing surprises me.
3
Sounds like class warfare against the working middle class people. Big tax- cuts for the wealthiest people and more cuts of services for the people who's wages have been stagnating for decades. Republicans blessed them with a 2% cut of the FICA TAX for just one year , President Obama wanted to extend the FICA tax-cut for another year, but Republicans insisted on the expiration for the FICA tax cut while the big boys had their tax cuts made permanent.
Incredibly average Americans still vote for Republicans. Republicans can't govern but they sure can fool the people. They all studied how to be a con men at the Trump University.
Incredibly average Americans still vote for Republicans. Republicans can't govern but they sure can fool the people. They all studied how to be a con men at the Trump University.
Why is it a "Reckoning" for Republicans? Who doesn't know they could care less about the deficit when they're in charge?
1
Enough of Republicans rearranging the deck chairs and inviting us to board the Titanic. We need to think outside the box, here's an idea a friend had that I liked: Taxes stay the same, and a new tax puts the full cost of defense is tacked onto the tax bill of the top .1% (tenth of 1%).
The logic is that the Pentagon in realty exists to protect American businesses overseas interests, most of which is owned by the filthy rich. It's win-win because as soon as it were implemented, we'd see defense spending cut in half overnight, saving everyone a ton of dough. The lesson is if you want a spending reduction in an area, make the wealthy responsible for the costs.
The logic is that the Pentagon in realty exists to protect American businesses overseas interests, most of which is owned by the filthy rich. It's win-win because as soon as it were implemented, we'd see defense spending cut in half overnight, saving everyone a ton of dough. The lesson is if you want a spending reduction in an area, make the wealthy responsible for the costs.
5
In 1959 the top marginal tax rate was 91%, the American economy was booming...
In 1969 the top marginal tax rate was 70%, American put man on the moon...
In 1982 the top marginal rate fell to 50%... and by 1992 it was 39%...
If you want infrastructure improvements, expanded educational opportunities, a stronger military and universal healthcare... you need tax revenue!
Taxes aren't a sin, wasting them maybe, but paying them shouldn't be when its for the good of all!
In 1969 the top marginal tax rate was 70%, American put man on the moon...
In 1982 the top marginal rate fell to 50%... and by 1992 it was 39%...
If you want infrastructure improvements, expanded educational opportunities, a stronger military and universal healthcare... you need tax revenue!
Taxes aren't a sin, wasting them maybe, but paying them shouldn't be when its for the good of all!
5
Republican voodoo math states that the lower the tax, the higher the growth that will pay for the tax cut. So as taxes approach zero, growth increases exponentially.
Republicans represent the billionaire class demanding the rest of us, who can barely pay the minimum on our credit card accounts, to take a huge cash advance from our credit cards to give to the billionaires. What have they done for us lately?
Republican Theft-Side Economics has been so transparent for decades. They never cared about the deficit! They care about transferring wealth from a functioning government into private interests leaving a bankrupt and powerless government thereby leaving the People powerless too.
Look at privatizing Social Security - the largest pot of money on the planet that belongs to the citizenry of this country - plundering it is their ultimate goal just as private business did with pensions. A callous GOP doesn't even want us to eat cake, let alone earn a living wage, get health coverage, housing or food without paying extortion rates to their benefactors.
The chief is racing to his next milestone of 100 visits to Mar-de-Locos on the People's credit card with China. When the country goes broke, the wealthy will leave for their tax havens to retire with their trillions.
It's time to declare an economic war on the Cayman Islands, BVI, and other offshore entities to force them to make transparent the funds, sources of ownership to return this money to help pay off our national debt.
Republicans represent the billionaire class demanding the rest of us, who can barely pay the minimum on our credit card accounts, to take a huge cash advance from our credit cards to give to the billionaires. What have they done for us lately?
Republican Theft-Side Economics has been so transparent for decades. They never cared about the deficit! They care about transferring wealth from a functioning government into private interests leaving a bankrupt and powerless government thereby leaving the People powerless too.
Look at privatizing Social Security - the largest pot of money on the planet that belongs to the citizenry of this country - plundering it is their ultimate goal just as private business did with pensions. A callous GOP doesn't even want us to eat cake, let alone earn a living wage, get health coverage, housing or food without paying extortion rates to their benefactors.
The chief is racing to his next milestone of 100 visits to Mar-de-Locos on the People's credit card with China. When the country goes broke, the wealthy will leave for their tax havens to retire with their trillions.
It's time to declare an economic war on the Cayman Islands, BVI, and other offshore entities to force them to make transparent the funds, sources of ownership to return this money to help pay off our national debt.
2
Welfare for the wealthy.
1
The tax plan is a fraud.
The fraud is that more and more of the government's tax revenue is coming from regressive payroll taxes, less and less from corporations and the mega wealthy.
Regressive payroll taxes are 7.65% alone, putting the lowest marginal tax rate of people earning less than $118,500 above the highest tax rate for large corporations and billionaires structuring their income through corporations and pass throughs.
Trump's tax plan hands out peanuts to the vast majority of people, while he stands to save his family billions of dollars by repealing the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax.
Capital gains and other passive income continue to get large tax preferences over income earned from labor.
It should be well understood that the $7 trillion in deficit spending going to corporations, billionaires and millionaires over the next 10 years is money not available to retirees who have paid into Social Security and Medicare for decades, or critical national infrastructure rebuilding.
The American people and Congress must demand to know exactly how much the Trump family will benefit as a direct result of the Trump tax plan.
The fraud is that more and more of the government's tax revenue is coming from regressive payroll taxes, less and less from corporations and the mega wealthy.
Regressive payroll taxes are 7.65% alone, putting the lowest marginal tax rate of people earning less than $118,500 above the highest tax rate for large corporations and billionaires structuring their income through corporations and pass throughs.
Trump's tax plan hands out peanuts to the vast majority of people, while he stands to save his family billions of dollars by repealing the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax.
Capital gains and other passive income continue to get large tax preferences over income earned from labor.
It should be well understood that the $7 trillion in deficit spending going to corporations, billionaires and millionaires over the next 10 years is money not available to retirees who have paid into Social Security and Medicare for decades, or critical national infrastructure rebuilding.
The American people and Congress must demand to know exactly how much the Trump family will benefit as a direct result of the Trump tax plan.
3
We've seen this movie before and it always ends badly. As previously noted by others, our economy is driven by demand and until consumers feel confident enough to start spending, lavishing tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy are a waste of revenue. The average corporation pays at a rate somewhere between 11 and 14 per cent so the oft-quoted 35 per cent rate is really a false marker. Yes, the rates are lower in many countries but most don't have our convoluted corporate tax laws so a comparison isn't apt.
I have never heard someone say "I think I'll work harder because my taxes are lower". People work harder to make more money to meet individual goals. Taxes aren't a consideration. If so, I would expect that if Trump and Mnuchin released their tax returns, their gross income would move up or down in opposition to their marginal tax rate.
I have never heard someone say "I think I'll work harder because my taxes are lower". People work harder to make more money to meet individual goals. Taxes aren't a consideration. If so, I would expect that if Trump and Mnuchin released their tax returns, their gross income would move up or down in opposition to their marginal tax rate.
2
Removing the tax deduction for medical expenses is downright cruel.
6
Doesn't everyone get it? They're setting up Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to take the fall. Just wait.
7
I see a lot of denial here. Trickle down doesn't work. The corporate tax rate doesn't matter. Corporations don't really pay that high rate. Only the rich will benefit.
Well, we obviously need a change. We've watched growth at a snail's pace now for years, despite the recession's having technically been over for a while. We've seen the effect of all the additional regulations on small businesses. Over a trillion dollars is being kept overseas --so obviously the corporate tax rate does matter.
It's hard to imagine how repatriating anywhere near that $1 trillion would not result in greater investment in the US, especially when coupled with favorable capital gain rates. I would have liked to have seen any repatriation incentive tied to creating decently paying American jobs. Perhaps there's hope that it will be. This is just the opening offer.
Well, we obviously need a change. We've watched growth at a snail's pace now for years, despite the recession's having technically been over for a while. We've seen the effect of all the additional regulations on small businesses. Over a trillion dollars is being kept overseas --so obviously the corporate tax rate does matter.
It's hard to imagine how repatriating anywhere near that $1 trillion would not result in greater investment in the US, especially when coupled with favorable capital gain rates. I would have liked to have seen any repatriation incentive tied to creating decently paying American jobs. Perhaps there's hope that it will be. This is just the opening offer.
2
Further adding to the annual budget deficit and national debt with these very large tax cuts, as proposed, is incredibly unwise as in a situation of economic decline of a high magnitude, there will be a run on the federal bank by Treasury Bond holders as a means of personal income, leading to the collapse of our federal government.
Any Tax cuts now during our ongoing economic rebuilding is incredibly unwise and leaves America open to utter chaos and disaster at the first hints of economic upheaval.
I implore the Congress to stay the coarse of our economic direction towards greater health and refrain from oscillating the economic cycle of boom and bust with gross actions. If you let the economy grow with minimal intervention, we can avoid the deep troughs of recessions.
Decline to pass the proposed tax cuts. They will disturb the economy now enjoying much better health.
Any Tax cuts now during our ongoing economic rebuilding is incredibly unwise and leaves America open to utter chaos and disaster at the first hints of economic upheaval.
I implore the Congress to stay the coarse of our economic direction towards greater health and refrain from oscillating the economic cycle of boom and bust with gross actions. If you let the economy grow with minimal intervention, we can avoid the deep troughs of recessions.
Decline to pass the proposed tax cuts. They will disturb the economy now enjoying much better health.
1
Voodoo economics really is the Mother of all Zombies. Kansas tried it with horrible results. My guess is that those Republicans who were apoplectic about the deficit when Obama was President won't mind so much now that a Republican occupies the White House. They were fine with deficits during Reagan and both Bushes, and horrified during Clinton and Obama presidencies. But who knows, maybe a few of them actually do have principles. We'll see.
8
The "moment of reckoning" passed long, long ago when the GOP showed that deficits only matter under Democrats. If the Times can't remember Bush Jr.'s monster deficits, maybe they can find in their archives articles about St. Reagan's monster deficits.
12
Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money! That's the Trump/GOP religion. They care about nothing and no one else. Their conservative principles are proven to be the joke they really are when they get a chance to govern. When their wild-eyed voodoo economics tax plan fails, as it surely will, they will never be honest or take responsibility. And, what about all that talk about increasing the deficit when Obama was in the White House? They never meant a word of it. Kind of like all their disdain for executive orders. Not so much, after all.
This wasn't hard to see coming. What will it take for so many in America to wake up to the mess they've elected?
This wasn't hard to see coming. What will it take for so many in America to wake up to the mess they've elected?
15
The Republicans know, behind closed doors, that supply side economics do not work. So what is their real game plan? They want to cripple the financial health of America because then they can 1) give payback for their bribes from the super wealthy and from corporate donors, and 2) scream the sky is falling and then renege on paying back the Social Security Trust Fund. Here's the thing: the Republicans pay back their bribes to corporate donors and the super wealthy with OUR MONEY and OUR LAND and OUR RESOURCES and OUR WEALTH. SO they steal from our past (public lands we already bought) our present (health care) and our future (retirement and leaving a thriving environment and health society for our kids). This is the Republican plan to Make America Great Again.
18
the rich get richer bc the poor pay their taxes
9
What's the Matter with Kansas? is a 2009 documentary film by filmmakers Joe Winston and Laura Cohen. It is based on the book What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America (2004) by Thomas Frank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNnUerXzY4o
( full length version)
4
Republicans lack any kind of moral or ethical compass. I fully expect them to bankrupt the country.
9
"But some economists....." "Some skeptics..."
Is the Times really that afraid to just come out and say this proposal has been roundly slammed by every economic expert? Why equivocate on something so transparently irresponsible and without a mathematical leg to stand on? When journalism can't call a lie a lie and an economic fantasy what it is, they can expect their work to be as ridiculed as the nonsense coming from Pennsylvania Avenue.
Is the Times really that afraid to just come out and say this proposal has been roundly slammed by every economic expert? Why equivocate on something so transparently irresponsible and without a mathematical leg to stand on? When journalism can't call a lie a lie and an economic fantasy what it is, they can expect their work to be as ridiculed as the nonsense coming from Pennsylvania Avenue.
15
How is this a moment of truth when tax cuts is what the Republicans have been trying to achieve all along? The deficit was never the issue, it was the spending on social programmes that they wanted to eliminate.
5
The "deficit hawks" in the GOP is always an excuse to resist whatever President Obama was trying to do because he is black. The proclaimed concern on the deficit is always a fig leaf.
9
There is NO "trickle down" economic effect from cutting taxes for the super rich and corporations. Reagan proved that. There IS, however, an fat reward for the draft dodger's family and his real estate and billionaire associates, all at the EXPENSE of the middle class and the general welfare of our country.
Ripping off the taxpayers of this country for self-enrichment is NOT anything that should be tolerated by Americans. We've been lied to, on a daily basis, by this buffoon. WHERE ARE HIS TAX RECORDS? RELEASE THEM! INVESTIGATE HIS RUSSIAN DEBTS AND COLLUSION!
Ripping off the taxpayers of this country for self-enrichment is NOT anything that should be tolerated by Americans. We've been lied to, on a daily basis, by this buffoon. WHERE ARE HIS TAX RECORDS? RELEASE THEM! INVESTIGATE HIS RUSSIAN DEBTS AND COLLUSION!
6
Silly rabbit! No Republican of any stripe has ever put concern about the deficit above the yearning for still more tax cuts. Particularly if those tax cuts are proposed by a Republican president. Deficits are only a concern for Republicans when Democrats hold the White House.
3
Today (4/27/27) the NY Times front page headline is:
"TAX OVERHAUL WOULD AID WEALTHIEST"
This headline says it ALL and is ALL that needs to be said.
This headline is succinct, accurate, and descriptive in every sense of the meaning of these 3 words.
This headline should be on the Front Page of every responsible newspaper in this country.
The only persons Trump is concerned about and interested in, including himself, are the wealthiest persons in this country.
So listen up ....... All you dim bulbs who voted this despicable, contemptible person into office.
You have reaped exactly what you deserve.
It is you that will pay for it in the last analysis and in the long run.
Ignorance is bliss - one again.
"TAX OVERHAUL WOULD AID WEALTHIEST"
This headline says it ALL and is ALL that needs to be said.
This headline is succinct, accurate, and descriptive in every sense of the meaning of these 3 words.
This headline should be on the Front Page of every responsible newspaper in this country.
The only persons Trump is concerned about and interested in, including himself, are the wealthiest persons in this country.
So listen up ....... All you dim bulbs who voted this despicable, contemptible person into office.
You have reaped exactly what you deserve.
It is you that will pay for it in the last analysis and in the long run.
Ignorance is bliss - one again.
7
Trump is 70 years old. Do we really believe he cares about deficits and debts for the future?
4
Patrick...a 70-year-old human with a conscience would care.
His age is irrelevant.
It's his lack of conscience that makes the difference.
His age is irrelevant.
It's his lack of conscience that makes the difference.
3
Tax and spend Democrats or don't tax and charge Republicans. NYT needs to look at cost of government per capita per year to normalize data and inform.
1
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what your country can do for me." - D. Trump
7
1 / "Toto, I don't think this is Kansas."
2 / Honest GOP politicians who understand taxes (too few to count perhaps) should make a fair comparison between the Kansas Miracle (i.e., it was a miracle that Brownback was re-elected) and the California Economy. Compare and contrast and don't be stupid. The fact that the US can print money should not be a factor here.
3 / Trump-Mnuchin's plan is Magical Realism for Republicans, redux.
2 / Honest GOP politicians who understand taxes (too few to count perhaps) should make a fair comparison between the Kansas Miracle (i.e., it was a miracle that Brownback was re-elected) and the California Economy. Compare and contrast and don't be stupid. The fact that the US can print money should not be a factor here.
3 / Trump-Mnuchin's plan is Magical Realism for Republicans, redux.
I watched President Trump say growth would pay for the tax cuts.
Who is Trump trying to kid?
This sounds like a huge scam something he may have learned in New York from Bernie Madoff, but there won't be enough growth in my lifetime to offset this bonanza for Trump and his wealthy friends.
Who is Trump trying to kid?
This sounds like a huge scam something he may have learned in New York from Bernie Madoff, but there won't be enough growth in my lifetime to offset this bonanza for Trump and his wealthy friends.
6
Why do I have a feeling we've been played?
5
Trump's plan is just if selling out the lower and middle class to ensure Mar-a-Lago is at full capacity and the brand is restored for his post-presidency years is the goal.
5
I tend to agree with Mr. Norquist, growth, growth, growth, except that it happened when taxes were raised on the rich. Sorry Grover, as your hero St. Ronnie said facts are a stubborn things.
6
Everybody seems to be conveniently forgetting about the upcoming next round of off-budget warmongering:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/11/us-public-defraude...
The GOP's favorite economic stimulus package is always a vast government infusion of deficit-spending on their military-industrial welfare queens.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/11/us-public-defraude...
The GOP's favorite economic stimulus package is always a vast government infusion of deficit-spending on their military-industrial welfare queens.
7
Congressional Democrats are right on target in insisting that Trump release his tax returns as a precondition to consideration of any tax proposal. The possibility (the near-certainty, in fact) of a conflict between Trump's personal financial interests and his responsibilities as President will come to a head with the introduction of any major tax legislation.
11
Why does all the commentators say this is a tax cut for everyone? Middle class New Yorkers and others from Northeast, Midwest and Pacific coast states, who own their own homes and will no longer be able to deduct state and local taxes or property taxes will see a huge tax increase. No reduction in marginal rates will offset the 3$30,000 or $40,000 that will be lost in deductions. Any Congress Member from these states, Democractic or Republican, who supports this ought to have his head examined.
8
Wonderful! Beautiful! Growth, growth, growth! Did Grover Norquist mention that most of it will go to the 1%?
6
In 1943 Franklin Roosevelt proposed %100 tax on any income over $25000 not for the sake of revenue but rather for the sake of maintaining EQUALITY. Almost three quarter century later, Donald Trump proposed less than %25 tax rate not for the sake of revenue, but rather for the sake maintaining INEQUALITY
10
If they aren't getting free housing, free food stamps, free medical, free Obama phones, free school, and forgivable student loans, liberals won't ever be happy. Liberals are lazy. Face it, liberals hate seeing others be successful. They feel if other people are making money, it's money they won't be able to receive because there is only so much of it. Like a pie, there are only so many pieces.
It's only common sense liberals that if corporations have money overseas and they repatriate it,do to lower taxes, even if a very small portion of it finds it way back into the economy its more money then is finding it's into the economy now, right?
It's great that the blue states will finally pay their fair share.
It's only common sense liberals that if corporations have money overseas and they repatriate it,do to lower taxes, even if a very small portion of it finds it way back into the economy its more money then is finding it's into the economy now, right?
It's great that the blue states will finally pay their fair share.
1
Dear Profiteering Conservative,
One problem with your analysis is that Red States benefit far more from federal dollars than blue states as a whole:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-least-dependent-on-the-federal-gov...
One problem with your analysis is that Red States benefit far more from federal dollars than blue states as a whole:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-least-dependent-on-the-federal-gov...
2
So that means FL is going to refuse funds from the "liberal" states that give more to the government than they get? Those lazy liberals in MA have the strongest economy in the country.
1
Ryan is hoping to tie in entitlement reform.
Hopefully he will, as to show the electorate how this plan will effect them immediately, instead of somewhere down the road, where they may not be able to imagine it's repercussions.
Hopefully he will, as to show the electorate how this plan will effect them immediately, instead of somewhere down the road, where they may not be able to imagine it's repercussions.
2
One of the great myths of America is that the GOP is more fiscally responsible. It is touted in all of the media, in particular cable news, and even at the NYT. It is a hoax, a falsehood, a lie. They have never been fiscally responsible. They are after all more likely to believe in mythical beings in the sky, so it makes sense that their own view of themselves is a myth. They have greed and adore money more than anything, but fiscally responsible, Ha! Even worse many gullible people buy into it. Of course, gullibility is apparently a very common trait in America as evidenced by who the president is.
7
This is the proverbial carrot at the end of the stick for DT, the moment the GOP has been waiting for. This is their opportunity to pass the mother of all tax cuts without having to take responsibility for the consequences. They held their nose through this campaign and the administration's many blunders, so that they could get to this plunder.
3
"Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that short-term cuts were better than nothing." The key question is: why is that? If it is conceded that the cuts will add to the deficit (which is implicit in the premise that the tax cuts cannot be made permanent without Democratic support), we must ask: what public good or policy goal will be achieved through cutting taxes, and is that benefit worth the resulting cost of increasing the federal debt? Let's face it: paying taxes is patriotic; cutting taxes for no good reason is the height of irresponsibility.
6
According to Republicans in Congress corporations and the wealthy are the job creators in this country. I have one question that if they can answer I'll roll over and play dead on this issue. GE hasn't paid taxes for 20 years and are one of the most profitable companies in the world, the US have 600+ billionaires with $13 trillion in cash scattered around the world, why is there still unemployment in this country? According to Republicans these billionaires should be creating jobs every day. Why do these people who can't spend enough of what they have, need more benefits and breaks than the people who actually do the labor?
5
Raising the deficit for something worthwhile- more money in infrastructure, free college to produce an educated population for the 21st century, invention in new technology- could be worthwhile. Those things would make the economy grow.
Raising the deficit to give rich people more tax breaks only makes folks like the Trumps wealthier. It's a massive money-grab by the President.
Raising the deficit to give rich people more tax breaks only makes folks like the Trumps wealthier. It's a massive money-grab by the President.
3
The Federal Income Tax is just over 100 years old and was established in 1913. Prior to this, the main legislative power resided with the individual States. Perhaps now, its time to end the US Federal Income Tax and let the States establish individual taxes to pay for their needs. The Feds could then request payment from the States who would meet and determine their fair contribution to the national welfare. This change would serve several important principles: it would bring the power to tax closer to the people being taxed and it would re-establish the core principle of Federalism which is grounded in the Founder's principles enumerated in our Constitution.
3
While many of us in the nation, probably most, were astounded that Donald Trump would lie so casually while he campaigned for office, and sincerely doubted that such an enormous liar could be elected by a "moral majority," Christian Right base, it turns out that he was elected because they are apparently liars themselves, neither believing in the importance of deficits nor in balancing a budget, nor in being honest about it, while at the same time peddling the great lie of supply side economics.
Trump's "tax plan" is not a plan at all, but doesn't need to be. His Congressional supporters and base don't care.
Trump's "tax plan" is not a plan at all, but doesn't need to be. His Congressional supporters and base don't care.
7
We've been adding to the deficit/debt at a dramatic rate for the last 8 years. No need to stop now.
2
deficits under obama have gone down
you wont hear that on fox though
3
Trickle down poverty.
10
If the Congressional Republicans adhere to Trumps Tax proposal, that will adequately prove they have no intention of alleviating national debt by normal means.
4
As previous comments have stated, this is the same old trickle down economics that failed in previous Republican administrations. It seems to be an article of conservative faith that no amount of failure can dispel. Like the "death tax." It only hits a small percentage of very wealthy households, and its intent is to prevent the transfer of enormous riches. When will we learn that Republicans ignore debt and deficits when they have the power to cut taxes (and the social benefits those taxes fund) and when a Democratic administration tries to clean up the mess, suddenly they become deficit hawks?
4
well, as usual, the GOP is going to tank the economy. Luckily, I bought my properties right at the start of the Obama recovery.
so heres the thing I have to figure out. how far down will my property values go? am i better off selling now or soon, to maximize my returns, and ride this recession to the bottom, then buy again when a democratic congress and president are back in 2020? or should i just hang on, ride it out with my current properties, and get my payout on the next upswing, say in 2026 or 2028?
or am i reading this wionrg. trump is a real estate guy, ostensibly. he's totally incompetent, so i tend to think he'll fail, based on his record, but maybe he wont cause real estate values to crater? he's definitely doing thigns right now to cause a rapid bubble-burst recession, but is it possible that it wont hit housing? the tariffs on canadian lumber are bad for our housing construction industry, but maybe not for existing home prices...
so heres the thing I have to figure out. how far down will my property values go? am i better off selling now or soon, to maximize my returns, and ride this recession to the bottom, then buy again when a democratic congress and president are back in 2020? or should i just hang on, ride it out with my current properties, and get my payout on the next upswing, say in 2026 or 2028?
or am i reading this wionrg. trump is a real estate guy, ostensibly. he's totally incompetent, so i tend to think he'll fail, based on his record, but maybe he wont cause real estate values to crater? he's definitely doing thigns right now to cause a rapid bubble-burst recession, but is it possible that it wont hit housing? the tariffs on canadian lumber are bad for our housing construction industry, but maybe not for existing home prices...
4
OK, even after eight years of Sam Brownback's "experiment" in Kansas featuring many of the same gifts to pass-thru entities, the Republicans are going to reinforce failure on a national scale rather than the Kansas "experiment's" failure on a state-wide scale.
I think this is a plan to "starve the beast", i.e., when revenues are so low and deficits grow due to the tax cuts, the only thing to cut to off-set the losses, in the Republican view, will be Social Security and Medicare. From their point-of-view, there are more ways than one to skin a cat.
I think this is a plan to "starve the beast", i.e., when revenues are so low and deficits grow due to the tax cuts, the only thing to cut to off-set the losses, in the Republican view, will be Social Security and Medicare. From their point-of-view, there are more ways than one to skin a cat.
8
Those looking for consistency in principles among Republicans are unlikely to find it. They'll take the tax cut and blame swelling debt on anyone but themselves.
3
The claim that the proposed Republican tax cut will fund itself by growing the economy is pure fiction. If enacted, this wholly unfunded tax cut will only balloon the already gigantic national debt, further increasing the already large debt service cost to the government; thereby weakening our government, our economy and even national security. The adoption of such a tax cut would show that the Republicans' expressed concern about the national debt is also pure fiction. When Republicans regularly alleged that they were alarmed by the national debt, they merely were trying to limit the funding of programs they don't like, particularly entitlements and public benefits. The only real Republican objective is to give a big tax cut to their corporate and wealthy individual supporters, with the bonus that a fiscally disabled government will not be able to effectively regulate or adequately meet domestic needs. By willfully wearing economic blinders, these legislators ignore that our national security funding also will suffer, as it already did under their prior mindless Tea Party inspired reductions, so that when President Trump bellows at foreign nations it will ring even more hollow then it does now. In proposing such a tax cut, the self described" King of Debt", disregards that in his prior life debt could disappear through bankruptcy, but the federal government is encumbered by that pesky "full faith and credit" thing.
5
Republicans love debt in order to pump up the economy and make themselves look good when they really have no policy to create and sustain growth. Their true objective, beyond simply getting re-elected, is to explode the deficit. When interest rates increase and the dollar strengthens and the budget shortfalls multiply, the answer will be spending cuts. And, of course, the place to axe will be Social Security and Medicare, which have been in the Republican cross-hairs for years. It's all a piece of the same cloth.
3
Ask Kansans how that worked out for us.
9
I wish I could be alive 25 years from now when the USA goes must to the IMF to beg them to prevent the country from going bankrupt. The very rich in Greece didn't pay taxes either. Going Bankrupt is OK for Trump; for a country not so much.
9
So Trump a big tax cut for the rich and a tiny one for the middle class, and that is the whole discussion. What about the working class, those people who have low wages and no opportunity to earn deductions on mortgages and charitable gifts, who live from week to week on their earnings? If Trump walked his talk, these would be the first people to receive a big tax cut, and they would deserve it. The increased consumption that would result would stimulate the economy. How about taking care of the people who are just getting by, the ones you said you loved so much, Mr. Trump? And how about writing about these people and their needs, NYT?
6
It is confounding the Republicans continue to push the trickle-down economics theory! When will it occur to them it simply does not work? When (not if) the next financial crisis hits, the millionaires and billionaires will run off with their multi-million dollar bonuses. The rest of us will once again wonder why not one of those who caused it will never get prosecuted.
The people I know in the 1% and even 10% category are like hoarders. They put their money into offshore accounts.
The people I know in the 1% and even 10% category are like hoarders. They put their money into offshore accounts.
3
It is highly misleading to keep saying these cuts would be "temporary." This means ten years!!! In other words, a very, very long time, economically speaking.
Second critical point: our corporations pay but a fraction of the tax rate of 35%: continuing to use this rate as if it were directly correlated to taxes paid is criminally misleading, as well.
Third, and perhaps most important, the economy needs no stimulus, except perhaps infrastructure. We are growing at a sustainable, non-inflationary rate and that's fine projected over a long time.
Fourth: running up huge budget deficits over such a long time is asking for an economic collapse far worse than 2008: we're already in a weakened state (though vastly improved under slow-but-steady Barack).
Second critical point: our corporations pay but a fraction of the tax rate of 35%: continuing to use this rate as if it were directly correlated to taxes paid is criminally misleading, as well.
Third, and perhaps most important, the economy needs no stimulus, except perhaps infrastructure. We are growing at a sustainable, non-inflationary rate and that's fine projected over a long time.
Fourth: running up huge budget deficits over such a long time is asking for an economic collapse far worse than 2008: we're already in a weakened state (though vastly improved under slow-but-steady Barack).
3
If the GOP truly wants to stimulate the economy they should finance real infrastructure investments (not private boondoggles), invest in quality education, single payer healthcare, increased minimum wage and vastly lower taxes for middle income tax payers on down. Now that would really boost the economy and increase quality of life. The wealthy haven't done anything positive for the country since Henry Ford and FDR. Try something completely different that is compassionate and patriotic.
6
I would give Republicans a lot of credit if they were open and honest with their objectives as I see them. That being:
We want to continue the redistribution of wealth to the top tier in the US. We want to eliminate the middle class to for, just two economic and social brackets. Those in the lower class income bracket will provide an endless supply of cheap labor. We can do this more effectively if we cut educational funding so that people do not have the skills or knowledge to advance in society. We will also cut all social programs and funding for women's reproductive rights and healthcare to ensure that families have more children than they can afford. This will result in both parents, and children of age, working yet remaining at or below the poverty level. Eliminating the minimum wage as proposed by Mr. Trump will support our goal. By doing this, we will be building a social wall to separate the haves and have nots. If we are successful, all three branches of our government will be permanently staffed by an wealthy oligarchy that will govern and rule to ensure this system remains in place. Military and security budgets will need to increase so that any civil unrest and disobedience can be immediately suppressed and ruled unconstitutional by the judges we nominate and confirm to the local, Federal, and Supreme Court.
If we are diligent and undeterred we are confident we can achieve these goals by the end of Mr. trump's and Mr. Pence second term.
We want to continue the redistribution of wealth to the top tier in the US. We want to eliminate the middle class to for, just two economic and social brackets. Those in the lower class income bracket will provide an endless supply of cheap labor. We can do this more effectively if we cut educational funding so that people do not have the skills or knowledge to advance in society. We will also cut all social programs and funding for women's reproductive rights and healthcare to ensure that families have more children than they can afford. This will result in both parents, and children of age, working yet remaining at or below the poverty level. Eliminating the minimum wage as proposed by Mr. Trump will support our goal. By doing this, we will be building a social wall to separate the haves and have nots. If we are successful, all three branches of our government will be permanently staffed by an wealthy oligarchy that will govern and rule to ensure this system remains in place. Military and security budgets will need to increase so that any civil unrest and disobedience can be immediately suppressed and ruled unconstitutional by the judges we nominate and confirm to the local, Federal, and Supreme Court.
If we are diligent and undeterred we are confident we can achieve these goals by the end of Mr. trump's and Mr. Pence second term.
12
Actually, by the time it becomes necessary for the nine-year-olds to join the labor force in order to help families make ends meet, it will be no big thing to strike down the current child-labor laws.
All the rest of your platform seems sound; good job!
All the rest of your platform seems sound; good job!
5
The very first thing Trump and Congress should do is enact the $1 trillion infrastructure bill he promised.
Why hand out $7 trillion in tax cuts when what we need are jobs? If no one noticed, the world is awash in cash. Corporations are sitting on trillions off shore. And the billionaire class is sitting on trillions as well.
So why would Congress think that giving these same "job creators" and corporations a huge tax cut will suddenly make them invest and create new jobs?
Instead of borrowing $7 trillion for tax cuts to the wealthy, spend $1 trillion on infrastructure which translates directly into jobs. Do it again if we need more jobs. And yet again if we still need more. Because $3 trillion for infrastructure and jobs would get the economy going much quicker, giving more bang for the buck than $7 trillions in tax cuts.
Why hand out $7 trillion in tax cuts when what we need are jobs? If no one noticed, the world is awash in cash. Corporations are sitting on trillions off shore. And the billionaire class is sitting on trillions as well.
So why would Congress think that giving these same "job creators" and corporations a huge tax cut will suddenly make them invest and create new jobs?
Instead of borrowing $7 trillion for tax cuts to the wealthy, spend $1 trillion on infrastructure which translates directly into jobs. Do it again if we need more jobs. And yet again if we still need more. Because $3 trillion for infrastructure and jobs would get the economy going much quicker, giving more bang for the buck than $7 trillions in tax cuts.
4
The Republican Party made a bargain with its base forty years ago. The deal they struck is this: We (the leadership) will do away with as much of the social safety net as we can so that we, the 1% may continue to amass incredible wealth, and you (the base) can rest assured we'll do everything in our power to keep America a nation controlled by white Christian men. All you need to do is continue to give us your votes.
The Republican leadership has kept its part of the bargain, in spades. In turn, the base is happier than it's been in decades. They know this president's "tax plan" will do nothing for them. It won't put money in their pockets. It won't help them or their families afford health care or higher education. They know this, too. They just don't care.
As long as Republicans continue to strip away civil rights and civil liberties that many minority communities and women fought for, for decades, its base will continue to vote Republican. Poll after poll taken since this "president" took office show that the vast majority of his voters still support him. They would much rather see women and minorities stripped of their Constitutional rights than be given a tax cut. Understand that both the Republican party and its voters understand their shared priorities quite well. This is the deal they've struck.
Don't expect a "new deal" to be negotiated any time soon. This "deal" continues to be a winning formula for both parties.
The Republican leadership has kept its part of the bargain, in spades. In turn, the base is happier than it's been in decades. They know this president's "tax plan" will do nothing for them. It won't put money in their pockets. It won't help them or their families afford health care or higher education. They know this, too. They just don't care.
As long as Republicans continue to strip away civil rights and civil liberties that many minority communities and women fought for, for decades, its base will continue to vote Republican. Poll after poll taken since this "president" took office show that the vast majority of his voters still support him. They would much rather see women and minorities stripped of their Constitutional rights than be given a tax cut. Understand that both the Republican party and its voters understand their shared priorities quite well. This is the deal they've struck.
Don't expect a "new deal" to be negotiated any time soon. This "deal" continues to be a winning formula for both parties.
5
I prefer the USA Today news article on the proposed tax reform. The biggest question is CAN YOU GET POLITICIANS ON BOARD? This would benefit everyone -- eliminating the thousands of deductions used by the rich to avoid taxes. "Only mortgage interest and health expenses would stay -- and the standard deductibles utilized by 70% of taxpayers would be DOUBLED.
The standard deduction, currently $6,350 for single people and $12,700 for married couples, would double. As a result, many more low to moderate income families would pay no taxes. But all other deductions, except for mortgage interest and charitable contributions, would be eliminated, including state and local taxes and medical expenses."
The standard deduction, currently $6,350 for single people and $12,700 for married couples, would double. As a result, many more low to moderate income families would pay no taxes. But all other deductions, except for mortgage interest and charitable contributions, would be eliminated, including state and local taxes and medical expenses."
1
All anyone has to do is look at what Gov. Brownback did in Kansas and the mess he created with the cuts in taxes with the idea that companies will come to Kansas and growth the State economically. It is an outright disaster much like Trump plan. Lessons are never learned by the Republicans.
43
They are deficit hawks only when Democrats come into power.
17
Please NYT, do not call this one-page outline a "tax plan." It looks like nothing more than a public relations effort to beat the 100-day goal.
25
Trump (and Bannon's) tax plan isn't a plan. It's a minimalist bureaucratic strategy to starve the beast of government so every untouchable program becomes a target. Today NEA and the Parks Service, tomorrow Medicare.
He's running the country as he ran his businesses, he'll leverage debt to outrageous levels and we'll eventually go bankrupt, and somehow through it all he'll get richer still.
Anyone who is surprised just hasn't been paying attention.
He's running the country as he ran his businesses, he'll leverage debt to outrageous levels and we'll eventually go bankrupt, and somehow through it all he'll get richer still.
Anyone who is surprised just hasn't been paying attention.
Moment of truth?
Truth?
There is no moment of truth for Republicans.
This must be a moment of alternative truth.
Truth?
There is no moment of truth for Republicans.
This must be a moment of alternative truth.
Missive tax break to the rich will be covered by economic growth. They are gambling with the US economy. This has always been the modus operandi of Republicans.
11
The republican tax "reform" plan is nothing more than a way to defund vital government services. Corporate tax rates should be increased via the closing of all loop holes in the corporate tax laws. If EVERY corporation paid the full 35% the law specifies, our nation would have a much easier time funding the long-overdue improvements to public infrastructure.
I'm sick and tired of listening to republican complain about haw much they are taxed. Most of the poor and middle class have seen their earnings either flat-line, or decrease since the last ridiculous attempt the change the tax code. They cannot afford to pay more. On the other hand, corporations, and their ridiculously overpaid executives are totally FLUSH with cash. They are the ones who should be covering the cost of needed infrastructure improvements.
It's been far, far too long since a confiscatory philosophy has been applied to the income of wealthy corporations and individuals. Rather than returning to the notoriously unsuccessful philosophy of "trickle down economics," it's time to return to the Roosevelt philosophy of heavy taxation for the dangerously wealthy. I say "dangerously wealthy" because we are now experiencing political anarchy that was largely manifested by uncontrolled wealth.
I'm sick and tired of listening to republican complain about haw much they are taxed. Most of the poor and middle class have seen their earnings either flat-line, or decrease since the last ridiculous attempt the change the tax code. They cannot afford to pay more. On the other hand, corporations, and their ridiculously overpaid executives are totally FLUSH with cash. They are the ones who should be covering the cost of needed infrastructure improvements.
It's been far, far too long since a confiscatory philosophy has been applied to the income of wealthy corporations and individuals. Rather than returning to the notoriously unsuccessful philosophy of "trickle down economics," it's time to return to the Roosevelt philosophy of heavy taxation for the dangerously wealthy. I say "dangerously wealthy" because we are now experiencing political anarchy that was largely manifested by uncontrolled wealth.
It is also a moment of truth for democrats, who have a lot of work to do in repairing the damage they inflicted on themselves during the election. They have to atone for shunning their base last year with this losing strategy: “For every blue-collar Democrat we lose in western Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia, and you can repeat that in Ohio and Illinois and Wisconsin.” - Sen. Schumer.
Whether or not Trump is to be nothing more than a place-holder president remains in the hands of the DNC. I for one am not confident that democrats are up to the job.
And working people will suffer.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
Whether or not Trump is to be nothing more than a place-holder president remains in the hands of the DNC. I for one am not confident that democrats are up to the job.
And working people will suffer.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
9
To greedy Republicans and racist Trump base massive tax cuts are a beautiful thing...the bigger the deficits they cause the better because it will help become the rationale for reducing or abolishing Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, etc., perfect.
10
The president of the United States gets into his super hero costume and reveals: The King Of Debt! Step right up folks, a dollar saved is a penny earned - or some miniscule percentage of a penny, anyway. Who, other than family, friends and incorrigible cretins could ever resist such a pitch?
5
The first 100 days of Trump is a mockery of justice to the constitution and a shield that prevents knowing the truth about the intervention of Russia in the elections.
And Trump's ambitious tax plan only favors corporations and immediately affects the public budget, affecting the future of workers' purchasing power wages
And Trump's ambitious tax plan only favors corporations and immediately affects the public budget, affecting the future of workers' purchasing power wages
I'm in agreement with many of your readers - trickle down economics has not yielded the expected benefits. To the contrary, the country ends up with more debt. Steve Rattner made an extremely important point this morning - the GDP would have to grow by @ 4.5% to overcome not only the lost revenue that would be a result of this tax "outline" but to make some reduction in the deficit. This is madness.
In trying to address the deficit, let's talk about the elephant in the room. I would like to suggest that Social Security payments be income based. If someone is making $250,000-$300,000 (allowing for cost of living adjustments since it is less expensive, e.g., to live in Wyoming than Massachusetts) either by being employed or by dividend and interest income surely then surely that person can forgo some or all of the Social Security payment they receive. I believe that Lindsay Graham advanced this idea at some point. Let's all stop being so greedy and think about the common good.
In trying to address the deficit, let's talk about the elephant in the room. I would like to suggest that Social Security payments be income based. If someone is making $250,000-$300,000 (allowing for cost of living adjustments since it is less expensive, e.g., to live in Wyoming than Massachusetts) either by being employed or by dividend and interest income surely then surely that person can forgo some or all of the Social Security payment they receive. I believe that Lindsay Graham advanced this idea at some point. Let's all stop being so greedy and think about the common good.
4
Sorry if I had all the money I paid into SS and invested I could retire several years ealry. If want to do charity do it on your own dime.
There is no such thing as a Republican deficit hawk. This is a fiction and myth perpetuated by millions of false campaign ads. Reducing the deficit was one hundred percent political - intended solely to hamstring the Obama presidency. Now that the GOP holds Congress and the presidency, let the money flow - you'll notice, of course, that the money is intended to flow UPWARD to the wealthiest Americans. This is by design. They will confuse the naive with a few breadcrumbs, but net net, the rich will feel the largesse, not the middle class.
10
I did not vote for St. Ronald when he promised tax cuts, more military spending, and a balanced budget. It did not work then, and it won't work now. And Reagan was much nicer and more charming. And not being paid by Russia.
13
Yet more republican wealth distribution- up the slope rather than down. Supply side economics, trickle down economics- best characterized as Voodoo economics by GHW Bush- when he spoke the truth in the 80 campaign.
4
Here's a tip. A budget needs to be based on projected revenue. Don't plan to spend more than what you have. Why is that so hard to understand?
All this talk about 'jump-starting investments'! As if corporations have been facing a demand crisis for goods and services that a high tax rate has been preventing them from! This truly is plan containing "fool's gold". Instead, as has been mentioned elsewhere, US companies have been hoarding record profits in order to buy back shares, not investing in anything that will translate into jobs and growth. That doesn't mean there isn't room for increased jobs and growth, but certainly not where this tax 'plan' is headed, in pretending that high taxes (during a period of zero interest on loans) is the cause of low investment.
There is indeed a tremendous global market for green tech, goods, and services that is worthy of investment, and that will pay enormous future dividends, and would've been jump-started with the EPA's Clean Power Plan. But this administration has effectively cancelled that project and is pointedly not interested in focusing its economic plans to develop such markets, which will make America a future loser when Americans will have nothing but foreign products to choose from.
And then there are all the real-world examples--Kansas and Minnesota come to mind--that tried this approach of low taxes and deregulation. The result? Deficits on top of deficits on top of deficits...with nothing to show for it but an exodus of people voting with their feet in those states, with buckets of red ink, declining services, and failing schools. This plan is a disaster.
There is indeed a tremendous global market for green tech, goods, and services that is worthy of investment, and that will pay enormous future dividends, and would've been jump-started with the EPA's Clean Power Plan. But this administration has effectively cancelled that project and is pointedly not interested in focusing its economic plans to develop such markets, which will make America a future loser when Americans will have nothing but foreign products to choose from.
And then there are all the real-world examples--Kansas and Minnesota come to mind--that tried this approach of low taxes and deregulation. The result? Deficits on top of deficits on top of deficits...with nothing to show for it but an exodus of people voting with their feet in those states, with buckets of red ink, declining services, and failing schools. This plan is a disaster.
3
Trump, the dumpster fire of vanity, is the embodiment of Republican hypocrisy.
He calls himself a Christian, but to him, Jesus would be a terr-ist.
He gives himself yuge tax cuts, and barely pretends to acknowledge his duty to the American people, and to humanity. He's hardly human.
Hypocrisy, Trump is thy name, along with his bought-and-paid-for Congress.
Kleptocrats all.
He calls himself a Christian, but to him, Jesus would be a terr-ist.
He gives himself yuge tax cuts, and barely pretends to acknowledge his duty to the American people, and to humanity. He's hardly human.
Hypocrisy, Trump is thy name, along with his bought-and-paid-for Congress.
Kleptocrats all.
13
Moment of truth? This laff-able supply side nonsense that ran up the deficits from 1980 and 1992 and from 2001 to 2008
25
It's the usual 'head in brick wall' time at the GOP. Simply impervious to any facts. One would've thought the experience of 2002-08 would've taught them something about the efficacy of unnecessary and unwarranted tax cuts. But...no.
Another crash coming our way from the Selfish Greedy Republicans.
I would start looking to exit the stock market before Trump and friends have the US do Chapter 11 with US Debt.
Then his imbecile supporters can claim ( who cares - the Chinese hold all the debt ).
They are just like the Hedge Funds leaving a carcass and unemployed workers while they walk away with millions!
Very Worried for my kids & grandkids
I would start looking to exit the stock market before Trump and friends have the US do Chapter 11 with US Debt.
Then his imbecile supporters can claim ( who cares - the Chinese hold all the debt ).
They are just like the Hedge Funds leaving a carcass and unemployed workers while they walk away with millions!
Very Worried for my kids & grandkids
20
This is where the GOP skills in denying facts will shine. They will bravely accept the voodoo economics!
As with Winston Smith, it is not enough to say that 2+2=5, but they have to believe it!
As with Winston Smith, it is not enough to say that 2+2=5, but they have to believe it!
12
Correct me if I'm wrong but a few short days after winning the election didn't Trump go to some rich person's restaurant and promise his fellow diners that they'd soon be feasting on tax cuts? He's a man of his word on bread and butter issues. Depending of course on what side of the croissant is being buttered.
15
The GOP never really cared about deficit reduction, they just want tax cuts for the upper brackets and more military spending. They take money from the poor, the environment, and education and give it to the rich... the Reverse Robin Hood.
For them, deficit reduction is all about cuts to social programs. The deficit has only gone down under Democratic presidents since Ike.
For them, deficit reduction is all about cuts to social programs. The deficit has only gone down under Democratic presidents since Ike.
15
greatest country usa. deficit 19 trillion .who cares how much higher it will go.maybe have zero taxes.
10
We have plenty of paper, ink, engravers and printing presses.
Next growth industry will be printing more $100 bills...
Next growth industry will be printing more $100 bills...
I am getting confused about what is going on in this country. Are we really going to allow an aging reality TV star to start overhauling the tax code just because he made stupid and irresponsible promises during his campaign? The WH knows, just like everybody else, that economic growth will not pay for the tax cuts. Instead, the trade cycle is due for a downward correction fairly soon. They know this but they do not care because Trump does not take this seriously. For him, this is just a game designed to prop up his ego and brand. Are we really going to do this? Are we going to allow this circus in the WH continue, knowing that sooner or later we will all pay a hefty price for it? What authority does this administration claim for the radical and reckless reform that it is pushing on climate, health care, taxes and so many other aspects of our lives? They lost the popular vote. At this point I'd begin to ask who exactly they think they are.
20
can we just do away with currency in the world and be like Star Trek? Dealing with Gold Pressed Latinum is better and far more valuable (rubs lobes)
4
This proposal is nothing less than obscene. Let's take, for example, repealing the tax on investment income. Although this would have a relatively minor impact on the national debt, the optical message sent is the same one having driven the GOP stance on fiscal policy for decades: tax labor and favor the types of income that make the rich even richer than they are now. This is Christian teaching stood on its head by hypocrites who call themselves Christian.
A better idea would be to eliminate the tax on labor and tax to the hilt such goodies as investment and pass-through income, interest, capital gains, carried interest and all the other boondoggles that feed the already overfed at their benighted troughs.
A better idea would be to eliminate the tax on labor and tax to the hilt such goodies as investment and pass-through income, interest, capital gains, carried interest and all the other boondoggles that feed the already overfed at their benighted troughs.
12
Republicans only care about deficits 1) when the Democrats are in power 2) and they're spending tax money on poor and middle-class people.
21
Their family moral values platform fell as they lined up between Mr. Trump a man whose behavior is reprehensible. Their fiscal values will sold as well. The Republican Party has no moral or financial compass.
16
Nobody talks about it, but interest must be paid on debt. Also, there is no guarantee that a company's tax savings will be reinvested in plant and equipment and thus jobs. They could sit on the money or do stock buy-backs.
Consumers could pit their savings into the bank. This could be a no-growth tax cut that just adds to the deficit.
Consumers could pit their savings into the bank. This could be a no-growth tax cut that just adds to the deficit.
8
It is no moment of truth for Congressional Republicans. Indeed.,one need look no further than the utter failure of the "Kansas Experiment" to see why. In this regard, I am unaware of any of these so-called"deficit hawks" who have criticized the economic disaster that Messrs. Brownback and Laffer have inflicted on the good people of the State of Kansas. Thus, if these individuals remain true to Republican ideology (i. e. deficits only matter when a Democrat is in the White House) Republicans will vote overwhelmingly, if not unanimously, to approve such disastrous legislation. And if Vegas is giving odds on my suggestion, I would bet my 401 (k) on this "sure thing."
6
Trump will not be able to declare bankruptcy on a failed US economy as he did on his failed businesses. This is a prelude to another financial disaster with Republicans at the helm.
As everything else that Trump has proposed is nonsense this, too, is nonsense. The American economy has currently full employment or very close to it. The Federal Reserve might well raise interest rates to cool things down and then the projected deficit will only increase. The Republican mantra has always been to cut taxes but the benefits are not equal across the spectrum and those among us who are truly poor will not derive any benefit from this whatsoever. Heaven forbid that a tax system should create equality.
13
We need anew word for Republican hypocrisy because that word doesn't do it anymore for Republican scamming. How about "hyper-hypocrisy", a kind of hip-hop that only Republicans can do. Hype-hype.
5
Republicans know how to fool the public, concealing their hypocrisy of pretending to be so concerned about deficit & debt. They know how to win elections. They’ve figured out how to get away with almost anything. But this tax-plan is unlikely to become law. In the unlikely event it does, that could be disastrous.
Their railing against deficit & debt was only to cripple the Obama presidency. But Pres. Obama was quite successful in preventing another possible Depression & fighting the great recession; he was reelected as well.
But Democrats now don't seem to have a clue about how unpopular they are. I believe the election of Barack Obama was a net minus for Democrats though a huge plus for America, the opposite of Electing Donald Trump!
If the Democrats were to listen to Bernie Sanders they could win elections again. Without realizing, they have morphed into a coastal party of elites. They unnecessarily & unjustifiably SEEM to promote "abortion on demand," without meaning to be. They seem to be subservient to black leaders like Al Sharpton who aren't much concerned about the PLIGHT OF INNER-CITY blacks (& Hispanics). Inner-city areas are plagued by violent crimes - Chicago had more murders than NYC & LA combined last year; this year is no different. At least Donald Trump voiced his concern about it. His sentiment should be welcome.
Their railing against deficit & debt was only to cripple the Obama presidency. But Pres. Obama was quite successful in preventing another possible Depression & fighting the great recession; he was reelected as well.
But Democrats now don't seem to have a clue about how unpopular they are. I believe the election of Barack Obama was a net minus for Democrats though a huge plus for America, the opposite of Electing Donald Trump!
If the Democrats were to listen to Bernie Sanders they could win elections again. Without realizing, they have morphed into a coastal party of elites. They unnecessarily & unjustifiably SEEM to promote "abortion on demand," without meaning to be. They seem to be subservient to black leaders like Al Sharpton who aren't much concerned about the PLIGHT OF INNER-CITY blacks (& Hispanics). Inner-city areas are plagued by violent crimes - Chicago had more murders than NYC & LA combined last year; this year is no different. At least Donald Trump voiced his concern about it. His sentiment should be welcome.
3
The one and only final word on Trump/ GOP plans: KANSAS. PEROID.
9
After a decade of mountains of debt and decreased revenue, we will be just like Greece - unable to make payments on what we owe without the imposition of severe austerity.
How can we do this to our children?
How can we do this to our children?
10
I checked the price of a basic, standard size refrigerator in my area — $1,200 (of course without tax and delivery), and $650 for four basic tires (of course without tax and wheel alignment). Just how much 'discretionary' money must a middle class worker need to have set aside? And how long will it take to save it? And heaven help them that they have enough when they need it. And replacing it?... well, no Republican gives a hoot.
7
I'd like to point out that the poorest of the poor were already AT a 10% tax rate.
They get absolutely NOTHING out of any of this.
Under Trump they will STILL be taxed at 10%.
Think on that, 1%er's.
They get absolutely NOTHING out of any of this.
Under Trump they will STILL be taxed at 10%.
Think on that, 1%er's.
Trickle down has always somehow resulted in 'Trickle Up' to that 1% who need it the least. How do we know that giving a tax cut to corporations will not lead to increased bonuses to the managers and CEOs or buying back stockholder shares or other shenanigans that will result in nothing left for new jobs? New jobs will not be created till there is a demand for increased production. If robots are doing the work, where is there space for real human persons in the work place?
11
The hypocrisy of this outline plan is absolutely dizzying.
In the immortal words of JM Keyens whose theories, along with Laffer's, Trump, knowingly or not, has wholeheartedly embraced:
- Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.
- The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.
And, perhaps most prophetically: In the long run we are all dead.
In the immortal words of JM Keyens whose theories, along with Laffer's, Trump, knowingly or not, has wholeheartedly embraced:
- Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.
- The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.
And, perhaps most prophetically: In the long run we are all dead.
8
Who still believes Republicans were ever concerned about deficits?!
"Reagan proved deficit spending doesn't matter."
- Dick Cheney.
"Deficit hawks" was nothing more than rhetorical self-attribution as a pretext for obstructing President Obama.
"Reagan proved deficit spending doesn't matter."
- Dick Cheney.
"Deficit hawks" was nothing more than rhetorical self-attribution as a pretext for obstructing President Obama.
11
Of course Trump's plan will benefit himself and his family. There was never any question that that has been his plan from the beginning. Don't need Captian Obvious to recognize this fact. What else is new?
Seriously?
Just look at what the GOP does and ignore what they say.
There is no such thing as a GOP "deficit hawk."
It is, and always has been ... mere cheap talk intended to intimidate and obstruct Democrats while looting the nation at every turn.
Just look at what the GOP does and ignore what they say.
There is no such thing as a GOP "deficit hawk."
It is, and always has been ... mere cheap talk intended to intimidate and obstruct Democrats while looting the nation at every turn.
7
Oh sure! Tax cuts for the rich will stimulate the economy and create job growth so great (bigly) that the tax cuts will pay for themselves. Right.
Didn't we do this under Reagan and under W? How did that work out?
More delusional thinking. Sad!
Didn't we do this under Reagan and under W? How did that work out?
More delusional thinking. Sad!
9
Hopefully the GOP will have some House members that will kill the tax bill. If not, then there is no hope for the party. Some needs to stand up and say no to the insane proposals by the Administration. The tax plan, the AHCA med plan, the immigration wall pledge, the proposed budget plan....all of it has the world leaders wondering how quickly this country has fallen. Sadly all the cabinet leaders are followers, and I thought Treasury Secy Munchkin would protect the solvency of this nation financial system, but added this kind of debt is insane. And what does the Fed Reserve have to say. Is she prepared to print more money so the Treasury can pay the bills. Where are the checks and balances our Republic was built on.
5
This so-called "plan" can be described in one word - irresponsible.
8
Let's make the whole US of A another Kansas.....
Good luck everybody.
Good luck everybody.
11
Make payroll taxes progressive. Thank you.
6
Keith, and take the cap off Social Security taxes.
Right now it cuts off at $116,000. Why? Why do the wealthiest get a free ride on that?
I've never yet seen one turn down a Social Security check.
There may be no means test to get SS, but why isn't every cent of income taxed?
Right now it cuts off at $116,000. Why? Why do the wealthiest get a free ride on that?
I've never yet seen one turn down a Social Security check.
There may be no means test to get SS, but why isn't every cent of income taxed?
1
"Tax Overhaul Would Aid Wealthiest" - headline in today's print edition
Banner headlines like this one should put to rest any argument about what the Times has become in terms of objectivity. Where was the editor? Surely a Columbia journalism professor would have rejected this headline were we back in 1965. Have standards changed this much? Headlines like this belong on the editorial page, not as part of a page one news story.
Any tax plan based on the idea that lessening business's tax burden will stimulate job and economic growth of course will benefit the wealthy initially. It's what happens next that matters. The Times's headline more than suggests that nothing of consequence will happen next, that the wealthy will be the only real beneficiaries. This is absurd on its face. A better, journalistically neutral headline might have been "Tax Overhaul Sets Up New Test of Supply Side Economics". Let Paul Krugman and Larry Summers present their arguments against the plan - in opinion pieces on the editorial pages where they belong.
Banner headlines like this one should put to rest any argument about what the Times has become in terms of objectivity. Where was the editor? Surely a Columbia journalism professor would have rejected this headline were we back in 1965. Have standards changed this much? Headlines like this belong on the editorial page, not as part of a page one news story.
Any tax plan based on the idea that lessening business's tax burden will stimulate job and economic growth of course will benefit the wealthy initially. It's what happens next that matters. The Times's headline more than suggests that nothing of consequence will happen next, that the wealthy will be the only real beneficiaries. This is absurd on its face. A better, journalistically neutral headline might have been "Tax Overhaul Sets Up New Test of Supply Side Economics". Let Paul Krugman and Larry Summers present their arguments against the plan - in opinion pieces on the editorial pages where they belong.
4
The failure of supply-side economics to grow the economy in a manner that lifts all boats is a matter of historical fact not mere speculation. So the Times headline is accurate, based on the limited information presented about the Trump plan. If you'd prefer to read some Norquist inspired propaganda piece about how tax cuts for those who don't need them will help the rest of us as well, then please visit Breitbart's site.
5
The NYTimes headline is quite apt.Repeal of the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax will save the wealthiest Americans vast amounts. One small example: in Trump's leaked return, the only tax he paid, $31 million, was from the alternative minimum tax. And if his net worth is anywhere close to his boasts, his children will inherit a windfall if the estate tax were repealed.
4
Tax cuts haven't worked that LAST TWO TIMES they were tried. Exactly how much evidence do you need? Sheesh some people don't give up
5
This one-page idea floated toward His Base requires a two-word sentence.
No Way!
No Way!
9
Sorry but this is just one more example of a tax and spend Republican.
10
I think you mean "don't tax but spend anyway".
4
Oops..I stand corrected--thank you!
Ah yes, the Wimpy Tax Plan again: "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a massive tax cut today."
9
We need a New Deal. these wolves and thieves are robbing us blind. we need to tax the wealthy and the corporations fairly. We can start with Eisenhower era taxation on the wealthy and bargain down a few points. We've got work to do in this country. We need solar and wind farms. we need to clean our rivers, and oceans. we need to have pipes that are not lined with asbestos in Flint. We need bullet and monorail trains built by and for Americans. What the heck is this all about when a CEO gets a 10 million dollar bonus. Yes ok, but they get it year after year after year on top of a 15 million dollar salary. Enough is enough. America needs to get modern so that we provide jobs fixing and building new subways.To the devil with the guys with the flowers in their tuxedos. People like Scrooge Mnuchin and the Koch Bros.can't see beyond their bubble of enormous wealth. It's time we woke them up/ The Arctic is melting. The oceans are dying. We've got work to do, we have no time to twiddle around anymore with these narrow minded and ideological rich white men.
10
Yes, and we need both a MINIMUM WAGE AND A MAXIMUM WAGE.
And that MINIMUM needs to be a LIVING WAGE: $30 an hour.
And that MINIMUM needs to be a LIVING WAGE: $30 an hour.
1
Ignoring for the moment the carnage the deficits will cause our country's generations to come, the shear chutzpah of the refugees from Goldman Sachs Cohn and Mulvaney combined with the outright con man Trump's quest for ever more graft is simply amazing to watch. Unbelievable that there's still those that support of this wholesale ripoff of our country. "Drain the swamp" indeed.
7
“But we also look at deficits through sort of a different lens," says Mick Mulvaney, who "was a fierce critic of deficits when he was a member of Congress."
That's a tad disingenous. Better: "who was a fierce critic of deficits under Democratic Presidents." There. That's more to the point. Hypocrites. Blatant hypocrites.
That's a tad disingenous. Better: "who was a fierce critic of deficits under Democratic Presidents." There. That's more to the point. Hypocrites. Blatant hypocrites.
17
Supply side/Trickle down Theory is Trump gambling on a long-shot bet with someone else's money. He will almost certainly lose, and we'll pay the bookie. Just his style. Where are the grown-up in this debacle?
6
Moment of truth? Republicans? That ship sailed long ago. There are no principles in that party except winning. And as has been shown, now that they won, they have no idea what to do.
5
A shyster President proposes a shyster budget, exploding federal deficits and using the discredited Laffer curve fantasy to claim that immense tax cuts pay for themselves. Experience and solid (not "make believe") economics demonstrate that they do not. Use of the Laffer curve has become a favorite Republican game to give away politically popular tax cuts without taking responsibility for the exploding federal deficits they create...and which Republicans (of which I was once one) claim to oppose. It is pure political cynicism and irresponsibility. Neither of the two major parties has clean hands, but it's pretty clear that, ironically, the Democrats are now the party of greater fiscal responsibility.
5
What magic formula will prevent corporations from just taking the tax savings and pocketing the cash to up their bottom lines or put it into things like CEO compensation? Twitler wants to give away the revenue and sell the idea to the poorly educated that these business big-wigs are all just itching to reinvest. Come on, people, wake up!!
This is just a good old-fashioned giveaway for corporate America. There is a reason this man went bankrupt multiple times in the gaming business, he doesn't know what he is doing.
This is just a good old-fashioned giveaway for corporate America. There is a reason this man went bankrupt multiple times in the gaming business, he doesn't know what he is doing.
6
Sorry, I was awake during the Reagan presidency, and it didn't work then and won't work now. We'll end up in another Republican inspired recession.
6
There's never two Republican presidents in a row — they always need a Democrat in between to clean up their mess.
They break it and we pay for it. This country would be far out in front of the world if there were no Republicans.
They break it and we pay for it. This country would be far out in front of the world if there were no Republicans.
The simplistic graph known as The Laffer Curve has always been a cruel hoax. It plays to greed; that is, getting something for nothing and, usually, at someone else's expense.
As trickle-down failed us three times since it was introduced during the 1980 campaign by Reagan, it appears this was never about improving the lives of the middle class. It has NEVER worked for anyone but the rich. In the first few weeks of Reagan's first term, his first budget director, David Stockman, warned his boss that the trickle-down theory could not work, and would give the middle class nothing more than "pizza toppings," creating a major recession by the end of the 1980s. Stockman was right, of course.
So if the theory keeps failing, why do the Republi-cons keep bringing it back? The reason is simple. They believe a deregulated free market will work. It doesn't.
George H.W. Bush exposed this falsehood as "voodoo economics." But after a an offer from Reagan to be his running mate, he endorsed the theory.
Libertarian economist and Fed chair, Alan Greenspan, embracing trickle-down, recommended deregulation in all sectors. Mergers, acquisitions, and hostile takeovers took off like a plague of locusts as solidly profitable companies were bought, absorbed, and dismantled to feed the greed of the "takeover sharks." Millions of Americans lost their jobs in the process.
This is the same pizza with a new box. RESIST!
As trickle-down failed us three times since it was introduced during the 1980 campaign by Reagan, it appears this was never about improving the lives of the middle class. It has NEVER worked for anyone but the rich. In the first few weeks of Reagan's first term, his first budget director, David Stockman, warned his boss that the trickle-down theory could not work, and would give the middle class nothing more than "pizza toppings," creating a major recession by the end of the 1980s. Stockman was right, of course.
So if the theory keeps failing, why do the Republi-cons keep bringing it back? The reason is simple. They believe a deregulated free market will work. It doesn't.
George H.W. Bush exposed this falsehood as "voodoo economics." But after a an offer from Reagan to be his running mate, he endorsed the theory.
Libertarian economist and Fed chair, Alan Greenspan, embracing trickle-down, recommended deregulation in all sectors. Mergers, acquisitions, and hostile takeovers took off like a plague of locusts as solidly profitable companies were bought, absorbed, and dismantled to feed the greed of the "takeover sharks." Millions of Americans lost their jobs in the process.
This is the same pizza with a new box. RESIST!
3
1. It is sadly amusing that folks who will loose the most will still vote for him and Republicans in 2018,2020. People like me will get richer & richer , middle class will get poorer and no one in this administration cares about poor.
2. Since when paying tax to support the country became ad thing? I am in top 1% and last 8 years, paying more for ACA (3.8%) has not made me any poorer.
3. Bible says " Take care of poor, weak. Take care of your Neighbors". Let's pay fair share of tax and improve the health of the neighbor, community, county, state and country.
God Bless America.
2. Since when paying tax to support the country became ad thing? I am in top 1% and last 8 years, paying more for ACA (3.8%) has not made me any poorer.
3. Bible says " Take care of poor, weak. Take care of your Neighbors". Let's pay fair share of tax and improve the health of the neighbor, community, county, state and country.
God Bless America.
3
The repatriation of Trillions parked offshore will result in millions of jobs in America. In addition, both sides of the aisle are looking at a trillion dollar infrastructure allowance. The media however always sees the hole and not the doughnut. Whatever Trump does they will diss it just as everything that Mr. Obama did they treasured.
1
Millions of jobs from repatriated money? I'll bet five grand on that......
2
Until we have the jobs staying in the US and the big corporation cant import tech workers here I am against tax cuts to the big corporations. They will always try to make as much as possible. Also all these foreign workers will just take the money and run back to their home countries when things do implode. We made them all rich and we have the debt.
1
Debt is not coming from tax plans. Debt is coming from entitlements.
So I guess we'd better raise taxes, not cut them.
1
Here's a plan. Cut taxes. Drastically. Raise military spending. Repeal the Affordable Care Act, and replace it with something better, with more choices than it offers now. Get rid of NAFTA! Or wait, renegotiate it (I just had lunch and changed my mind). Oh, and the wall. Build it and make Mexico pay!
It baffles me that no one has ever thought of this before.
It baffles me that no one has ever thought of this before.
1
“The plan will pay for itself with growth,” Mnuchin said at an event hosted by the Institute of International Finance.
Mitch McConnell grabs the wacko baton and sprints ahead when he tells TPMDC's Brian Beutler that "there's no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue. They increased revenue because of the vibrancy of these tax cuts in the economy.
1
One proposal in the plan is the repeal of the so-called alternative minimum tax. The decades-old tax, which was enacted to make sure the rich pay their fair share, could have saved Trump $31 million in 2005 based on his "leaked" returns. His voters have been duped as he is manipulating everything to benefit THE DONALD.
IMPEACH!!
IMPEACH!!
1
How do Republicans "do the reckoning"? It's easy; they lie to themselves, repeating the long-discredited mantra that growth will fill the hole.
But, how successful is lying to oneself? Very successful, for the McConnells and Ryans of the world.
90% of Republican voters are too ignorant and foolish to realize even that the nonsense they say to themselves is a lie. The other 10% are rich enough that the "lie" and the ensuing deficit/recession don't matter, to them.
And the one person who falls into BOTH camps is Donald Trump!
But, how successful is lying to oneself? Very successful, for the McConnells and Ryans of the world.
90% of Republican voters are too ignorant and foolish to realize even that the nonsense they say to themselves is a lie. The other 10% are rich enough that the "lie" and the ensuing deficit/recession don't matter, to them.
And the one person who falls into BOTH camps is Donald Trump!
The Republicans are not lying to themselves about taxes. They're lying to us about them, and we keep letting them get away with this crap. It's time to hold all politicians feet to the fire. Whatever they get, we get. The last Republican with sense was Eisenhower, and taxes were in the area of 90% didn't his term, and the rich were not nearly so rich, and no one was in he bread lines. It's absolutely amazing how easily people are duped and duped again. Time for the fires and the pitchforks. It's time for the lobbyists and special interests to leave Washington. It's time to pass laws that jails these crooks. It's also time to rein in these large corporations. if they've got a problem paying their share, let them get out, and any and everything they want to sell here, we put a hefty import tax on it. Globalization as fine, so long as you pay your share.
2
Ive got a great idea...do the lower taxes but increase the minimum wage. so the extra business created by the tax cut goes to workers workers and not to the CEOS
2
A one-page tax document -- give me a break!
Apparently trump plans to borrow to enrich himself and his cronies, the "make a deal" when he tanks the country (assuming he's still around).
Let's see those tax returns, Don and Con!
Apparently trump plans to borrow to enrich himself and his cronies, the "make a deal" when he tanks the country (assuming he's still around).
Let's see those tax returns, Don and Con!
5
" I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." - Wimpy
We have heard this promise before and it just didn't happen. Tax cuts do not drive the economy . But future lack of growth occurs after the orange headed magician is out of office.
We have heard this promise before and it just didn't happen. Tax cuts do not drive the economy . But future lack of growth occurs after the orange headed magician is out of office.
4
Frankly I am of the opinion that rather than as he claims to be an expert at taxes that in actuality Donald knows probably very little about income taxes having paid to have that done for him. Given his demonstrated near illiteracy and minuscule attention span I suspect he's never read his completed tax returns and probably relies upon someone telling him what's reported.
3
Every billionaire had a team of tax accountants, as does every large corporation.
1
How about this tax: zero. Zero tax on income, investment, whatever. Period.
When you die, it's 100% tax.
Make your children actually work for their own money. Giving money to children is just... disgusting and immoral.
When you die, it's 100% tax.
Make your children actually work for their own money. Giving money to children is just... disgusting and immoral.
4
No matter our politics, we should all be able to agree that there are anachronisms and inefficiencies riddled throughout our entire tax code.
Why do we allow mortgage interest deductions, but not student loan interest deductions, in an age where the most productive generation are commonly forced to defer life choices (including buying first homes) because they are deep in student loan debt? Makes no sense.
The AMT was intended to make sure rich folks paid their fair share, but it was not indexed to inflation from its enactment in the late 60s until 2013! All the time, it was catching a larger and larger portion of the population and no Congressman wanted to repeal it because it was a cash cow. Well, now it hits a ton of middle class families, and its impact is higher if you live in a state with higher tax rates. That's preposterous. I'm hit by the AMT, and my tax burden is over $10,000 higher each year because my wife and I file jointly, as opposed to us getting a divorce and each filing as single (I do them both ways to see the difference). We are actually considering a divorce since our marriage costs about as much as our mortgage. This SHOULD be corrected or repealed.
We should all agitate for a fair, logical tax system.
Why do we allow mortgage interest deductions, but not student loan interest deductions, in an age where the most productive generation are commonly forced to defer life choices (including buying first homes) because they are deep in student loan debt? Makes no sense.
The AMT was intended to make sure rich folks paid their fair share, but it was not indexed to inflation from its enactment in the late 60s until 2013! All the time, it was catching a larger and larger portion of the population and no Congressman wanted to repeal it because it was a cash cow. Well, now it hits a ton of middle class families, and its impact is higher if you live in a state with higher tax rates. That's preposterous. I'm hit by the AMT, and my tax burden is over $10,000 higher each year because my wife and I file jointly, as opposed to us getting a divorce and each filing as single (I do them both ways to see the difference). We are actually considering a divorce since our marriage costs about as much as our mortgage. This SHOULD be corrected or repealed.
We should all agitate for a fair, logical tax system.
39
The economy is driven by demand not supply. Businesses expand when they see more demand than they can fill. A tax cut for a business does not find it new customers, it just grows its bank account. Historically, business tax cuts don't go to investment but into asset and commodity bubbles, which destabilize the economy.
The Federal Reserve even pumped well over a trillion dollars into global banks after the great recession, and when asked why they didn't invest it in business expansion, they said it would be stupid to invest when demand is weak.
Supply side economics is a thirty year old scam invented by the same liars that invented the Iraq war. Cheney and Rumsfeld, with help from Laffer.
Stop the madness before it destroys the country and the world.
And the insanity
The Federal Reserve even pumped well over a trillion dollars into global banks after the great recession, and when asked why they didn't invest it in business expansion, they said it would be stupid to invest when demand is weak.
Supply side economics is a thirty year old scam invented by the same liars that invented the Iraq war. Cheney and Rumsfeld, with help from Laffer.
Stop the madness before it destroys the country and the world.
And the insanity
76
The economy would be better off if the government gave every taxpayer $1000 and told them to go spend it. The demand for products would grow and production would increase to accommodate that demand. It is the old trick of "priming the pump".
Our s-corp income is typically 200,000 a year. The reduction of the tax rate to 15% will reduce our federal taxes by about 30,000 a year. We are thinking about a long vacation in Europe next year.
Great the tax cut will grow the economy in far away vacation spots.
1
Increasing the debt and deficit are nothing new for Republicans, this has been the practice for 37 years.
What boggles the mind is how voters still don't understand that the Republicans do nothing but provide lip service. "Spend and cut" is the order of the day and it's bankrupting the Treasury.
What boggles the mind is how voters still don't understand that the Republicans do nothing but provide lip service. "Spend and cut" is the order of the day and it's bankrupting the Treasury.
3
This tax plan is nothing but a multi-trillion dollar raid on the public treasury to fill the pockets of the ultra wealthy private parties. This is no surprise coming from Trump the conman. So much for all the populist talk that he is going to protect American jobs and enforce a border tax. I wonder if the fools who voted for him are having buyer's remorse at least now.
3
As much hypocritical it is for Republicans to embrace deficits it is for Democrats to become deficit hawks. But I am not surprised. Political ideologies are negotiating positions with a gullible electorate. After election all political positions are redefined as the opposite of the opponent. It's called tribal politics.
2
If the public and business have confidence in the economy, they will spend and create taxable income. If they are not confident, it will be a bad day for the deficit. Hopefully, Trump can whip the confidence into high gear.
Republicans contend that cutting taxes will grow the economy and cover the cost but are not able to point to any historical precedent that backs up their claim. There is no record of success for supply-side economics. For example, just look at the state of Kansas where a drastic cut in taxes resulted in economic disaster. Trump's tax plan is just an excuse to cut taxes for Wall St. billionaires and himself while throwing a bone to working men just to keep them calm.
2
It's difficult to believe that the party that claimed to stand for fiscal responsibility is now supporting a tax cut for corporations, real estate developers and the wealthy that, without any reasonable doubt, will add trillions to the national debt and increase the annual deficits. Sad.
1
These businesses have no intention of creating jobs. They might invest tax break money into robotics. That wouldn't create many jobs though, just a few maintenance people......Trump, his healthcare reform, and his tax cut policies, do not bode well for the working people of this country. It'll be great for the Rentiers, but there aren't that many of them. And at a time when workers have a target on their backs, the whole agenda seems just plain mean. We need to be planning for the future and figuring out how to take care of our population and make life worthwhile for them, when they are no longer needed for labor or war. Yes, we do have climate change to worry about, but we also need to worry about becoming obsolete and expendable. Is anybody in DC thinking about the future at all? I mean past their next election? I don't have any faith in the current political leaders who hold the majority. And I'm not so sure about the minority group either.
2
Some form of tax cuts will be passed. It is one of the core reasons the Republicans are sticking by Trump. He promises to sign their pet legislation without asking too many questions. Who cares about their previous positions on anything? Their base certainly does not. They have abandoned every conservative principle except increasing power and wealth for the lucky few.
If he can't deliver on this most essential policy, I can't imagine the GOP covering for him much longer. They can simply stop impeding the investigations and let him choose between impeachment or resignation. Why would they continue to take the political hits for him when a President Pence may be more publicly palatable and legislatively productive?
If he can't deliver on this most essential policy, I can't imagine the GOP covering for him much longer. They can simply stop impeding the investigations and let him choose between impeachment or resignation. Why would they continue to take the political hits for him when a President Pence may be more publicly palatable and legislatively productive?
1
Please give Mr. T the credit he deserves for pre-announcing, during his campaign, how he plans to pay for the tax cuts. Don clearly said, unequivocally, he would negotiate a lower settlement with those holding our debt. As in his real estate days, he'll offer pennies-on-the dollar on the t-bills, etc.,...short-paying those who bought them. "happens all the time" he said of re-negotiating terms after the deal. "It's one of my many many great and beautiful tactics". Come to think of it, his entire political life has been a bait-and-switch.
2
Unfortunately most of the debt that he wants to renegotiate its owned by us.
I think that's her point...
Tick, tock; tick, tock.
Time is running out for trickle down, voodoo economics that never worked.
The only thing they ever did was provide more investment capital for the very rich so they could invest it and create jobs abroad.
Trump was elected because he promised change, instead its the same old.
Time is running out for trickle down, voodoo economics that never worked.
The only thing they ever did was provide more investment capital for the very rich so they could invest it and create jobs abroad.
Trump was elected because he promised change, instead its the same old.
2
It's about time for the seams on that big GOP tent to split open, revealing the major disconnects between the deficit hawks, the Tea Party/Freedom Caucus tax cutters, the anti-regulators and the war hawks.
Take George W. Bush's example: major tax cuts + Medicare D costs + Iraq War & Afghanistan + unregulated subprime mortgages = 2007/8's "Great Recession". This country's economy is now stable, inflation and unemployment are low and growth is slow as our economy figures out how to deal with the new technological realities of automated production, global trade, big data and online retail. At the same time, major economies like China, Japan and Europe are moving to clean solar power and away from fossil fuels. A handout to those who don't need it, i.e., major corporate entities and the 0.01%, while blowing up the deficit is a formula for disaster.
Take George W. Bush's example: major tax cuts + Medicare D costs + Iraq War & Afghanistan + unregulated subprime mortgages = 2007/8's "Great Recession". This country's economy is now stable, inflation and unemployment are low and growth is slow as our economy figures out how to deal with the new technological realities of automated production, global trade, big data and online retail. At the same time, major economies like China, Japan and Europe are moving to clean solar power and away from fossil fuels. A handout to those who don't need it, i.e., major corporate entities and the 0.01%, while blowing up the deficit is a formula for disaster.
Pay down the debt now, or pay down the debt later. Meh, we'll make the Democrats pay later. In the meantime, we'll just test the resilience of the American economy.
Whatever happened to the Republican ideal where you run the government like a household with a balanced budget? OK, that was rubbish from the get-go. Yes, households take out debt for homes, cars, education, etc. This is the way our economy has been working for decades. This is the way of Trump.
Second, I'm afraid the financially well-off, financially secure, and future generations need to start paying down the deficits in not-so-distant future. Really, the economics dictate that people with more assets and income will be keeping our government solvent in the future. And, please, give up on the trickle down magic of tax cuts. They don't work as advertised.
Whatever happened to the Republican ideal where you run the government like a household with a balanced budget? OK, that was rubbish from the get-go. Yes, households take out debt for homes, cars, education, etc. This is the way our economy has been working for decades. This is the way of Trump.
Second, I'm afraid the financially well-off, financially secure, and future generations need to start paying down the deficits in not-so-distant future. Really, the economics dictate that people with more assets and income will be keeping our government solvent in the future. And, please, give up on the trickle down magic of tax cuts. They don't work as advertised.
1
Let's ask the good people of Kansas if they think supply side economics works. After yet another failed tax cut your way to prosperity plan, the republican legislature overrode the veto of a republican governor, Brownback., because of the disaster they created there. Let's ask Californians, where taxes went up to a chorus of republican predictions of disasters, and yet, their increased prosperity and economic opportunities increased. So how do they keep perpetuating this lie of voodoo economics when the actual proof of it being a lie is right out there?
2
The Republicans say they want big tax cuts for the rich and for business in order to increase economic growth. I looked it up and tax cuts have the lowest multiplier effect on the economy of any government intervention. The largest effect is from increased spending and the largest of that is from increasing spending on food stamps. Why? Because if you give somebody food stamps they will spend them all. If you give a wealthy person a tax cut they won't.
Also, remember the saying you can't push a string? Businesses want to invest if they see increased demand for their products which means somebody must have the money to buy them. They don't invest if there are no customers.
Also, remember the saying you can't push a string? Businesses want to invest if they see increased demand for their products which means somebody must have the money to buy them. They don't invest if there are no customers.
3
They're liars, plain and simple. They don't want to reduce the deficit or the debt.
What they want to do is reduce taxes on the wealthy and give them plenty of tax-free government bonds to invest in.
That way, the wealthy don't just control us, they actually own us.
What they want to do is reduce taxes on the wealthy and give them plenty of tax-free government bonds to invest in.
That way, the wealthy don't just control us, they actually own us.
2
Business to Trump on your tax cuts: no thanks. Your plan is essentially a compulsory loan to us, cash now which we must repay later. In a capital-scarce environment such as 2007-2009, your plan would make sense. But not now. There are plentiful supplies of private capital at record low rates.
What we do need you to supply is a strong infrastructure, national security and a healthy workforce. We'll do the rest.
What we do need you to supply is a strong infrastructure, national security and a healthy workforce. We'll do the rest.
2
You'd have to be pretty naïve to think that Republicans care much about deficits, after blithely ignoring George W. Bush's deficits and then hammering Obama's deficits.
I'm sure that they care about deficits a tad, but not nearly as much as lowering their own personal tax bills, paying for wars, trips to Mar A Lago, the umpteenth Benghazi investigation and partisan politics. Deficit spending ranks down there with campaign finance reform and investigating Trump's collusion with Russia.
Republicans will only start raising deficits after you concede all those things first. Priorities, you know.
I'm sure that they care about deficits a tad, but not nearly as much as lowering their own personal tax bills, paying for wars, trips to Mar A Lago, the umpteenth Benghazi investigation and partisan politics. Deficit spending ranks down there with campaign finance reform and investigating Trump's collusion with Russia.
Republicans will only start raising deficits after you concede all those things first. Priorities, you know.
3
I thought I read something earlier that the increase in standard deduction came with the removal of exemptions. Such a move would injure the low to middle income taxpayers. I hope our congressional leaders are wise enough to know the difference.
We've been having this same conversation for decades.
The Democrats are Charlie Brown and the Republicans are Lucy holding the football.
Soon Democrats will be explaining why they have to fall for this same old ploy yet another time, and calling the actual left "unrealistic" for trying to fight it. They won't make a serious effort to explain the hypocrisy, or that the actual plan is to create deficits as an excuse to slash budgets yet again. (Notice this article also neglects that key point.)
If Democrats ever have another majority, they will explain how deficits mean there is no money to be spent on the People, but of course there will be magical bipartisan agreement on funding military spending.
The screen this kabuki theater plays out on is global corporate mass media, which will treat it all as normal.
The two corporate parties are selling or country to global corporations.
We can have a peaceful political revolution now, or a bloodbath later.
Save your democracy before it is too late.
The Democrats are Charlie Brown and the Republicans are Lucy holding the football.
Soon Democrats will be explaining why they have to fall for this same old ploy yet another time, and calling the actual left "unrealistic" for trying to fight it. They won't make a serious effort to explain the hypocrisy, or that the actual plan is to create deficits as an excuse to slash budgets yet again. (Notice this article also neglects that key point.)
If Democrats ever have another majority, they will explain how deficits mean there is no money to be spent on the People, but of course there will be magical bipartisan agreement on funding military spending.
The screen this kabuki theater plays out on is global corporate mass media, which will treat it all as normal.
The two corporate parties are selling or country to global corporations.
We can have a peaceful political revolution now, or a bloodbath later.
Save your democracy before it is too late.
1
Kenneth Boulding said "anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist." And Trump is clearly not an economist.
3
Bullkwinkle:" Economic growth will cover the cost "
Rocky: " But that trick never works"
Isn't this the real reason the national debt is $ 20 Trillion ?
Tax Cuts ? ( pre 1981 it was @ 1 Tr. )
Rocky: " But that trick never works"
Isn't this the real reason the national debt is $ 20 Trillion ?
Tax Cuts ? ( pre 1981 it was @ 1 Tr. )
2
It sure smacks of trickle down economics. The latter is a theory that appears to have legitimacy but it has proved to be wrong at times however its merit.
We are 20 trillion dollars or thereabouts in debt and most people and politicians especially seem to ignore it. Perhaps the Democrats should support Trump to some little extent and let him reap what he sows. Then the Democrats will get back in power for a long time and let's see what they can do, again. That should be a strategy:).
We are 20 trillion dollars or thereabouts in debt and most people and politicians especially seem to ignore it. Perhaps the Democrats should support Trump to some little extent and let him reap what he sows. Then the Democrats will get back in power for a long time and let's see what they can do, again. That should be a strategy:).
2
This is just more of Trump's voodoo trickle up economics that has failed since Reagan started it.
If passed, the rest of us will subsidize the 1%'s $5 and $10 million dollar estates, their Alternative Minimum Tax, private equity's carried forward interest, real estate's expensing in their first year, reductions in the taxation of unearned income such as capital gains, and pass through and hedge funders Sub-s corps and LLC's, not to mention a livable wage, etc, etc, etc.
How much more will the rest of us have to pay and subsidize, to feed the these people from their trough of greed. What is left for the rest of us to give?
If passed, the rest of us will subsidize the 1%'s $5 and $10 million dollar estates, their Alternative Minimum Tax, private equity's carried forward interest, real estate's expensing in their first year, reductions in the taxation of unearned income such as capital gains, and pass through and hedge funders Sub-s corps and LLC's, not to mention a livable wage, etc, etc, etc.
How much more will the rest of us have to pay and subsidize, to feed the these people from their trough of greed. What is left for the rest of us to give?
4
Republican Econ 101
Rule # 1. Deficits only matter when a Democrat is President.
Rule # 2. Tax cuts for the wealthy and multi-nationals pay for themselves. No factual evidence to support this is necessary.
Rule # 3. Imposing rules for welfare recipients is mandatory, unless the welfare recipient is a corporation, in which case it is government interference.
Rule # 1. Deficits only matter when a Democrat is President.
Rule # 2. Tax cuts for the wealthy and multi-nationals pay for themselves. No factual evidence to support this is necessary.
Rule # 3. Imposing rules for welfare recipients is mandatory, unless the welfare recipient is a corporation, in which case it is government interference.
11
Look at the historical timeline of recessions. We are due for another one soon. The idea that the Republicans think we'll just sail forward on 3-4.5% GDP growth year over year is insane.
6
I'd much rather see slow and steady growth.. Not massive peaks followed by equally deep valleys.. Because in those valleys are the hopes & dreams and years of hard work by regular people. Not the rich who can afford to play with monopoly money.
1
If it can be summarized on a napkin is it lacking in substance. We have met the enemy and it is supply side economics and its promise to float on boats. Oh wait, it has managed to float all yachts, just not my little row boat.
9
A rising tide lifts all boats but if you don't have a boat it just drowns you.
3
Watch your real estate taxes increase.
If the Fed brings in less money then they'll pay out less money to the states.
But citizens still want their municipal services and the only place to raise the revenue for locales is in their own communities.
Between DeVos raiding the dept of education budget for her vouchers and Trumps tax cut, if you're a homeowner get ready for a big increase.
If the Fed brings in less money then they'll pay out less money to the states.
But citizens still want their municipal services and the only place to raise the revenue for locales is in their own communities.
Between DeVos raiding the dept of education budget for her vouchers and Trumps tax cut, if you're a homeowner get ready for a big increase.
11
With respect to anyone who thinks that this tax cut will pay for itself: I have a bridge that I would like to sell them.
3
large tax reductions for the wealthy and the children who the parents think they can not support themselves in the future in exchange for increasing the national debt and stopping medical care assistance for the less fortunate. in a nut shell, this is what is proposed by the President. will the religious right and conservative/republicans be in favor of this? time will tell. is this what America is all about? i hope not. many years ago some very brave people left England and other European countries to settle in this country to escape the rich and powerful. i guess some people want to reverse all of this.
3
While every situation has its own dynamics and risk and reward, there's an expression in business, in science, in everything really that says, 'always know who's the smartest person in the room.' This advice helps to save face, but also encourages thoughtful, respectful discussion. I suspect that, in every situation, our president and, by extension, his cabinet think that he/they are the smartest people in every room. Without being the proverbial fly on these walls, this is clearly not the case over these nearly 100 days.
Take the Mar-a-Lago summit meeting with President Xi Jinping. I don't think we have to flip a coin there, do we?
And it's not just intellect, but also grace and decorum. Just being presidential. How about those painful post-election calls and tweets? Or the uncomfortable White House joint pressers with heads of state, our allies?
So it's hard to look at a 1-page, bulleted Tax Reform Plan as anything other than trying to get your term paper in before the teacher's deadline. Streamlined? For sure. Substance? Well, enough to garner a D... "Better luck next time"... "Try opening the textbook."
I agree that 100 days is a bit unfair and arbitrary to judge a president's and administrations efforts. But the poor grade is not unjust. And the real tests haven't been given yet.
Take the Mar-a-Lago summit meeting with President Xi Jinping. I don't think we have to flip a coin there, do we?
And it's not just intellect, but also grace and decorum. Just being presidential. How about those painful post-election calls and tweets? Or the uncomfortable White House joint pressers with heads of state, our allies?
So it's hard to look at a 1-page, bulleted Tax Reform Plan as anything other than trying to get your term paper in before the teacher's deadline. Streamlined? For sure. Substance? Well, enough to garner a D... "Better luck next time"... "Try opening the textbook."
I agree that 100 days is a bit unfair and arbitrary to judge a president's and administrations efforts. But the poor grade is not unjust. And the real tests haven't been given yet.
11
The US will never pay its debt. Period. This was true before Trump took office. If it was going to pay its debt, it would have done so when Bill Clinton ran a surplus. And yet it paid nothing net. The US has no intention whatsoever of reducing its deficit.
And so it doesn't really much matter what Trump proposes, except that it will probably accelerate default.
And so it doesn't really much matter what Trump proposes, except that it will probably accelerate default.
5
default = instant 3rdf world status
and you dont even grow any bananas there
1
Now I remember why 15 is a familiar number. Bernie Sanders and minimum wage workers have been "fighting for 15" to raise the living standards of millions who work for much less in retail and food service, plus many other sectors. and end up qualifying for food stamps. Before Congress cuts their employers' tax rates to 15%, is it asking too much to raise their employees' pay to $15/hour so they can go off of food stamps? Or maybe require that only businesses who raise their lowest hourly wages to $15/hour qualify for the 15% tax rate.
14
Folks, It's Voodoo economics all over again. The goal of this "Tax Plan" is to make the rich, like Trump, richer and stick it to the average American. This is what the Trump "Presidency" is all about, and to a lesser extent Republican politics. Trumps agenda is all about enriching himself and his immediate family. Stuff like Border Security, etc,... is just red meat for his base, he could care less about it.
6
Madness, utter madness.
Trump is to the US what an iceberg was to the Titanic.
Trump is to the US what an iceberg was to the Titanic.
10
I just went to the opinion section of Fox News and found three separate pieces expressing outrage that Ann Coulter was given an unacceptable speaking date at Berkeley, but no pieces on the Trump tax plan.
This tells me it's dead in the water.
This tells me it's dead in the water.
5
They'll fall in line. They're authoritarians. And no one wants "free stuff" more.
1
If companies only pay tax on profits, and investments, expenses and labor costs are deductions how can lowering the tax rate encourage those things? It seems to me it would do the opposite, however it might ensure profits are kept here rather than in other countries so that may be good.
The best idea is to just increase the individual deduction even more than they propose rather than fiddle with the whole tax code. That would mean that every taxpayer benefits equally but those at the lower end will feel it much more, and are more likely spend it helping businesses by increasing disposable income and having them compete for it rather than just give them a windfall.
The best idea is to just increase the individual deduction even more than they propose rather than fiddle with the whole tax code. That would mean that every taxpayer benefits equally but those at the lower end will feel it much more, and are more likely spend it helping businesses by increasing disposable income and having them compete for it rather than just give them a windfall.
23
We are told not to worry about the national debt because it will be diluted by future growth as a percentage of GNP. So which is it: do we use growth to reduce debt as a percentage of GNP, or do we use it to sustain continuing deficits?
5
If the purpose of tax cuts for business is to spark business expansion and more hiring, why leave it to chance or whim? Why not design a law that clearly and directly rewards new investment in the U.S. and the addition of new employees, and punishes offshoring jobs and profits? If I want my teenager to spend her allowance wisely on things that will benefit the family budget, like saving for a car and the insurance, I don't double her allowance and just hope she won't blow it on a $100 pair of sneakers and the latest smart phone and then expect me to buy her the car and pay the insurance. Use the tax code to reward the desired behavior by businesses. What's wrong with that?
11
"Moment of truth???" Republicans have come and gone past the moment of truth several times already. Republican tax cuts for the wealthy and rampant, unnecessary military spending always increase the deficit without fail. It has become common practice for Republicans to spend like drunken sailors without paying for any of it. If you recall, W's ridiculous plan for paying for this corporate giveaway was exactly the same: the economy will grow enough to pay for it. We are at about full employment now (thank you, President Obama!), so any hope of growing the economy much further is delusional.
The difference between Republican spending and Democratic spending is that Republicans spend to fatten their own wallets. Democrats spend in an attempt to better the entire nation.
These filthy Republican crooks need to be stopped at every turn. Please keep calling your representatives and attend town halls until this administration has been replaced by a responsible one.
The difference between Republican spending and Democratic spending is that Republicans spend to fatten their own wallets. Democrats spend in an attempt to better the entire nation.
These filthy Republican crooks need to be stopped at every turn. Please keep calling your representatives and attend town halls until this administration has been replaced by a responsible one.
21
Reagan's Supply Side Economics was really a way for Republicans to "starve the beast". Their words. Supply side was just a quirky economic idea used to further two things unrelated: to line the wealthy' pockets, and the fore mentioned cutting of the federal government. Instead, Reagan's cuts completely disproved trickle down Economics as deficits exploded. Will it be any different this time? Is the real ruse now that the wealthy just want that last dime and firebomb the place so that they can go underground in their shelters with their gold and guns?
6
There is historical evidence that this strategy does not work as intended.
7
The strategy does work as intended. The Republicans get to cut taxes on the rich and fight expensive wars "off budget" and Democrats are kept from doing anything for the People because it's too expensive. Look at how Clinton and her supporters played right into it when they called universal healthcare, free college, and infrastructure "pie in the sky." Note the Republicans will grow the deficit far faster than Bernie's entire program would have, and it will grow the economy less, because when the people save money on the basics they expand demand.
I no longer believe the Democrats can be this incompetent by accident. They know their part in this farce and play it to the T.
I no longer believe the Democrats can be this incompetent by accident. They know their part in this farce and play it to the T.
Why is it not a shock that we are seeing the same old trickle-down theories yet again, even though trickle-down has been thoroughly disproven EVERY TIME it's been tried, without exception? Emperor's new clothes indeed!
10
It's a mathematical impossibility for tax cuts to pay for themselves. If that were the case, let's drop them to zero.
13
The laziest president we've ever had probably sketched this plan on a Trump-monogrammed napkin for all the information it provides. One thing we do know, and it sticks out like a 10 ft. toothbrush, is that Donald Trump will take care of himself, his family and his billionaires club cabinet first. The rest of us can eat cake or, better yet, crumbs.
14
The GOP does not care one whit about the deficit-that only comes out if a program is proposed to help normal, average Americans.
The tax cut is for the top 1%.
The Tax increase is for the Blue States, courtesy of the elimination of the Mortgage deduction and allowance for State Taxes paid.
Only the little people pay taxes. - L. Helmsley.
The tax cut is for the top 1%.
The Tax increase is for the Blue States, courtesy of the elimination of the Mortgage deduction and allowance for State Taxes paid.
Only the little people pay taxes. - L. Helmsley.
6
Actually the Blue Starts do great in this because the standard of living is much higher. The mortgage deduction is not eliminated, according to the article, it just becomes less than the standard deduction, so often goes unused.
Maybe it's time for the left to jump on the tax cut bandwagon, and slash the Federal government to nothing? Then we can increase state taxes to help our own people, and let the greedy red states wallow in their fraud induced poverty.
That's one way to slash military spending.
Maybe it's time for the left to jump on the tax cut bandwagon, and slash the Federal government to nothing? Then we can increase state taxes to help our own people, and let the greedy red states wallow in their fraud induced poverty.
That's one way to slash military spending.
And yet they've got you calling them a "GOP."
What will it take for you to quit perfuming them?
No need to coin something. Just call them by their name.
What will it take for you to quit perfuming them?
No need to coin something. Just call them by their name.
Guess next year we'll be talking cuts to social security and other "entitlements" since the deficit is so huge!
16
That's the plan, and Democratic "centrists" will go along with it.
Obama offered $4 trillion in entitlement cuts as part of his grand bargain. The only reason it didn't happen is that the Tea Party took it for a sign of weakness and demanded more.
Obama offered $4 trillion in entitlement cuts as part of his grand bargain. The only reason it didn't happen is that the Tea Party took it for a sign of weakness and demanded more.
1
Once again Donald Trump show his ignorance on managing budgets. In his world he walks away from debt then sues the people he owes legitimate payments. No American Bank will loan him a dime. He depends on German Banks for loans, but will soon walk away from them as well. In four years Please pleas he will be out of here having taken as much from us as possible.
The debt ballooned under Reagan and Bush 2 and will do so again under Trump. And our safety net programs will disappear. It's the same old story. Republicans preach economic austerity then trow it out when they need to balloon the economy which then turns into a bust. Bush 1 was the only responsible one, but when push came to shove his Party torpedoed him for his responsibility.
The debt ballooned under Reagan and Bush 2 and will do so again under Trump. And our safety net programs will disappear. It's the same old story. Republicans preach economic austerity then trow it out when they need to balloon the economy which then turns into a bust. Bush 1 was the only responsible one, but when push came to shove his Party torpedoed him for his responsibility.
5
Trumps bankruptcies were not a product of his ignorance, but of his fraud. A casino can only go bankrupt if the CEO steals all the money. Same thing with a country.
1
This is a bold-faced plan to bleed the middle class to feed the rich. Uh huh, no mortgage write-offs for the middle class (probably their only chance to get a break), and that will provide the money to pay the fat cats.
But more to the point, this is all about using a faulted trickle down rationale to provide massive infusion of money to the wealthy -- all of which will benefit the one percent.
Needless to say, this will not pass. (It isn't even a plan). But it most certainly tells us a lot about the selfish creeps who wrote it.
But more to the point, this is all about using a faulted trickle down rationale to provide massive infusion of money to the wealthy -- all of which will benefit the one percent.
Needless to say, this will not pass. (It isn't even a plan). But it most certainly tells us a lot about the selfish creeps who wrote it.
5
another lesson in the class, get to know your new overlords
Plutocracy () or plutarchy, is a form of oligarchy and defines a society ruled or controlled by the small minority of the wealthiest citizens. The first known use of the term was in 1652.[1] Unlike systems such as democracy, capitalism, socialism or anarchism, plutocracy is not rooted in an established political philosophy. The concept of plutocracy may be advocated by the wealthy classes of a society in an indirect or surreptitious fashion, though the term itself is almost always used in a pejorative sense
The term plutocracy is generally used as a pejorative to describe or warn against an undesirable condition. Throughout history, political thinkers such as Winston Churchill, 19th-century French sociologist and historian Alexis de Tocqueville, 19th-century Spanish monarchist Juan Donoso Cortés and today Noam Chomsky have condemned plutocrats for ignoring their social responsibilities, using their power to serve their own purposes and thereby increasing poverty and nurturing class conflict, corrupting societies with greed and hedonism.
wiki
4
Republicans rely on the adults bailing them out again and again. Who elected these idiots?
10
The rationale for starting a business is to profitably supply a needed good or service. The only entities I know which are started in response to a change in taxes aim to merely game the system. Another condition for business success is the ability of the target market to purchase the goods and services which are being offered. If your customers can't afford your wares, lower taxes have little stimulative effect on the economy. This is the fundamental problem that is repeatedly ignored by republicans. Instead of tax cuts that will only benefit the top 1%, they need to design programs to increase wages.
Lower taxes will never induce employers to pay their workers more. Only a tighter labor market, or government regulation will compel them to pay their workers more. Unfortunately, this idea that lower taxes alone will stimulate economic growth is so engrained in the American public that maybe what we need to do is let Trump and the republican congress enact it so that we can once and for all expose its folly. The tyranny of bad ideas endures.
Lower taxes will never induce employers to pay their workers more. Only a tighter labor market, or government regulation will compel them to pay their workers more. Unfortunately, this idea that lower taxes alone will stimulate economic growth is so engrained in the American public that maybe what we need to do is let Trump and the republican congress enact it so that we can once and for all expose its folly. The tyranny of bad ideas endures.
20
Fred you're right except for the last part. The Republicans have been exposed as recently as GWB but look who won the last election. It will never change the mind of most of the Trump voters. Maybe changing the minds of a few will be enough.
Can we stop arguing against tax cuts because they will inflate the deficit? At current long term interest rates the deficit is no big deal, what is a big deal is that we are redistributing income to the rich and at the same time scanting public investments in infrastructure, education and basic research.
9
Why not cut spending as well? Then the deficit need not increase. Better yet, cut spending without cutting taxes, and run a surplus.
3
The problem is they don't really want to decrease spending, despite all their rhetoric. Fat, no bid, cost plus contracts are the best way to take money from the middle class and give it to the rich. Cheney and Rumsfeld, who helped Laffer invent the supply side scam, also helped privatize most of the military, surveillance, and disaster relief agencies, and got rich owning shares in the global corporations (like Halliburton) that got those contracts.
They just don't want to have to pay taxes to find those contracts.
Government is not a business. When business people get involved it is to steal. Trump is exhibit A.
Notice they don't want to end Social Security. They just want to hand the accounts over to global banks, so they can take a giant piece of it. That will cost more, not less.
Supply side is a scam and privatization of government functions is a related scam.
They just don't want to have to pay taxes to find those contracts.
Government is not a business. When business people get involved it is to steal. Trump is exhibit A.
Notice they don't want to end Social Security. They just want to hand the accounts over to global banks, so they can take a giant piece of it. That will cost more, not less.
Supply side is a scam and privatization of government functions is a related scam.
If he followed through on his plans to drastically reduce funding for several federal agencies would that not offset the increase in the deficit?
1
Jamie,
Not by any stretch of the imagination.He's for increasing funds for the Defense Dpt, which, other than SS and Medicare, receives the lion's share of funding.
Not by any stretch of the imagination.He's for increasing funds for the Defense Dpt, which, other than SS and Medicare, receives the lion's share of funding.
2
Defunding agencies will only reduce the deficit by enough money if the agencies you are defunding are the US military and the NSA.
The cuts Trump has proposed, which will cripple things like research and development, won't even pay for his $54 billion military increase, much less a $7 trillion tax cut.
They are not talking about defining social security either, just letting global banks take fees from it.
The cuts Trump has proposed, which will cripple things like research and development, won't even pay for his $54 billion military increase, much less a $7 trillion tax cut.
They are not talking about defining social security either, just letting global banks take fees from it.
1
The level of expected growth to prevent trillions more in the deficit is impossible under this tax plan. Most of the tax cuts will go to the top 1 - 2% of the population. Increased growth requires consumer spending. Yet this tax plan leaves 98% of the population with no extra spending money. This isn't hard to figure out. Either the developers of this plan aren't very bright or it's another scam.
5
Also the Federal Reserve has a 2% growth target, and we'll raise interest rates of the growth hours higher. They also raise interest rates when the unemployment rate goes below 5%.
The tax cuts are a scam.
The tax cuts are a scam.
2
Are we again seeing that when Republicans are in power all concern about deficits is gone? And Grover Norquist, to be polite, is unconcerned about a deficit of any size?
10
the dishonesty of the republican party is breathtaking. all their grandstanding about deficits during the obama years goes out the window the minute they can pass gargantuan tax cuts that most favor the people who least need them.
their claim to be patriots is as phony as their alleged concern for deficits. true patriots recognize all that they owe to their country (their education, the one their children get, all the opportunities they were given to prosper) and are willing to pay their fair due in taxes (or through other sacrifices). not these phonies who, additionally, don't miss any opportunity to wrap themselves in the american flag.
i'm originally from argentina --over my entire life, first growing up there and now from here, i have witnessed the peronist party dishonesty and greed destroy beautiful argentina. the republicans are, no doubt about it, the peronists of the united states.
their claim to be patriots is as phony as their alleged concern for deficits. true patriots recognize all that they owe to their country (their education, the one their children get, all the opportunities they were given to prosper) and are willing to pay their fair due in taxes (or through other sacrifices). not these phonies who, additionally, don't miss any opportunity to wrap themselves in the american flag.
i'm originally from argentina --over my entire life, first growing up there and now from here, i have witnessed the peronist party dishonesty and greed destroy beautiful argentina. the republicans are, no doubt about it, the peronists of the united states.
16
This tax plan only benefits those who are in the WH; trump and his cronies. This tax cut won't create jobs, it won't stimulate the economy, and it sure won't stimulate people to spend money. We should all be asking, how does this tax plan benefit Trump? We must see his tax returns to know for sure.
6
Perhaps there is one ray of sunshine that will come from a Republican-majority Congress and this Trump administration. It is now time for the Republicans to show how their Voodoo economic principles will really work; or not. The Truth will finally come out
1
Voodoo Economics was disproved by the ballooning deficits under Reagan.
6
But it will be very painful for the country to find that out.
Look at Kansas. Supply side economics is a long disproven lie.
See Kansas as to what happens when you cut taxes and magically growth happens. Not.
12
In the last three years, Sam Brownback's failed tax cut experiment has resulted in TWO downgrades of the state by credit agencies.
2
I read in the Times article: "Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, was a fierce critic of deficits when he was a member of Congress"...but now not so much... “As a conservative, that bothers me a little bit,” he said Tuesday on CNN of the possibility that Mr. Trump’s tax plan would increase the deficit. “But we also look at deficits through sort of a different lens.” He and the backers of this robbery are absolutely loathsome.
9
You can't beat Republican propaganda. First they call the Estate Tax a "Death Tax" and make everyone think it applies to them. Second they make like the AMT is such a burden on everyone, but in reality it's mainly them
Third, anything not conservative is not Socialism as they repeatedly beat proponents over the head with. Fourth, Republicans have never had a good idea but they are the messiah. Fifth, they branded the ADA as Obamacare and twisted bigotry into that name. The fact that people didn't know that Obamacare and the ADA were the same proves it. And while I'm here, Obamacare/ADA is complicated because the Dems went with the Republican idea that the Republicans used to squash the Democrats idea. And the Democrats shifted from Single-payer to a "competition" based marketplace system. Then they withheld funding of the risk Corridor which made rates increase. Then they voted close to 50 times to repeal. Now that Republicans are in power, they have no clue as to govern, just like the clown (maybe traitor) in office. Mr. Comey tell us the facts (prove that you took a hit for the FBI) and get this thing going!
Third, anything not conservative is not Socialism as they repeatedly beat proponents over the head with. Fourth, Republicans have never had a good idea but they are the messiah. Fifth, they branded the ADA as Obamacare and twisted bigotry into that name. The fact that people didn't know that Obamacare and the ADA were the same proves it. And while I'm here, Obamacare/ADA is complicated because the Dems went with the Republican idea that the Republicans used to squash the Democrats idea. And the Democrats shifted from Single-payer to a "competition" based marketplace system. Then they withheld funding of the risk Corridor which made rates increase. Then they voted close to 50 times to repeal. Now that Republicans are in power, they have no clue as to govern, just like the clown (maybe traitor) in office. Mr. Comey tell us the facts (prove that you took a hit for the FBI) and get this thing going!
3
No release of tax returns,
No decrease in taxes.
No decrease in taxes.
9
Is everyone still afraid to tell our "Emperor" that he isn't wearing any clothes? I mean it is bordering on self-satire that Republicans and Democrats can listen to our President--whose personal past equals multiple bankruptcies and personal present equals a middle-finger to the middle-class on showing us his tax-returns--we are all lower-class, to no-class, to hm (like Third-Class steerage passengers on the TITANIC--rich men before poor children.) How can anyone listen to this zero-credibility President with credulity? Oh, and New York Times here is a news-flash for you: "A new study (and an old one, or any one) shows that pathological liars lie" did you know that?
5
Just them words and numbers make you really dizzy ... but if it grows by ten of sth, it certainly wont end up at 1.4 of the same....just saying
Why was the deficit not a concern for the last 8 years?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/17/budget-deficit-nearly-do...
Can somebody please help me with this?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/17/budget-deficit-nearly-do...
Can somebody please help me with this?
No, Joe, I won't help you. It was in all the media for years and can be easily found all over the internet.
2
Seriously? The GOP rejected everything Obama proposed as adding to the deficit, and made outrageous predictions about how Obamacare's effect on the deficit. Don't you watch Fox News?
Nothing like the 100-day deadline to highlight how unprepared our President is. He presented talking points with no details for a thoughtful mind to consider the merits.
His plan’s only certainty is revenues will be reduced. HIs hope GDP will rise (6% he says) to offset revenue reduction is only supported by wishful thinking and some theories like-minded economists are prepared to create.
What happens when the growth plan and related revenue increase doesn’t materialize? With 208 in Congress and 45 in the Senate, all Republicans, signers of the Norquist Pledge to never raise taxes how will taxes be raised. First, have all 253 Republicans in Congress repudiate, in writing, their Pledge then let’s talk about taxes. Anything less adds to the foolishness.
Due to the continued mismanagement and self-interest of Elected Politicians our country is running hundreds of billions in annual deficits (losses per the President), 20T in debt and $100T in future, unfunded liabilities, all growing.
If the President’s “Biggest Ever” tax reduction plan is approved, even if GDP rises but not enough to offset the reduction in revenue with lower rates, debt will keep mounting. This is not Winning! This is a National Security Threat and places 99% of Americans in future jeopardy. The Trump brand for him and future Trump generations may be “The Biggest Loser!”
Politicians must be held responsible for their self-interest and mismanagement of our country!
http://usdebtforum.com
His plan’s only certainty is revenues will be reduced. HIs hope GDP will rise (6% he says) to offset revenue reduction is only supported by wishful thinking and some theories like-minded economists are prepared to create.
What happens when the growth plan and related revenue increase doesn’t materialize? With 208 in Congress and 45 in the Senate, all Republicans, signers of the Norquist Pledge to never raise taxes how will taxes be raised. First, have all 253 Republicans in Congress repudiate, in writing, their Pledge then let’s talk about taxes. Anything less adds to the foolishness.
Due to the continued mismanagement and self-interest of Elected Politicians our country is running hundreds of billions in annual deficits (losses per the President), 20T in debt and $100T in future, unfunded liabilities, all growing.
If the President’s “Biggest Ever” tax reduction plan is approved, even if GDP rises but not enough to offset the reduction in revenue with lower rates, debt will keep mounting. This is not Winning! This is a National Security Threat and places 99% of Americans in future jeopardy. The Trump brand for him and future Trump generations may be “The Biggest Loser!”
Politicians must be held responsible for their self-interest and mismanagement of our country!
http://usdebtforum.com
2
Didn't this experiment just bomb in Kansas? GOP greed knows no bounds. These people are truly Snidely Whiplash caricatures of human beings.
18
Please, please STOP CALLING THIS A TAX CUT! It is a tax INCREASE for millions of Americans.
Elimination of the state and local taxes, along with medical expenses has the potential to do us in!
Elimination of the state and local taxes, along with medical expenses has the potential to do us in!
14
The gop has never seen a tax cut they don't like...
They will faux outrage and will yell and banter...
But on Koch's they do depend, and very soon you'll see...
They'll point to Ron and simply shrug and say defecits don't matter...
They will faux outrage and will yell and banter...
But on Koch's they do depend, and very soon you'll see...
They'll point to Ron and simply shrug and say defecits don't matter...
2
These law makers, save few, act in self interest or party's interest or both, but never in country's interest. If they really care for the country, there will be no hawks. They all will be doves.
4
Here's what you do: Take out that copy you saved of your taxes that you mailed out 2 weeks ago..
Print yourself a new one.
Remember, you only get to keep your mortgage deduction, what you claimed for "charity", and, possibly what you had for "retirement savings".
Start filling it in.
Your "standard deduction" will go up ( not to the $15,000 and $30,000 he campaigned on) but your "personal exemption" is gone. Nada. Nyet. Zip.
Also gone are:
IRA contributions
student loan interest
tuition and fees
moving expenses
alimony paid
and, medical expenses.
How'd you do?
Hunky-dory?
Now, remember, the new deal that the Trump Cacus are cutting will be getting rid of all those medical matters that the ACA covers:
emergency room
prescriptions
ambulances
hospitalization (that's a biggie!)
maternity and newborn care
pediatric services
laboratory services
mental health and substance abuse services
rehabilitative services and devices
and out-patient services
Were you thinking you might be using any of that?
Well, good, but you're on your own.
(It's your new health program: The YOLO Plan: Your're On Your Own, YOLO.)
That list is what is coming out right this moment.
I suspect this might be a good moment to be considering where you want to be in a year or so.
Trump may not be around in a year or so.... but the deals he's cutting for himself still will be.
Trumpublicanism: You're on your own....
Print yourself a new one.
Remember, you only get to keep your mortgage deduction, what you claimed for "charity", and, possibly what you had for "retirement savings".
Start filling it in.
Your "standard deduction" will go up ( not to the $15,000 and $30,000 he campaigned on) but your "personal exemption" is gone. Nada. Nyet. Zip.
Also gone are:
IRA contributions
student loan interest
tuition and fees
moving expenses
alimony paid
and, medical expenses.
How'd you do?
Hunky-dory?
Now, remember, the new deal that the Trump Cacus are cutting will be getting rid of all those medical matters that the ACA covers:
emergency room
prescriptions
ambulances
hospitalization (that's a biggie!)
maternity and newborn care
pediatric services
laboratory services
mental health and substance abuse services
rehabilitative services and devices
and out-patient services
Were you thinking you might be using any of that?
Well, good, but you're on your own.
(It's your new health program: The YOLO Plan: Your're On Your Own, YOLO.)
That list is what is coming out right this moment.
I suspect this might be a good moment to be considering where you want to be in a year or so.
Trump may not be around in a year or so.... but the deals he's cutting for himself still will be.
Trumpublicanism: You're on your own....
18
There is no evidence whatsoever that Voodoo Economics perform as advertised, despite decades of opportunity to demonstrate its effectiveness. Its advocates are either liars or they are ignorant. Of course, it's no surprise that this administration would put such a load of utter nonsense forward as a tax plan, as it seems that much of its agenda is lies writ large upon ignorance.
6
Wow, a whole page for the tax plan. What, he couldn't fit it in a tweet?
14
The Trump Economic Plan:
1. How to pay for projects with money you don’t have and can never raise
2. How to slash taxes for the rich while making it seem that it really benefits the rest
3. How to ensure that interest payments on debts keep creeping up while creating an environment where the cash flow to pay for such interest rates keep creeping down
4. Debt is king
5. The Donald can cut a deal – It is usually called declaring bankruptcy
6. If at first you don’t succeed, then try again with a weaker plan
7. If it does not pass the laugh test, then it will most definitely pass the Laffer Test
1. How to pay for projects with money you don’t have and can never raise
2. How to slash taxes for the rich while making it seem that it really benefits the rest
3. How to ensure that interest payments on debts keep creeping up while creating an environment where the cash flow to pay for such interest rates keep creeping down
4. Debt is king
5. The Donald can cut a deal – It is usually called declaring bankruptcy
6. If at first you don’t succeed, then try again with a weaker plan
7. If it does not pass the laugh test, then it will most definitely pass the Laffer Test
6
Beginning in 1991, Trump's interests used Chapter 11 bankruptcies six times when the massive debts (designed to make Atlantic City great again) were more than he could handle. If that's the plan to handle the debt this bogus tax proposal will cause, he'd better check with his bankruptcy attorney. I'm no lawyer but strongly suspect it's not an option for the country.
Deficits only matter when a Democrat is in the White House. The standard Republican strategy is to drain the treasury to enrich their donors as much as possible when they have the chance, then scream bloody murder about any attempts by later Democratic presidents to use any money to help the poor and middle class.
They will approve Trump's tax cuts, have no doubt about it.
They will approve Trump's tax cuts, have no doubt about it.
6
This argument is being repeated again and again and again.. The SAME exact thing can be turned around and said about the democrats. When Obama was racking up more debt in 8 years than all other presidents combined, the democratic party response? Nothing to see here, move along. So please spare us... Both parties and their sycophants are hypocrites.
Well, pj, the silence about President Obama is probably because he didn't rack up "more debt than all other presidents combined", but he DID do an admirable job of bringing the economy back from the brink of collapse to stable growth in spite of continual obstruction from the party of "no".
4
Why do I think these cuts only serve the wealthy? Raising the standard deduction sounds great but what happens to all those deductions the middle and lower class citizens were able to deduct? Will they be deducted in addition to the standard deduction? Mr. Trump, is selling us another Brooklyn Bridge in the middle of Arizona. The soundbites are wonderful but the pain will be excruciating.
2
When the next president comes in and has to clean up the economy we're all going to be stuck with and says, "I inherited this mess," THIS is that mess. Let's all remember that for when the next president takes all the blame this president is dodging while everyone still has stars in their eyes over tax cuts.
6
Why are we looking at a 10-year horizon to gauge the impact? The tax code will change again well before then.
I though all the folks paying attention had already learned the lesson about this ill conceived smoke and mirrors Tax Policy from Kansas under Gov. Brownback tutelage.
5
It's ironic how the GOP's projections are NOT conservative.
6
The bill will come due in spades when the large scale effects of pollution of our air and water along with the magnified impact upon climate change, all due to unleashed industry, take their toll.
3
I'll take a tax and spend liberal over a borrow and spend conservative any day. Guess which is more fiscally conservative?
10
Lets see if the Congressional Republicans go along with Trump bribing the voters for the coming elections. If they agree to deficits, then yes they are.
2
The last 2 GOP Presidents were elected by the minority.
And the combined debt incurred by these "fiscal conservatives" will total about 30 trillion dollars.
Of course, as they define hypocrisy, they will remind everyone that deficits only matter for Democratic Administrations!
This country is lost. And there is no saving it. People had their chance on election day. Instead they decided to flush what was left of this country into the sewer. I guess that's were most of the 63,000,000 people who voted for a "racist for profit" belong.
And the combined debt incurred by these "fiscal conservatives" will total about 30 trillion dollars.
Of course, as they define hypocrisy, they will remind everyone that deficits only matter for Democratic Administrations!
This country is lost. And there is no saving it. People had their chance on election day. Instead they decided to flush what was left of this country into the sewer. I guess that's were most of the 63,000,000 people who voted for a "racist for profit" belong.
6
If we cut the military budget a real 20%, the Federal budget would be swimming in money. Never will happen I know.
12
This is what I don't get, and this is not a slam on our military personnel, but given the size and money we spend compared to the next closest military budget of a country, one of two things are obvious.
1.) Our military is horribly mismanaged financially
or
2.) Our military is being built up for offensive operations
1.) Our military is horribly mismanaged financially
or
2.) Our military is being built up for offensive operations
2
History provides ample evidence that if you are a Republican, you are not a fiscal conservative and certainly not a deficit hawk!
6
The Republicans get more brazen and outrageous with their lies and perfidy every day. The "populist" POTUS is just another stalking horse for the wealthy. The class war continues, and the GOP is about to nuke the middle and lower classes.
11
Here is a proposal:
1) increase the Estate Tax to break up these huge family fortunes from establishing an aristocracy Ownich we already have)
2) Keep the AMT and make it tighter
3) Keep the 3 rates mentioned
4) Cut Social Security but apply it to all income from earnings to investment to pass-through and extend it upwards without a ceiling.
5) Abolish the employer side of Social Security and Medicare (which may increase the employees rate but in the end the 15.7% rate is what is paid now no matter the games played in the past. This helps small business.
6) Reforn Workers Compensation to decrease the rates business must pay for labor
7) Reform termination law to make it easier to hire and fire
8) place a Tax on 3rd party subcontracting such as Manpower.
9) Keep the 15% Corporate tax rate
10) Do a one time tax break for foreign earnings
11) Close almost all loopholes in personal and business taxes
12) Increase the standard deduction to first help people with 24K earnings to not have to pay and to start weaning America off the mortgage interest deduction.
(cont)
1) increase the Estate Tax to break up these huge family fortunes from establishing an aristocracy Ownich we already have)
2) Keep the AMT and make it tighter
3) Keep the 3 rates mentioned
4) Cut Social Security but apply it to all income from earnings to investment to pass-through and extend it upwards without a ceiling.
5) Abolish the employer side of Social Security and Medicare (which may increase the employees rate but in the end the 15.7% rate is what is paid now no matter the games played in the past. This helps small business.
6) Reforn Workers Compensation to decrease the rates business must pay for labor
7) Reform termination law to make it easier to hire and fire
8) place a Tax on 3rd party subcontracting such as Manpower.
9) Keep the 15% Corporate tax rate
10) Do a one time tax break for foreign earnings
11) Close almost all loopholes in personal and business taxes
12) Increase the standard deduction to first help people with 24K earnings to not have to pay and to start weaning America off the mortgage interest deduction.
(cont)
2
There is no cohesive viewpoint across this nihilistic collection of single-issue malcomntents. Bile is all that bonds them.
8
Not sure that I see much in this package to help the struggling miners, auto workers and rural population that bought Trump's false promises in the first place. You've been Trump'd. Wake up. That fools' gold you bought back in November is worthless.
7
As long as this administration is in charge, a group of people who, rumor has it (per Politico), are competing to see who can get away with the biggest lie to the media, the word "truth" and the word "republican" should not grace the same headline.
3
A one-page document is not a plan.
Trump earned, and deserves, a letter grade of "F" for his first 100 days in office.
Trump earned, and deserves, a letter grade of "F" for his first 100 days in office.
6
Truth is not a Republican talking point.
5
Republicans cannot repeal the law of economics. Unsound tax policies will lead to a disaster. Countries around the world with better tax policies will eat our lunch with a population that is better educated, live longer, and are more productive. The reason the first world countries have a high standard of living is because infrastructure leads to greater productivity. It is the third world countries that have low taxes and wide gaps between the rich and the poor.
118
Maybe it will take complete financial meltdown for Republicans to put their Trickle-Down fairy tale to rest. But let's clarify, we're talking about the voters, not the politicians. It has always worked for the politicians. They keep their jobs and they get the lobbying dollars by appealing to greed and ignorance. That's why they are some of the richest public servants in the world.
3
Republicans are totally uninterested in reducing the deficit. They only want to reduce their federal income tax. Their actions over the last 16 years prove it.
6
The money for these tax cuts for has to come from somewhere - They are not going to pay for themselves as the WH seems to be implying.
So, who are the winners and the losers ? Looks like the Middle class and the Deficit take the hit for tax breaks on the wealthiest Americans. No surprises there - including the 180 degree change by some Republicans who previously said they want to control our debt.
So, who are the winners and the losers ? Looks like the Middle class and the Deficit take the hit for tax breaks on the wealthiest Americans. No surprises there - including the 180 degree change by some Republicans who previously said they want to control our debt.
6
Brilliant and innovative! Cut taxes for the wealthy and watch the economy grow like never before. Why didn't anyone think of this plan before? Should be a "tremendous" success.
2
I am also concerned about the repeal of the inheritance tax. This would result in families like the Trumps controlling most of the wealth of the country. This coupled with a 15% cooperate tax would result in the t=Trumps owning everything. All of the Trump children would be multibillionaires: they would control the media, the government, and the economy. I hope the Congress makes this tax plan dead on arrival!
6
Strange, I do not recall the Times mentioning Obama doubling the national debt. I do not recall there ever being criticism for failed stimulus packages. I do not recall the criticism for disastrous trade "deals". Never even addressed how the last 8 years accounted for an unprecedented loss of American jobs to foreign countries. Suddenly they care about the economy? Cut me a break. This is what happens when a "news agency" pushes an agenda rather than the truth.
If anyone is drowning in debt it is the middle and working classes which are pretty much at the limit for the kind of spending that would help economic activity. A tax cut would not mean much for those whose wages have been stagnant for decades. Why not put money in their pockets by lowering or canceling the consumer debt load by cutting the usorous interest rates on credit cards or canceling the debt when your payments have paid for purchases twice over. Raising wages and salaries to make up for the loses of the last 30 years would be a help.
Maybe the GOP wants to invest in the wrong place.
Maybe the GOP wants to invest in the wrong place.
69
if you want to cure your consumer debt, how about stopping the spiggot of all that shopping, buying, spending? Pay it off and don't spend nay more. It is lunacy to expect taxpayers to subsidize your personal credit card debt. There is plenty of lunacy going around on the other immoral subsidies that the Trump voters want my tax dollars to cover, but please...
Cab: Excellent idea. When payments reach 2 x loan, the loan is paid. End of loan. I wonder what the usurers will do to restore their profits?
Class warfare, pure and simple. No other way to look at it.
9
Yeah, a war, but one side seems to have all the power. I didn't see the reform where social security received by retirees is taxed at a lower rate. Oh, that's right, we're going to keep taxing soc sec payouts like always, since Uncle Ronnie screwed us. Yeah that makes sense. Sure. End the estate tax, but let's keep taxing social sec benefits. That's fair. Right?
1
When money is in fashion, both parties have always gone along.
Hold on to your 401K. Your ability to put money away before taxes is about to be yanked. This is perhaps one of the ways the Republicans will seek to cover the enormity of the debt we are about to incur.
9
Isn't this the same trickle-down poppycock lies that Ronald Reagan and George W Bush sold the American people that led to the debt in the first place? All these tax breaks will accomplish is to make the rich richer and America poorer... Which is their real intent...
13
America has reached a 50:50 standoff and entered the world of alternative reality where intellectual, responsible, and measured on one side is anti-intellectual, irresponsible, and reckless on the other side. But really, there is only one truth!
9
It's not just the deficit. Look what these foolish Republicans have done in Kansas and Oklahoma, where they don't have enough money for revoking the licenses of drunk drivers. I just don't get how Democrats are losing any kind of fiscal argument.
11
Aren't these the same people who drove the bus off the cliff -- with the world in it -- in 2008? Why does anyone take them seriously?
7
Sorry kids. We "grownups" want to indulge ourselves today and leave you with the debt to deal with later.
1
Once again it's amateur hour at the local dive bar. When has Norquist been right about anything? May our children forgive us.
10
GW Bush and the Republicans gave tax cuts .....2 times..... while at the same time thrust us into a never-ending war - talk about deficits? The middle class payed for it with their sons and daughters.... as well as their own taxes to fund this abomitable war. Who profited from these tax cuts and the profit-making war? Guess.
7
this has got to be the biggest mob bust-out ever
usually they just do restos and sporting goods stores
4
How could there be a "moment of truth" for Republicans? All they do is lie.
9
The economic growth will pay for the tax cuts, the Mexicans will pay for the wall, I'll show you my tax returns after the election, I'll show you proof that Obama is not a citizen, I will give you better health, that covers more people, at less cost, this car was only driven to church by a little old lady. At some point we ALL have to face the truth. Even die-hard supporters and GOP leaders that want to take advantage of this gold mine they just accidentally fell into.
6
Kellyanne Conway will explain the "Tax Reform".
4
"Don't remind me of what I said yesterday...'cause today I'm saying the opposite". This is the new reality. Why should anyone, ever, ever believe them?
11
"Growth! Growth! Growth!" Grover Norquist.
CAUTION: Growth, uncontrolled, is what cancer is.
6
If it benefits the rich, Republicans are for it... There are ZERO exceptions...
3
Here's the thing. Republicans are now dominated by neocons and their desire is to be rid of Social Security and all other benefit programs and pretty much everything except the war machine. But since that would be unpopular they decided to blow up the economy through government debt and recreate the government when the dust settles. So this fits their plan nicely.
5
Republicans are always willing to cut revenues so they can come back 6 months later and claim they need to slash social programs to reduce the deficit. "Starving the beast" and enriching their friends at the same time.
9
We've seen this movie before and know the ending. Republicans slash taxes for the wealthy, spend too much money on defense, and run up the deficit. Shades of George W. Bush. When does this party ever learn?
7
Tax cuts for the job creators. Does Grover go home, close the door to his secret room and laugh until it hurts. Because it is almost funny.
4
You don't have to like paying taxes. We'd all like to have more money in our pockets and a growing economy. But our wishes don't come true just bc we'd like to see the economy work that way. This "plan" is lazy and irresponsible.
7
Every year when my wife and I get our tax refund the first thing we ask ourselves is: "How many people can we hire with this money?"
4
And Trump Tweeted to the nation and said, "I shall make America as Kansas, and we shall worship at the alter of Laffer; and the sparrows shall feast upon the the increased manure production of our prized horses that we shall fund through generous tax cuts to the wealthy."
And America was thus made great again. Praise the Lord.
And America was thus made great again. Praise the Lord.
4
I've been trying to lose weight for the past 20 years because I think like the GOP. I just keep doing the same thing over and over and over, hoping for a different outcome.
Guess what? My weight loss has not happened and neither will these tax cuts lead to a booming economy that allows us all to live in the magical land of eternal sunshine and rainbow colored unicorns. It's all fantasy.
Guess what? My weight loss has not happened and neither will these tax cuts lead to a booming economy that allows us all to live in the magical land of eternal sunshine and rainbow colored unicorns. It's all fantasy.
4
The United States is not infinitely resilient. It cannot sustain endless amounts of abuse. Republicans must learn that they cannot do anything and everything they like with it, because like any system it can fail and collapse with surprising speed.
9
When on August 15 1971 Nixon abrogated Bretton Woods it paved the way for the USA to become the single essential player in the world economy. It gave the USA unprecedented control of the global economy. I am still ambivalent about the Trump Presidency as he will either destroy our civilisation or be responsible for the advent of real freedom and democracy worldwide.
My fear is for family and friends inside the USA who despite having done everything they were supposed to have done are certain to suffer the worst consequences of an incompetent executive, a congress controlled by 20th century ideologues and a Supreme Court majority that are small c catholic dogmatists in the style of the inquisition not jurists.
Neoliberalism has come to an end in the west with Japan being the first domino to fall there is little if any growth to be achieved in an economy that is already too big.
My fear is for family and friends inside the USA who despite having done everything they were supposed to have done are certain to suffer the worst consequences of an incompetent executive, a congress controlled by 20th century ideologues and a Supreme Court majority that are small c catholic dogmatists in the style of the inquisition not jurists.
Neoliberalism has come to an end in the west with Japan being the first domino to fall there is little if any growth to be achieved in an economy that is already too big.
2
"Deficit Hawks"...Please give me a break.
The Republicans have only every used the deficit as a smoke screen for being obstructionists.
Republicans have always spent like drunken sailors whenever they get in power.
The Republicans have only every used the deficit as a smoke screen for being obstructionists.
Republicans have always spent like drunken sailors whenever they get in power.
3
Cheney said that deficits don't matter. What he should have said is that deficits don't matter when a Republican is president.
3
We are finally seeing something to grow the economy and not hurt small businesses. Go Trump!
Mary,
Your naivete is quaint. While you celebrate the crumbs, this administration and Congress are busy cutting small business incentives and grants. Not to mention the conglomerates they are handing yet more power and money will quash small business even faster than they do now.
Your naivete is quaint. While you celebrate the crumbs, this administration and Congress are busy cutting small business incentives and grants. Not to mention the conglomerates they are handing yet more power and money will quash small business even faster than they do now.
6
There is no such thing as a deficit hawk when a Republican president is in office.
3
My simple world view on tax cuts and debt. I'm just coming back from a bad layoff (Great Recession). So borrowed on my house to keep things going (Stimulus). But now I have a pretty good job again and have been paying down my debt "a little", but have to still feed and shelter family (Revenue from Taxes).
Things are looking up, job looks steady but household expenses are not going anywhere (Federal Budget). And my equity line is ever so slowly being paid off (National Debt). So here I am now wanting a break from all this hard work. So think I'll take a long unpaid vacation. Come back from vacation, go back to work, find out i got a pay cut (Tax Cut). Looking at my expenses, nothing changed there. Now what? I know, I'll borrow from my equity line (China Bank). If I tap out my equity (Debt Ceiling) I'm sure they will help out (Increase Debt Ceiling). Straight shooters they are, never manipulate their money (Monopoly). Have to stop now, just got called into bosses office. Think I might be laid off again!
Things are looking up, job looks steady but household expenses are not going anywhere (Federal Budget). And my equity line is ever so slowly being paid off (National Debt). So here I am now wanting a break from all this hard work. So think I'll take a long unpaid vacation. Come back from vacation, go back to work, find out i got a pay cut (Tax Cut). Looking at my expenses, nothing changed there. Now what? I know, I'll borrow from my equity line (China Bank). If I tap out my equity (Debt Ceiling) I'm sure they will help out (Increase Debt Ceiling). Straight shooters they are, never manipulate their money (Monopoly). Have to stop now, just got called into bosses office. Think I might be laid off again!
2
Don't forget that the US went from being a lender nation to a debtor nation under Ronald Reagan, and that growth came at a very high price-- the environment, economy, education, our international reputation-- it all had to be repaired by the GHW Bush tax increase ("Read my lips") and Clinton's sober management and international respect.
Republican voters I know all either want to keep more of their money, spend more on military, are religious fundamentalists, are anti-immigration, or act like ignorant sports fans who always hate the other team. None of them mention fiscal conservatism or reduction of debt, and they all buy cars they really can't afford.
Republican voters I know all either want to keep more of their money, spend more on military, are religious fundamentalists, are anti-immigration, or act like ignorant sports fans who always hate the other team. None of them mention fiscal conservatism or reduction of debt, and they all buy cars they really can't afford.
1
Tax cuts are a hoax, Moody's did a study regarding the tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under G.W Bush and what followed was an increase in savings among the rich. This assertion is based on a study by Moody's Analytic Inc. Further, when taxes were raised by President Clinton, the savings rate fell
2
Do a web search for this article:
Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announces 'biggest tax cut in history'
Middle class earners, those who backed Trump during the elections, have welcomed the tax reform changes. For a family on $60,000 a year it means a tax cut. They've created a zero tax rate for the first $24,000 a couple earns. The plan included a doubling to $24,000 of the amount a married couple could earn before being taxed.
Democrats a bit hypocritical as the debt went from ten trillion to twenty trillion dollars under the Democrats.
The Republicans objective is to make USA businesses the most competitive in the world.
Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announces 'biggest tax cut in history'
Middle class earners, those who backed Trump during the elections, have welcomed the tax reform changes. For a family on $60,000 a year it means a tax cut. They've created a zero tax rate for the first $24,000 a couple earns. The plan included a doubling to $24,000 of the amount a married couple could earn before being taxed.
Democrats a bit hypocritical as the debt went from ten trillion to twenty trillion dollars under the Democrats.
The Republicans objective is to make USA businesses the most competitive in the world.
But if you're really in New Zealand, why on earth would you care? And assuming you're not, why on earth are you lying about it?
America is the new Japan. Low interest rates and low growth. It took us 20 years longer to catch up, but we're here. Soon we too will be flooding the market with dollar bills like Abe in Japan. Debt and social stagnation brought us here.
1
Middle class people with middle class homes and middle class mortgages will pay more tax because our deductions exceed the proposed $24k so we will still itemize. But our deductions will go down because we won't be able to deduct state tax. My federal taxes would increase by about $2300. Maybe more. I'm guessing that most people who would be affected are blue state residents.
3
Anyone out there remember "voodoo economics" in the 1980s? Reagan used the same lame excuse to provide unsustainable tax cuts for the rich, and the consequence was a huge deficit papered over by heavy borrowing, a debt foisted on the middle- and working-class. Same thing will happen again this time.
2
Republicans are only deficit hawks when spending is on Medicare or Social Security which they consider spending on the undeserving. If tax cuts triple the deficit, well, that's perfectly acceptable. The patron saint of the modern Republican Party is not Lincoln, but Reagan, who tripled our deficit with tax cuts, but to hear Republicans tell it, he did nothing of the sort. He presided over a booming economy fueled by tax cuts. History is one long argument, but in this case, the argument is between those who have studied it and learned from it and those who are condemned to repeat it.
1
No tax reforms should be considered until Trump's taxes are made public so that we will see how the proposed changes will benefit him.
2
Laffer's economics didn't work for Reagan in the 1980s. It will not work now.
However, in the short term -- which is Trump's world -- the 1% will do fabulously well.
The burden for this will fall on the middle & lower working classes.
The result : greater & greater economic & social division with widespread cynicism, frustration and significant unrest.
With Trump and his cronies engineering billion dollar windfalls on the so-called Republican side . . . and our former president Obama pocketing $400K
for a day's work on the Democratic side, where's the "Hope" or the "Change" ?
However, in the short term -- which is Trump's world -- the 1% will do fabulously well.
The burden for this will fall on the middle & lower working classes.
The result : greater & greater economic & social division with widespread cynicism, frustration and significant unrest.
With Trump and his cronies engineering billion dollar windfalls on the so-called Republican side . . . and our former president Obama pocketing $400K
for a day's work on the Democratic side, where's the "Hope" or the "Change" ?
1
The massive corporate tax cut will be used by companies to buy back stock, or increase their dividends, or put into the CEOs pocket. The only thing that will make companies increae their labor force (jobs) and expand, is demand. Demand for goods and services increases jobs, not tax cuts. This is common sense.
1
Republicans have been complaining about the national debt forever. It is a technique to fool and worry the voters, not a plan, a program or a policy. Bill Clinton had a balanced budget, for heaven's sake. The deficit moved steadily downward under the latter years of Obama. Do they celebrate? Do they congratulate? No.
If a Republican had won the presidency in 2008, the nation would have been taken into a deep depression because they would have slashed all government spending drastically at a time when the economy was extremely fragile. Then, they would have turned around and blamed the depression on "overspending by Democrats" even though the prior administration was held by Republican G.W. Bush.
People in rural areas have been buying this phony line for generations. Why? Because debt itself was seen as a moral failing well into the 20th century and because simple prudence (don't spend more than you make) indicates that is how a family or a family farm should be run. (Meanwhile, farmers are debt kings because they borrow to plant and then pay when they harvest, plus, guess what?, they get massive subsidies from the same federal govt. they profess to hate.)
Since at least the 1990s, the stealth Republican effort has been to come close to bankrupting the federal govt. so that it can be curtailed permanently. That's the goal. If taxes for the wealthy and corporations are drastically reduced, they will be close to reaching it. Trump supporters, be careful what you wish for.
If a Republican had won the presidency in 2008, the nation would have been taken into a deep depression because they would have slashed all government spending drastically at a time when the economy was extremely fragile. Then, they would have turned around and blamed the depression on "overspending by Democrats" even though the prior administration was held by Republican G.W. Bush.
People in rural areas have been buying this phony line for generations. Why? Because debt itself was seen as a moral failing well into the 20th century and because simple prudence (don't spend more than you make) indicates that is how a family or a family farm should be run. (Meanwhile, farmers are debt kings because they borrow to plant and then pay when they harvest, plus, guess what?, they get massive subsidies from the same federal govt. they profess to hate.)
Since at least the 1990s, the stealth Republican effort has been to come close to bankrupting the federal govt. so that it can be curtailed permanently. That's the goal. If taxes for the wealthy and corporations are drastically reduced, they will be close to reaching it. Trump supporters, be careful what you wish for.
2
The disconnect not just on this but, oh, roughly the last 100 days is mind-boggling and, quite frankly, nauseating.
This disconnect is not about liberalism vs. conservatism. Agree with them or disagree with them - I've don't both - there is a certain pragmatism to traditional conservatism. Or at least there used to be. You know - or at least used to know - where they were coming from: small government; personal responsibility; fiscal restraint. And their arguments were usually grounded in something recognizable as logic.
If this tax plan is some "day of reckoning" then so be it. We are long overdue for the time when either party can look across the aisle - and at the very least - see something they recognize and respect.
This disconnect is not about liberalism vs. conservatism. Agree with them or disagree with them - I've don't both - there is a certain pragmatism to traditional conservatism. Or at least there used to be. You know - or at least used to know - where they were coming from: small government; personal responsibility; fiscal restraint. And their arguments were usually grounded in something recognizable as logic.
If this tax plan is some "day of reckoning" then so be it. We are long overdue for the time when either party can look across the aisle - and at the very least - see something they recognize and respect.
We are in a cold war with the Russians and only they seem to know that. Their leadership is incredibly dangerous. Any increase in military spending should be aimed at intelligence and cyber security. The fact the Republican leadership wants to cut taxes when we are in the middle of the War on Terror is crazy. Russia is not a partner in this war they are abetting the terrorists that they support. If anything we should be asking more financially from our businesses to help fund the war effort not giving them tax breaks.
I suspect many in Congress who call themselves Republicans are actually just fine with deficits as long as the right sorts of people benefit from them and the ordinary riffraff have to do the work of paying it back.
3
Looks to me like President Trump is "re-accommodating" tax policy to cut taxes to benefit the political-donor oligarchs. That approach has "disaster" written all over it.
2
Actually a new "tax plan" is one of the easiest gambits for the Repubs to play since it is standard to blame any random burp on the downward events in the economy as the "cause" -- and not their excellent policy-making.
p.s. It will go thru as long as the Koch brothers are OK with it.
p.s. It will go thru as long as the Koch brothers are OK with it.
9
Well, "The King of Debt" has one thing going for him-he won't be dragged into bankruptcy proceedings with this debt-ridden proposal.
Many times we have been told in the past that economic growth will trickle down upon us and the cuts will be revenue neutral, or no increase the deficit only for that fairy tale to not be true. Many times we were told to trust them, the tax cut is GREAT for us, only to find out what we gained was paltry in comparison to the corporate (and with this proposal) real estate developers, particularly, Trump, Inc gained.
For six years we listened to the GOP and extreme right wing complain that Obama is spending us into oblivion, he is greatly increasing the deficit, and debt, yet, the very factions that made these claims about Obama are possibly poised to do the very thing.
Many times we have been told in the past that economic growth will trickle down upon us and the cuts will be revenue neutral, or no increase the deficit only for that fairy tale to not be true. Many times we were told to trust them, the tax cut is GREAT for us, only to find out what we gained was paltry in comparison to the corporate (and with this proposal) real estate developers, particularly, Trump, Inc gained.
For six years we listened to the GOP and extreme right wing complain that Obama is spending us into oblivion, he is greatly increasing the deficit, and debt, yet, the very factions that made these claims about Obama are possibly poised to do the very thing.
15
I'll say that Capitalism is by far the greatest most prosperous form of economics there is, but heed the warnings of these cracks in the system; massive debt and criminal conduct.
2
More money for the rich. Wonderful idea! The rich cannot be too rich. Strange thing is that I don't seem to find much consensus among my friends. Or, maybe that's former friends. Something's wrong here.
13
If cutting taxes stimulates growth, why no dramatic cuts for the the vast majority of Americans? Why only dramatic cuts for the wealthy?
13
They won't say "trickle down economics", but that is essentially what they are saying and advocating.
2
Well said, AJ. The rich tend to save more money than those less well off. They save it because they can, and because they can invest it to make even more money (at a lower tax rate!).
The fallacy of "trickle down" is that these investments will spur economic growth. True, but only of the GDP. It does not raise the wages of workers because corporations only look at the bottom, and when the people who are most likely to spend money have less of it, sales taxes go down.
And even when the rich do spend money on things like yachts and airplanes, if they live in places like New York, they only get taxed on the first $230,000 of the purchase price.
Add this to a repeal of the estate tax, and you have the perfect recipe for a return to feudalism.
The fallacy of "trickle down" is that these investments will spur economic growth. True, but only of the GDP. It does not raise the wages of workers because corporations only look at the bottom, and when the people who are most likely to spend money have less of it, sales taxes go down.
And even when the rich do spend money on things like yachts and airplanes, if they live in places like New York, they only get taxed on the first $230,000 of the purchase price.
Add this to a repeal of the estate tax, and you have the perfect recipe for a return to feudalism.
1
"But the question will dog Republicans and could fracture their party as they face the prospect of endorsing a plan that many economists and budget analysts warn will increase the deficit." No, not "many economists and budget analysts" but virtually all of them who are acting professionally, rather than politically, are agreed. The analogy to physical scientists and global warming is worrisome.
4
We are finally seeing a great example of why the US Government is NOT a business and should not be run like one. Very risky to assume reduced taxes will result in enough growth to offset the reduction in revenue. If this were a business, we would see some huge short term benefits and if the expected growth did not come, well, file for bankruptcy and start all over. The US Government cannot do this..
At the same time it is understandable that Trump's tax plan would result in such short term huge benefits for his wealthy constituents and for corporations-this is how a businessman leading a government beholden to the oligarchy would work. I am still amazed that so many low and middle economic class people in America think that Trump has their interests in mind and that this rejiggered trickle down economics plan will work-have we not tried this in the past?
At the same time it is understandable that Trump's tax plan would result in such short term huge benefits for his wealthy constituents and for corporations-this is how a businessman leading a government beholden to the oligarchy would work. I am still amazed that so many low and middle economic class people in America think that Trump has their interests in mind and that this rejiggered trickle down economics plan will work-have we not tried this in the past?
I'm turning 65 this year. Thus, it's not my first time at the tax-cut rodeo. Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is repeating a failed experiment numerous times hoping the end result will be different. Sound familiar?
14
There can be no real "economic growth" until what used to be the great middle class has surplus dollars to spend- our economy is based on consumer spending. Minimum wage must become a living wage, and workers - that is anyone who survives on their wages- must share in the economic growth through higher wages.
Luckily my husband and I were never big spenders in the form of consumer goods, entertainment dinner out etc. But having launched 2 children into good productive careers, all I see on the horizon as we near retirement is more scrimping, not spending.
I'd rather the pittance in tax savings we'd get (<$85,000 income) go to many things that support the institutions that make our country work, education for the children who are our future, and for infrastructure. Every popped tire, or damaged strut from bad/broken roads is $$ we can't save or spend elsewhere.
Luckily my husband and I were never big spenders in the form of consumer goods, entertainment dinner out etc. But having launched 2 children into good productive careers, all I see on the horizon as we near retirement is more scrimping, not spending.
I'd rather the pittance in tax savings we'd get (<$85,000 income) go to many things that support the institutions that make our country work, education for the children who are our future, and for infrastructure. Every popped tire, or damaged strut from bad/broken roads is $$ we can't save or spend elsewhere.
11
As I said before, I think that Trump has a better chance of being impeached than getting this tax cut passed and while this might be wishful thinking, I am not delusional.
I do think that we need a revision to our tax system to simplify it and make it more fair but Trump is not the person to do this. He seems to have no understanding about how productivity relates to real growth. I might add that I have spent the better part of 50 years improving both manufacturing and agricultural productivity.
I would cut the corporate tax rate some but I would certainly not allow it to pass through to individuals. Whatever is done, it needs to be done gradually and with an attempt to be revenue neutral. I would like to see ALL deductions removed but I definitely would not cut the top tax rate to 35%.
I do think that we need a revision to our tax system to simplify it and make it more fair but Trump is not the person to do this. He seems to have no understanding about how productivity relates to real growth. I might add that I have spent the better part of 50 years improving both manufacturing and agricultural productivity.
I would cut the corporate tax rate some but I would certainly not allow it to pass through to individuals. Whatever is done, it needs to be done gradually and with an attempt to be revenue neutral. I would like to see ALL deductions removed but I definitely would not cut the top tax rate to 35%.
3
why not boost the top tax rate to the 90% it was under Eisenhower, fix our crumbling infrastructure, and make America great again?
what the Trumpeters seem to be after is to make America the kind of great investment cash cow Central American banana republics were back in that golden age.
what the Trumpeters seem to be after is to make America the kind of great investment cash cow Central American banana republics were back in that golden age.
3
Trump has as much grasp of macro economics as he does of international affairs, feeble and hardly noticeable. He's betting that Laffer's famous theory that tax cuts always produce economic growth and revenue surpluses despite the experiences of Reagan and G.W. Bush with tax cuts and subsequent serious budget deficits will finally prove to be accurate. Trump's a big talker who usually cannot live up to his bragging. If the Republicans are silly enough to give him what he wants, two things will happen. First, government budget deficits will be record breaking. Second, the tax moneys saved by the wealthy will find secure means to be saved until the economy has come roaring back, meaning that much more money to be borrowed or printed just to keep the government operating.
1
Trump voters are much like Trump himself; unable to admit they were wrong. Unfortunately for all of us, it might take a tax increase on the middle class, or a catastrophic illness before the Trump voter finally say "I was duped."
4
If economic growth cannot generate enough revenue to offset the tax cuts, most likely, the govt will have to borrow, since it can't just print more currency a la Zimbabwe et al. So it will have to increase interest rates, to persuade investors to lend, which will increase demand for the $ making it stronger, so American products more expensive and imports cheaper. Good luck with that for creating more domestic manufacturing jobs. This is what happened with the Reagan tax cuts.
5
David Stockman, President Reagan's director of Managment and Budget put supply- side economics and the Republicans love of these theories in a very succinct perspective: quote (in a NYT's op-ed) "If there were such a thing as Chapter 11 for politicians, the Republicans push to extend the unaffordable Bush tax cuts would amount to a bankruptcy filling. Tb nations' public debt screams "for austerity and sacrifice" instead, the GOP insisted "the nation's wealthiest taxpayers be spared even a three-percentagde-point rate increase"
4
Let's stop talking about Republican "tax reform." "Tax deform" is a more appropriate term. At the least, objective observers should call it "tax restructuring," since "reform" implies improvement. Republicans Will find a way to swallow deficit increases as long as it benefits their donor base, just as they have in the past. Republicans will say that their deficit increase will promote job growth, despite all evidence to the contrary. Democratic deficits, such as infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy, which demonstrably create jobs, will always be portrayed by Republicans as bad for the economy.
2
How will this end?
Just look at Kansas and Louisiana to tell.
Does the GOP ever provide a mathematical detail to bolster their claims?
It seems their math consists of, "trust me".
There is no example of this policy working anywhere at anytime.
Even George Bush the Elder properly called this voodoo economics.
This is merely another example of a falsehood that the GOP keeps repeating so that people will start to believe it's actually true.
It's not. Never has been, never will be.
Well, except in their alternate reality.
Just look at Kansas and Louisiana to tell.
Does the GOP ever provide a mathematical detail to bolster their claims?
It seems their math consists of, "trust me".
There is no example of this policy working anywhere at anytime.
Even George Bush the Elder properly called this voodoo economics.
This is merely another example of a falsehood that the GOP keeps repeating so that people will start to believe it's actually true.
It's not. Never has been, never will be.
Well, except in their alternate reality.
2
"Deficit neutral" is so bogus.
As we still have an annual deficit, this means the Debt still will increase.
During times of growth, countries are supposed to pay down the debt accrued during recessions. Which this does not do.
Nor is there any intention of doing so.
As we still have an annual deficit, this means the Debt still will increase.
During times of growth, countries are supposed to pay down the debt accrued during recessions. Which this does not do.
Nor is there any intention of doing so.
1
Sadly, the republicans--and most especially this republican congress--have proven hypocritical beyond repair. They'll let the deficit rage even further out of control to feed the rich which is all a tax plan like this has ever proven to do.
1
Supply siders will try to cite their imaginary accomplishments...meanwhile trump will slash taxes on the rich, deepen inequality, hasten capital flight from the US, and further and potentially irrevocably harm the united states.
Cut corporation taxes, yes. And eliminate loopholes. But reintroduce progressive taxation, tax the rich, eliminate carried interest, and actually do something to help the working folks and the middle class.
In short, start governing for people and not for money.
But thats not really what trump is there to do, is it.
Cut corporation taxes, yes. And eliminate loopholes. But reintroduce progressive taxation, tax the rich, eliminate carried interest, and actually do something to help the working folks and the middle class.
In short, start governing for people and not for money.
But thats not really what trump is there to do, is it.
4
Republicans just make things up as they go along. They are for more money for the already rich, period. Whatever they need to say they believe in to get to that point will say. Sooner or later thee democrats will no longer be able to keep fixing what the Repubs keep breaking and the piper will have to be paid.
Let's keep in mind how the Hamlin piper was paid.
Let's keep in mind how the Hamlin piper was paid.
1
Both Regan and Bush piled tons of debt on the nation. That's fact, not fantasy.
Every idea Trump has is based on ideology and speculation, with the sole goal being to secure votes, no matter the cost.
Trump is an irresponsible administrator, and worse, careless.
Every idea Trump has is based on ideology and speculation, with the sole goal being to secure votes, no matter the cost.
Trump is an irresponsible administrator, and worse, careless.
1
There is really no such thing as a "Republican deficit hawk", and never has been. At least since Reagan, it has been the party of borrow and spend, borrow and spend.
32
Republican deficit hawkishness is as elusive as Republican moral values in the era of Trump.
Unlike the "tax & spend" "liberals" they never missed a chance to criticize, Regressive Conservatives are the party of borrow and spend and spend and spend money that DOES NOT EXIST.
The GOP plan will not increase the debt.
The hidden part of the GOP plan is to slash Social Security and Medicare benefits and use the money saved to make up for the loss of revenue from the tax cuts for the rich.
But Donald promised during the presidential campaign not to cut SS and Medicare benefits.
If you believe him I will sell you for $10 a structure designed by John Roebling.
The hidden part of the GOP plan is to slash Social Security and Medicare benefits and use the money saved to make up for the loss of revenue from the tax cuts for the rich.
But Donald promised during the presidential campaign not to cut SS and Medicare benefits.
If you believe him I will sell you for $10 a structure designed by John Roebling.
10
Many of those who voted for him and think that he is doing a great job need to be aware that their pensions and healthcare insurance may well be on the line sooner than later. You make a very good point here.
1
But that's not possible.
Slashing "benefits" only means less is paid OUT of that trust fund. They cannot then transfer x-$$$ from this trust fund to somewhere else for someone's figure of "lost revenue."
Slashing "benefits" only means less is paid OUT of that trust fund. They cannot then transfer x-$$$ from this trust fund to somewhere else for someone's figure of "lost revenue."
When SS runs a surplus SS must by law invest that surplus money in special US Treasury bonds.
The government then spends that SS money for other purposes.
Slashing SS benefits means SS would run a larger surplus which means more money for the govt. to spend on other things including paying for tax cuts for the rich.
The government then spends that SS money for other purposes.
Slashing SS benefits means SS would run a larger surplus which means more money for the govt. to spend on other things including paying for tax cuts for the rich.
Nonsense. Republicans never met a tax cut they would not vote for.
Deficits don't matter to them, unless Democrats are spending the money.
Deficits don't matter to them, unless Democrats are spending the money.
79
The sooner the Baby Boomers and their insanely selfish politics and economic policies stop holding positions of power, the better our nation will be. They have added incredible amounts of debt to their children and grandchildren, and have sunk the middle class, all while stuffing their pockets with glee. What a legacy.
14
Peter, I wish that were true or that simple. It appears to be more a result of self-interested Elected Politicians more concerned with their reelection and fulfilling commitments they have made to their party and major contributors. Washington is corrupt and corrupting. Younger Elected Politicians will likely be driven by the same motivations and learn what works from their older, more experienced, well-entrenched colleagues who have used the system for their own benefit.
Elected Politicians must be held responsible for their self-interest and mismanagement of our country.
http://usdebtforum.com
Elected Politicians must be held responsible for their self-interest and mismanagement of our country.
http://usdebtforum.com
1
Please stop painting with broad brush strokes. Republican administrations
have put us here. Do your homework. 'Both sides do it' is a strategy designed to make people give up because they believe that there is no hope. Trump's election has shown the Republican party for what it is and more than anything it is a party of mostly white men who believe they can get away with anything because their base is incapable of rational thought on the subject. They have managed to make the Democrats the enemy and therefore they have moral authority. No matter how immoral they actually are. Noam Chomsky is quoted today saying that the Republican party is the most destructive group in the history of mankind...intent on ending humanity as we know it. Resist.
have put us here. Do your homework. 'Both sides do it' is a strategy designed to make people give up because they believe that there is no hope. Trump's election has shown the Republican party for what it is and more than anything it is a party of mostly white men who believe they can get away with anything because their base is incapable of rational thought on the subject. They have managed to make the Democrats the enemy and therefore they have moral authority. No matter how immoral they actually are. Noam Chomsky is quoted today saying that the Republican party is the most destructive group in the history of mankind...intent on ending humanity as we know it. Resist.
1
Ronald Reagan was not a baby boomer... And George W Bush only made it by a few months... This is not a generational thing... It is a Republican Party thing...
1
Republicans know that tax cuts for the rich do not create jobs or reduce the deficit, but the truth is they don't care. As long as they get a tax cut and can keep more of their money, they will spout this line of crap every chance they are in power.
104
And as long as those donations keep rolling in from their filthy rich sponsors.
Anything that gets a certified charlatan like Grover Norquist so excited must be prevented from happening, out of pure principle.
Otherwise the US economy is doomed under the "stewardship" of such fine minds like Trump, Mnuchin and Norquist.
Good grief.
Otherwise the US economy is doomed under the "stewardship" of such fine minds like Trump, Mnuchin and Norquist.
Good grief.
35
Hypocrites of the highest order. Every last one of them.
When Bush put a faulty war on a credit card and gave tax giveaways to the ultra wealthy, skyrocketing our debt...that was OK.
When Donald takes a healthy economy and for no apparent reason gives himself a massive tax break, racking up trillions in debt in the process....that is OK.
But when Obama inherited a financial mess, cleaned it up, reduced the deficit by more than half, and delivered 20+ million Americans health insurance for the first time, Republicans howled at the moon over fiscal responsibility. How dare he spend money so foolishly!
If Democrats continue to allow the GOP to label itself the "fiscally responsible" party, they are pathetic enough to deserve to lose another presidential election. This "alternative fact" that Republicans care one bit about our deficit and not just the tax rate of their 1% overlords is beyond absurd, and it's high time they were called out as the hypocrites and liars that they are. How they have gotten away with this con for so long is simply beyond me.
When Bush put a faulty war on a credit card and gave tax giveaways to the ultra wealthy, skyrocketing our debt...that was OK.
When Donald takes a healthy economy and for no apparent reason gives himself a massive tax break, racking up trillions in debt in the process....that is OK.
But when Obama inherited a financial mess, cleaned it up, reduced the deficit by more than half, and delivered 20+ million Americans health insurance for the first time, Republicans howled at the moon over fiscal responsibility. How dare he spend money so foolishly!
If Democrats continue to allow the GOP to label itself the "fiscally responsible" party, they are pathetic enough to deserve to lose another presidential election. This "alternative fact" that Republicans care one bit about our deficit and not just the tax rate of their 1% overlords is beyond absurd, and it's high time they were called out as the hypocrites and liars that they are. How they have gotten away with this con for so long is simply beyond me.
168
Run the country like he runs his businesses.
Spend a lot, then when the bills come in, offer 50 cents on the dollar.
Or don't pay.
That should work out pretty well.
Spend a lot, then when the bills come in, offer 50 cents on the dollar.
Or don't pay.
That should work out pretty well.
45
you do realize you just described a mafia 'bust-out" ?
If The President and Congress included the repeal of Chapter 11 bankruptcy restrictions/modifications, i.e. it reverted to what is was in the early 1980s then I'd bet he'd get his tax plan passed. Why not? He got let off the hook many times. What's good for him should be good for the American people, and besides, it would solve the student debt problem as well as medical debt, people underwater in their homes.......
2
Well of course they'll insist with practiced lines and studied vocal emphases, all designed to please and echo around F-x ally territory,
that this surreally irresponsible program will do everything but cure cancer (and given the NIH cuts even that would be just too much of a stretch). The
media strategy was already planned before Wednesday, the spokesfools
were all scheduled for Hannity and others of Goebbels' descendants, out to spread the good word that heaven on earth is soon upon us, we only just have to believe!!
Any movement on tax plans without the so-called's own forms public
for inspection should be unanimously opposed by democrats and
those few republicans who still think in terms of national interest
and the public good. It should simply be a non-starter without
equivocation.
"They can't be serious about this" is, however, something of a historical trap.
The same type of ideological obsession combined with raw executive
power and capability of mobilizing loyal forces can certainly be detected in Germany in the 1930s, which is something of a model for this administration.
I can't wait to see how the deficit uber hawks crowd will respond after some
backroom browbeating and collar grabbing. It worked for the revised health plan, so why not here too?
Somehow someway someone of some responsibility will point out that
taking out this much spending from the economy could not possibly
be compensated for by this sized tax cut. When does that occur?
that this surreally irresponsible program will do everything but cure cancer (and given the NIH cuts even that would be just too much of a stretch). The
media strategy was already planned before Wednesday, the spokesfools
were all scheduled for Hannity and others of Goebbels' descendants, out to spread the good word that heaven on earth is soon upon us, we only just have to believe!!
Any movement on tax plans without the so-called's own forms public
for inspection should be unanimously opposed by democrats and
those few republicans who still think in terms of national interest
and the public good. It should simply be a non-starter without
equivocation.
"They can't be serious about this" is, however, something of a historical trap.
The same type of ideological obsession combined with raw executive
power and capability of mobilizing loyal forces can certainly be detected in Germany in the 1930s, which is something of a model for this administration.
I can't wait to see how the deficit uber hawks crowd will respond after some
backroom browbeating and collar grabbing. It worked for the revised health plan, so why not here too?
Somehow someway someone of some responsibility will point out that
taking out this much spending from the economy could not possibly
be compensated for by this sized tax cut. When does that occur?
5
Republican arguments on taxes and the national debt have always been opportunistic, self-serving and hypocritically ignorant. That will not change this time around. Watch the debt skyrocket once again.
21
We read all kinds of articles about how the rebound from the Great Recession went to the wealthiest Americans, while the rest of America never recovered... and now we're giving more to the wealthiest Americans. Oh yeah, and we're going to do that by increasing the deficit, which Republicans railed against for 8 years.
The rich who voted for Trump? Greedy. The rest of the folks who voted for Trump? Fools.
The rich who voted for Trump? Greedy. The rest of the folks who voted for Trump? Fools.
43
Was this a rhetorical question? Everyone knows Republicans only care about deficits when Democrats are in power.
7
It has come to my understanding that da Trump tax reform calls for doubling da standard deduction. That alone will for the hard working American lower taxes and simply filing. What's wrong with that? Why does the liberal see that as unfair? Why? Because the liberal thinks he's Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Under Trimp that foolishness will and must stop. Thank you.
I've written "How I Spent My Summer" essays in elementary school that were more indepth than this so-called tax plan. As with everything put out by the GOP and Trump, it's all fluff, absolutely no substance. Further, perhaps the economic geniuses who crafted this nonsense should ask Governor Brownback of Kansas how well "tinkle on ekonomiks" has worked for him.
12
Love your comments! Well written!
a one page plan ?
trump is getting wordy, isnt he
i would have thought -- taxes no good for rich, make go away, now eat chocolate cake -- would have done it
11
Seems like President wants to run the government like he did his New Jersey Casinos.
12
We need to always remind. We did not get the promised and incredibly important to know Trump tax returns. (Imagine a Clinton non-discloser?).
The Trump conflicts of interest are piling up. Nobody outside the country has faith in the US anymore since Nov 8th. Trump is a cess pool of conflict and just wrong about most things. How are we going to reverse the Trump bad is the bigly problem. We needed to go north and Trump is taking us south.
The Trump conflicts of interest are piling up. Nobody outside the country has faith in the US anymore since Nov 8th. Trump is a cess pool of conflict and just wrong about most things. How are we going to reverse the Trump bad is the bigly problem. We needed to go north and Trump is taking us south.
3
Senator Hatch will support the President because Trump issued that E.O. on Bear's Ears and Grandstaircase-Escalante Natonal Monuments. He is a true politician.
It's all a set-up. They figure if they can run up the deficit, they'll have something to use to argue against government spending, but only when it's on things they don't like. The word deficit never comes up in massive military spending bills, but try to add a few dollars to some social program that makes up like a percent of a percent of the budget, and suddenly all the republicans are fiscally conservative again.
"Reducing the deficit" is basically like "defending states' rights" and "creating incentives" -- they've wrapped their malicious intentions with some ideology that purports to serve the greater good, but at the end of the day, they just want to stop helping poor people, keep white men at the top of the totem pole, and hoard more wealth.
"Reducing the deficit" is basically like "defending states' rights" and "creating incentives" -- they've wrapped their malicious intentions with some ideology that purports to serve the greater good, but at the end of the day, they just want to stop helping poor people, keep white men at the top of the totem pole, and hoard more wealth.
The ever-growing national debt means the government desperately requires interest rates to remain low which disarms the Federal Reserve Bank's weapons to battle recession which ensure the next recession will be deeper and last longer than we expect which will, of course, further grow the debt (as so on) until some still nebulous 'day of reckoning' dawns and we awaken to realize that the US Dollar is no longer the world's preferred reserve currency, that Asia and Europe won't buy our debt any more and that we are faced with a choice between crippling taxation for decades or default. Our government is failing us.
3
Way too early to get worked up about this proposal. This kind of statement of principals has slim-to-none chance of becoming a law. It would be interesting to see how republican fissures show up during all this.
What I find interesting is the response of the so called Trump voters to Trump in general. Inspite of all the evidence to the contrary, they seem to think he is in their corner. I think this is more about a culture divide than any policy positions. Trump is "or guy" because of cares about what we care about. This is a very difficult divide to conquer.
What I find interesting is the response of the so called Trump voters to Trump in general. Inspite of all the evidence to the contrary, they seem to think he is in their corner. I think this is more about a culture divide than any policy positions. Trump is "or guy" because of cares about what we care about. This is a very difficult divide to conquer.
Lies about the tax cuts are dumbfounding. No new documentation is need to show that debt doesn't pay for itself. Neither are new studies needed to show that the GNP improvements from corporate tax cuts and cuts for the rich will end up in the pockets of the rich and corporate shareholders.
How certain Republicans can live with themselves pronouncing their true believer red misinformation is a little hard to stomach. Or how Trump can so blatantly ask for tax cuts directed at real estate and eliminate the AMT so that he pays only 4% taxes.
We can only wait and see if there are a few Senate Republicans who have the moral spine to stand up against this Machiavellian duplicity.
How certain Republicans can live with themselves pronouncing their true believer red misinformation is a little hard to stomach. Or how Trump can so blatantly ask for tax cuts directed at real estate and eliminate the AMT so that he pays only 4% taxes.
We can only wait and see if there are a few Senate Republicans who have the moral spine to stand up against this Machiavellian duplicity.
2
The table omits the benefits of increased tax revenues when Heads-of-Households (often single mothers) are moved to the Single category for tax-computation (not widely advertised, but documented).
That will raise the taxes to be paid by about 5% for taxable incomes of $30,000, rising to 20% for annual incomes of $50,000 (using current tax tables).
It may not make much of a dent in the projected deficit, but I guess every little bit helps! Of course, those mothers will have less to spend - inhibiting that projected growth a bit.
But growth due to investment is a fiction anyhow, when there are no consumers with extra money to spend.
That will raise the taxes to be paid by about 5% for taxable incomes of $30,000, rising to 20% for annual incomes of $50,000 (using current tax tables).
It may not make much of a dent in the projected deficit, but I guess every little bit helps! Of course, those mothers will have less to spend - inhibiting that projected growth a bit.
But growth due to investment is a fiction anyhow, when there are no consumers with extra money to spend.
2
So the national debt goes up for our children to pay, and more than likely Mr. Trump's debt goes down for his children to enjoy.
It is ridiculous that we are arguing the viability of this economic plan before we have settled the question of Mr. Trump, the secrets held within his taxes, his Russian connections, and his basket of conflicts.
It is just plain wrong that a President who will not reveal his taxes is authoring a new tax code for the country.
It is ridiculous that we are arguing the viability of this economic plan before we have settled the question of Mr. Trump, the secrets held within his taxes, his Russian connections, and his basket of conflicts.
It is just plain wrong that a President who will not reveal his taxes is authoring a new tax code for the country.
9
Another Trump proposal with no connection to reality. Huge tax cuts for the rich. Peanuts for the working class. Trillions of dollars in new deficits. Splendid.
7
There are no true deficit hawks in the G.O.P., only birds that oppose spending that could benefit their constituents and cost them votes, fly towards tax cuts without care for the consequences, and pay for unnecessary wars on credit cards.
2
When the government starves itself of revenue it has to borrow. Its lenders may include foreign governments, like China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, but most of the borrowing will come from Wall Street and American banks, which is ironic, because those banks get their money to lend to the government from the government itself, via the Federal Reserve system and the Treasury department. That's why Wall Street is always so keen to get one of their guys to be named to the head of Treasury.
Trump's genius plan is to not only excuse the wealthiest from tax but to also leave the government indebted to the financial holding companies that they also control. The government has always taken care of the very rich, primarily because they're a big source of revenue, and if the very rich are no longer going to be a source of revenue for the government then the only way to keep the government acting in their interest is by making the government forever indebted to them.
It also further opens up the playing field for private equity controlled privatization schemes to take over revenue starved government departments and services.
Trump's smart enough to know that to get what he wants - changes to the tax code that will benefit his real estate empire - he has to buy off Wall Street. No wonder they love this guy.
Trump's genius plan is to not only excuse the wealthiest from tax but to also leave the government indebted to the financial holding companies that they also control. The government has always taken care of the very rich, primarily because they're a big source of revenue, and if the very rich are no longer going to be a source of revenue for the government then the only way to keep the government acting in their interest is by making the government forever indebted to them.
It also further opens up the playing field for private equity controlled privatization schemes to take over revenue starved government departments and services.
Trump's smart enough to know that to get what he wants - changes to the tax code that will benefit his real estate empire - he has to buy off Wall Street. No wonder they love this guy.
1
To small business owners in my home town who think they'll benefit: I won't be doing any more business with you until I help make up for the huge deficits left behind by Donnie and his uber-wealthy friends.
4
"Trump's Tax Plan is a Reckoning for Republican Deficit Hawks"
No, it isn't, because as the Times well knows, there are no "Republican deficit hawks." Those are a fiction. Concern over the deficit is a political tool, a negotiating tactic. Concern over the deficit is a means to attack and deny funding for social programs benefiting the great mass of citizens.
As we saw under Reagan, deficits qua deficits simply did not matter. Under W. Bush, when the desired spending (desirable to Republicans, that is) was at issue, as Cheney said verbatim, "deficits don't matter."
Deficits, as the great Scottish economist Mark Blyth notes, are a political tool, false hysteria over which allows politicians to promote austerity, where austerity benefits the already wealthy at the expense of everyday citizens.
The Times should not be abetting this fiction, of deficit hawks. Like adultery and apple pie, it's an issue around which the professional right will take any side, depending on the needs and wishes of their donors.
No, it isn't, because as the Times well knows, there are no "Republican deficit hawks." Those are a fiction. Concern over the deficit is a political tool, a negotiating tactic. Concern over the deficit is a means to attack and deny funding for social programs benefiting the great mass of citizens.
As we saw under Reagan, deficits qua deficits simply did not matter. Under W. Bush, when the desired spending (desirable to Republicans, that is) was at issue, as Cheney said verbatim, "deficits don't matter."
Deficits, as the great Scottish economist Mark Blyth notes, are a political tool, false hysteria over which allows politicians to promote austerity, where austerity benefits the already wealthy at the expense of everyday citizens.
The Times should not be abetting this fiction, of deficit hawks. Like adultery and apple pie, it's an issue around which the professional right will take any side, depending on the needs and wishes of their donors.
No sane or honest person believes in that 4.5% growth number. Trump's campaign rhetoric about the dangerous threat of the growing deficit was hollow, anyone that looked at his tax proposals back then knew the deficit will continue to grow under his plans and here he goes full steam ahead with more reckless promises.
We'll see how principled the "deficit hawks" are, the GOP loves handouts to wealthiest Americans.
Trump ripped a well-worn page out of the GOP handbook...it's a old ruse, promise working class voters that tax cuts for the wealthy will create trickle-down prosperity for all.
We'll see how principled the "deficit hawks" are, the GOP loves handouts to wealthiest Americans.
Trump ripped a well-worn page out of the GOP handbook...it's a old ruse, promise working class voters that tax cuts for the wealthy will create trickle-down prosperity for all.
3
Who cares about whether this is a "time of reckoning" for Republican so-called deficit-hawks, as if there really is such a thing? And why is the Times still so stuck on these trivial partisan themes?
We all know that there is enough taxable wealth in this country to easily finance a robust social safety net that includes universal healthcare, social security, free public higher education, infrastructure, job retraining, and we could accomplish all of these things if we stopped subsidizing the bloated military industrial complex and pentagon war machine.
We also know that these tax cuts are not about "economic growth" or deficits--they are about slashing and burning the federal bureaucracy so that corporate america can have free reign to ramp up profits and hoard even more wealth.
If the TImes was interested in the truth, it wouldnt be stuck on reporting on the extent to which these tax cuts explode the deficit or offend certain delicate Republicans, which are all phony issues in the first place. It would be reporting on the real intent and motivation behind these proposals.
We all know that there is enough taxable wealth in this country to easily finance a robust social safety net that includes universal healthcare, social security, free public higher education, infrastructure, job retraining, and we could accomplish all of these things if we stopped subsidizing the bloated military industrial complex and pentagon war machine.
We also know that these tax cuts are not about "economic growth" or deficits--they are about slashing and burning the federal bureaucracy so that corporate america can have free reign to ramp up profits and hoard even more wealth.
If the TImes was interested in the truth, it wouldnt be stuck on reporting on the extent to which these tax cuts explode the deficit or offend certain delicate Republicans, which are all phony issues in the first place. It would be reporting on the real intent and motivation behind these proposals.
1
I don't know the details of Trump's plan, but deriding any and all tax cuts of any significance as "trickle down" is a slur. Tax cuts should be targeted to corporations most likely to invest in the U.S., which means, primarily, small companies. We cannot rely on big corporations spreading seed money on U.S. soil. Moreover, tax cuts must go hand-in-hand with a program of comprehensive deregulation and cost-cutting of government programs. Regulations raise the cost of doing business, squander wealth, and cost jobs. As for government programs, we're not in debt because of the taxes we do or don't collect; we're in debt because of profligate spending.
Competent lawyers say the Muslim ban was unconstitutional; competent scientists that climate change is real; competent economists that tax cuts don’t pay for themselves; competent voting experts that there weren’t millions of illegal ballots; competent diplomats that the Iran deal makes sense, and Putin is not our friend. For so-called president trump competence is not only ignored but ridiculed and excluded.
2
Trump has given us a few notes on a back of an envelope. Here, take a look at it: http://reason.com/blog/2017/04/26/trumps-tax-plan-lower-tax-rates-fewer-ta
The only thing funnier than Trump's tax "plan" is the overwrought reaction to it. We have no idea what, if anything, this man will propose because he doesn't know what, if anything, he will propose. We need to turn the page and not give him the attention he so desperately craves.
The only thing funnier than Trump's tax "plan" is the overwrought reaction to it. We have no idea what, if anything, this man will propose because he doesn't know what, if anything, he will propose. We need to turn the page and not give him the attention he so desperately craves.
So, let me get this straight - Trump was going to bring a businessman's acumen to running the country. His answer = the shopworn idea of cutting taxes to the bone and claiming that the resultant increase in business will more than make up for the lost tax revenues. The result is that we'll eliminate the debt and spur business. Utter nonsense. If such a pathetically simple solution was effective then the debt would not have ballooned with past presidents who tried this and every president as far back as JFK would have applied this already. Nobody applies taxes because it feels good. Instead they apply taxes because some way some how we need to finance defense, infrastructure, medicare etc. If you want to eliminate taxes, then eliminate government spending, otherwise your pledge to make things better is as vacuous as claiming Mexico will finance the wall.
1
Here's the deal: we pay now or we pay later. I'd rather pay now. Paying later usually means a for-profit entity has gotten involved.
Right, so cut taxes for the rich now and kick the payment for those cuts down the road. Can anyone imagine how quickly the benefit$ will accrue to people with wealth like Trump's? Then, when promised balance does not materialize, find a way to commit the cardinal sin of (gasp) increasing taxes without compromising one's own political future. Trump stands to gain from this for a very, very long time.
Money makes the world go around
The world go around
The world go around
Money makes the world go around
It makes the world go 'round.
A mark, a yen, a buck, or a pound
A buck or a pound
A buck or a pound
Is all that makes the world go around,
That clinking clanking sound
Can make the world go 'round.
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money
cabaret
1
First of all, this isn't a plan. As is becoming clear (I hope) Republicans un-do, sabotage, forbid, dictate and moralize, but they don't legislate in any meaningful way. They operate in a very small space of their own soundbites and fake facts.
1
The Republicans are never not craving big tax cuts. This is in lue of tax reform which will probably be unilaterally cutting the corporate tax rate to 15% or less. Trump will have real estate taxes lowered so he will hugely benefit. Trump is going raise defense spending. So when the inevitable recession occurs and the budget deficit will be as high as Obama/Bernanke did with Quantitative Easing, which prevented a major recession getting worse, there will huge hole in the ability to fight it. Wall Street has demanded huge cuts. Their greedy "the rest of the public be damned" attitude which will in fact chase money out of the public sector. So health care, education and the like will be just told to kiss off. Trump's aggressive plutocratic policies go hand in hand with his fascist tendencies.
10
It will just be passed down to us lucky citizens who pay state and local school taxes sigh - what a bad deal all around. "Trickle down" again? Didn't we learn the last time? Obama was right - "Elections do have consequences"
The Laffer curve is good for a laugh at today's tax rates. Along with the wingo business and economic types who like to cite the Kennedy tax cut as proof that tax cuts have great stimulative effect on economic activity.
Back when JFK took office, the top personal income tax rate was 91%, meaning that a top bracket earner got to keep 9 cents out of every marginal dollar earned in personal income. This did not mean that there were no incentives for top earners to make even more money. Rather, their incentive was to structure their compensation to qualify for capital gains treatment. Which was actually better for corporate investors as to realize their compensation, these top managers had to build value to the corporations they ran. Unlike today's execs, who covet cash compensation, bonuses, and golden parachutes if all goes wrong.
But think about the numbers. A tax cut from 91% to 70% meant that the after tax compensation on a marginal dollar earned went from 9 cents to 30 cents, more than triple. So of course, such a tax cut created powerful incentives. But if the top tax rate is lowered from 40% to 35%, it means that 60 cents of after tax compensation goes from 60 cents to 65 cents per additional dollar earned. Nowhere near as powerful as tripling one's after tax compensation.
I have read that high tax rate countries have studied this, and determined that a revenue maximizing tax rate is in the 50 to 55% range. We are already below that.
Back when JFK took office, the top personal income tax rate was 91%, meaning that a top bracket earner got to keep 9 cents out of every marginal dollar earned in personal income. This did not mean that there were no incentives for top earners to make even more money. Rather, their incentive was to structure their compensation to qualify for capital gains treatment. Which was actually better for corporate investors as to realize their compensation, these top managers had to build value to the corporations they ran. Unlike today's execs, who covet cash compensation, bonuses, and golden parachutes if all goes wrong.
But think about the numbers. A tax cut from 91% to 70% meant that the after tax compensation on a marginal dollar earned went from 9 cents to 30 cents, more than triple. So of course, such a tax cut created powerful incentives. But if the top tax rate is lowered from 40% to 35%, it means that 60 cents of after tax compensation goes from 60 cents to 65 cents per additional dollar earned. Nowhere near as powerful as tripling one's after tax compensation.
I have read that high tax rate countries have studied this, and determined that a revenue maximizing tax rate is in the 50 to 55% range. We are already below that.
119
Speaking of Laffer, I noticed that in his picture from around Reagan's time he looks like a men's clothing model. His economics -- but you can finish that sentence, dear reader.
A couple of words needed to added so this, from the article, for accuracy (CAPS mine): "After 8 OBAMA years of fiscal hawkishness, conservatives...."
Republicans were anything but fiscally hawkish the last time they held the White House. Bush's tax cuts blew Clinton's surplus away. Bush didn't pay for a dime of two wars and Medicare Plan D. Bush's economic crash was the coups de grace. And what did the GOP controlled Congress during all of this fiscal irresponsibility? It was as quiet as a church mouse.
The idea that Republicans are fiscally hawkish is a myth.
Republicans were anything but fiscally hawkish the last time they held the White House. Bush's tax cuts blew Clinton's surplus away. Bush didn't pay for a dime of two wars and Medicare Plan D. Bush's economic crash was the coups de grace. And what did the GOP controlled Congress during all of this fiscal irresponsibility? It was as quiet as a church mouse.
The idea that Republicans are fiscally hawkish is a myth.
40
Is China the bankruptcy jurisdiction?
4
“This is a thing of beauty, a thing of wonder,” Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, said of Mr. Trump’s one-page plan. “Growth, growth, growth!”
Of course it is. Mr Norquist has stated "My ideal citizen is the self-employed, homeschooling, IRA-owning guy with a concealed-carry permit because that person doesn't need the goddamn government for anything."
Except perhaps infrastructure that is not crumbling. I suppose instead of needing roads, airports, trains, etc. we'll all be on the homestead, milking the cows and herding the kids around for target practice on the back acreage.
I'm sure that one page document has it all figured out.
Of course it is. Mr Norquist has stated "My ideal citizen is the self-employed, homeschooling, IRA-owning guy with a concealed-carry permit because that person doesn't need the goddamn government for anything."
Except perhaps infrastructure that is not crumbling. I suppose instead of needing roads, airports, trains, etc. we'll all be on the homestead, milking the cows and herding the kids around for target practice on the back acreage.
I'm sure that one page document has it all figured out.
395
I'm sure that one page document
whats this you say?
trump has advanced from 140 character to a whole page ?
or was it serialised for so he could read it over his Wheaties ?
2
Let's not forget government enforcement of securities regulations and contract law.
Good luck being self employed with a 401k without either of those.
Good luck being self employed with a 401k without either of those.
1
and about all Trump's followers can comprehend.
Did you just say "truth" and "republican" in the same sentence?!? Come on, don't even go there.
26
What Trump is failing to take into account, just like Reagan and Bush, is that you cannot know for sure what businesses will do with the extra cash. They may spend some of it. They may keep some of it. They may just keep it all in the bank. There's no guarantee that it will be circulated back into the economy.
You want big tax cuts? Fine. But only give the lower rate on funds that get invested back into workers and infrastructure for the business. Any funds sitting around doing no good, or being used as executive compensation, investment portfolios, or shareholder bonuses - TAX the daylights out of those. This would incentivize firms to put their money back into their assets (aka, employees & business infrastructure) rather than letting them line the pockets of a few executives with stolen tax dollars.
You want big tax cuts? Fine. But only give the lower rate on funds that get invested back into workers and infrastructure for the business. Any funds sitting around doing no good, or being used as executive compensation, investment portfolios, or shareholder bonuses - TAX the daylights out of those. This would incentivize firms to put their money back into their assets (aka, employees & business infrastructure) rather than letting them line the pockets of a few executives with stolen tax dollars.
189
You really think that corporate elites and such like wall street, bankers, goldman sachs, are thinking about doing right by the middle class? Think again.
While there is no guarantee of future behavior, we do have past history to look at. Tax cuts are generally pocketed by corporations and the wealthy. Business only expands when it has an opportunity to expand existing or new markets. It will borrow money advantage of those opportunities because they make them way more than the financing costs. What businesses (and the wealthy) decidedly don't do and have never done is spend extra windfall monies on business expansion. At best, they buy back stock.
1
...or have the corporate tax savings go to increase workers' pay. With higher wages, workers would be able to spend more. That would put more money into the economy. And, perhaps a family could then afford to either pay a decent compensation for childcare or afford to have a sole wage earner.
1
I still want to know how do you do a new budget when you haven't decided what the revenue from taxes is going to be going forward. Apparently budget deficits mean nothing when Republicans are running the government. The tax cuts for the common folk will be devoured when inflation ramps up. I swear prices have already shot up since Trump announced a huge tax cut. The 21st Century Gilded Age is about to begin!
11
Thank Obama we had a stable economy going into this so-called presidency.
17
A guy posting at the Denver Post calls him So-Called-Ruler-Of-The-U.S....
The GOP has much practice in tanking a sound policy, and surplus, and squandering both away.
1
If you want to see how tax cuts pay for themselves, you need to look no further than the disaster it wrought in the state of Kansas.
38
Trumps "rich get richer" tax plan relies on alt-facts to hit its growth targets. But if you liked Trump University, you will like Trump Tax School just as much!
9
Bullet points on a single sheet of paper do not a tax plan make and only makes murkier what is already nonspecific.
What is clear is that this will be a benefit for rich folk, as usual. Three tax brackets to cover all?
Trump and his crony capitalism will win bigly. Those who need a break will remain where they are at 10%.
Give me a break and don't act like this will help most of us. It will saddle us with debt and expose the GOP congress once again as the lying hypocrites they are.
History does tell us that deficits are only evil when Democrats are in the White House and have a majority but when the reverse is true they are a necessity.
Give us all a break and tell us why, GOP, after multiple failures, you believe that giving the rich a big break creates jobs and boosts the economy. I can't see to find that happening when I google.
What is clear is that this will be a benefit for rich folk, as usual. Three tax brackets to cover all?
Trump and his crony capitalism will win bigly. Those who need a break will remain where they are at 10%.
Give me a break and don't act like this will help most of us. It will saddle us with debt and expose the GOP congress once again as the lying hypocrites they are.
History does tell us that deficits are only evil when Democrats are in the White House and have a majority but when the reverse is true they are a necessity.
Give us all a break and tell us why, GOP, after multiple failures, you believe that giving the rich a big break creates jobs and boosts the economy. I can't see to find that happening when I google.
12
Every time they gain the seat of power, Republicans collapse the economy. Why should this time be any different.
What a novel notion: a Republican Congressional moment of actual "truth."
1
They will put on a show and fret about it, but in the end, the Rs will vote for it- it's genetic- they can't help it. Look what happened in Kansas. The legislature had the votes to overturn Brownback's vetoes on tax increases, etc., but in the end, they couldn't do it, failing by 2-3 votes.
And when this tax plan fails to deliver growth, they'll find religion, get hawkish again, and go after PBS, TANF, social security, school lunches, housing/utility assistance, etc.
And when this tax plan fails to deliver growth, they'll find religion, get hawkish again, and go after PBS, TANF, social security, school lunches, housing/utility assistance, etc.
14
There are no genuine deficit hawks. There are only partisan hawks.
12
Come on, NY Times - the republicans have been lying about the deficit for years. It was all a sham to cut social programs. Lower taxes will do nothing for economic growth, it's all about wealth distribution. Don't you read Krugman?
5
I would believe Dr. Krugman before I would believe Nordquist's high praise.
The Republican party has with the current president bought in big time to xenophobia, racism, anti-healthcare, misogyny, targeting of the poor, and the trashing of the environment - major fiscal misbehavior to benefit the special interest they serve it totally consistent with the game plan.
4
So, if they really believe these proposals will "pay for themselves", pass the bill with "triggers" in them, if milestones are not reached, "trigger" adjustments. Or better yet, make the people who vote for them have some "skin in the game", where they bear the burden of their actions, if the bill they sign doesn't do what they claim it will do.
4
Seriously, you even have to ask? Republicans only care about deficits when Democrats are in the White House. Otherwise they could care less. If this is a test for the Republicans, they will fail it, miserably. And the press will still talk about Republican 'Fiscal Conservatives'. Talk about fake news.
Here is the deal I would make; if these tax cuts actually cause 4.5% economic growth and significant wage growth, great. If they fail to, then the recipients of the tax cuts (which will include me) pay the Treasury back double what they got. If there is no risk, I'm sure that they will sign up for that deal.
Here is the deal I would make; if these tax cuts actually cause 4.5% economic growth and significant wage growth, great. If they fail to, then the recipients of the tax cuts (which will include me) pay the Treasury back double what they got. If there is no risk, I'm sure that they will sign up for that deal.
9
Tax "reform" has always been used as a euphemism for wealth-redistribution. Mr. Trump now wants to go down in history as the author of the biggest tax cut ever. He could then claim to have produced the largest number of billionaires in history. If a 100 million ordinary americans sink deeper into poverty as a result of what little they have trickling up, well, that is the price Mr. trump is willing to pay. The sad fact is that the victims of this inhumane greed and misanthropy can be counted on to support the very author of their subjugation and misery.
11
In all the discussion about growing the economy by making people buy more stuff that would lead to more manufacturing jobs and offset the loss of revenue under the new Trump tax plan, what's overlooked is the demographics in 2016
0-14 years: 18.84%
15-24 years: 13.46%
25-54 years: 39.6%
55-64 years: 12.85%
65 years and over: 15.25%
How much more "stuff" does the aging population need to purchase (just check the growth of self-storage facilities everywhere) when those over 65 are looking to downsize (and that population is growing rapidly). The 32+ percent of under 24 years of age either don't yet have income - or if in their early 20's or somewhat beyond, may live back with their parents because of their enormous college debts. How much buying will either group be able to do to offset the loss of tax revenue to the federal government.
And if we deport millions of potential purchasers, close off immigration...where is all that extra buying power going to come from?
Could one of your economists explain. Thank you.
0-14 years: 18.84%
15-24 years: 13.46%
25-54 years: 39.6%
55-64 years: 12.85%
65 years and over: 15.25%
How much more "stuff" does the aging population need to purchase (just check the growth of self-storage facilities everywhere) when those over 65 are looking to downsize (and that population is growing rapidly). The 32+ percent of under 24 years of age either don't yet have income - or if in their early 20's or somewhat beyond, may live back with their parents because of their enormous college debts. How much buying will either group be able to do to offset the loss of tax revenue to the federal government.
And if we deport millions of potential purchasers, close off immigration...where is all that extra buying power going to come from?
Could one of your economists explain. Thank you.
6
The Republicans have completely lost any principle and are now only about power. Eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes will make it harder for states to decide how much to spend on education, health care, services for the poor, etc. represents tremendous overreach of the federal government, along with telling localities how to police and what behaviors should or should not be legal.
Normally I don't believe in conspiracy theories but their efforts to gut public education will expand the number of ill-educated voters, their most solid constituency.
Normally I don't believe in conspiracy theories but their efforts to gut public education will expand the number of ill-educated voters, their most solid constituency.
12
Anyone who thinks big city public school systems are garbage by accident or through no design is a fool.
This is a tax INCREASE for those of us that depend on that deduction. Which we do. Increasing the standard deduction DOES NOT offset that loss.
1
Supply-side "voodoo" economics have never worked, and will never work. That's because the entire theory is wrong. Even considering the Reagan tax cuts, the economy has generally done better with higher taxes than with lower ones for the past few decades.
For an even better example, consider the current Kansas budget debacle.
Most Republicans politicians were never concerned about deficits. What they really wanted was less spending on the poor, leading to lower taxes on the rich.
For an even better example, consider the current Kansas budget debacle.
Most Republicans politicians were never concerned about deficits. What they really wanted was less spending on the poor, leading to lower taxes on the rich.
6
Yes, the US had much higher marginal tax rates on both income and capital gains with LOWER SALES TAXES when we had our highest rates of growth. If we want to spur consumption on a broad basis cut the sales tax not the income tax.
The size of the deficit doesn't matter in this way, because the government can never run out of money! It creates money - how could it possibly run out? It is like telling the Knicks to stop scoring points because the referee ran out of points to add to the scoreboard - senseless!
The size of the past deficit never prevents the government from future spending. The government just spends, then uses a complicated process to account for the spending. To believe otherwise ignores where the cash in your pocket comes from - the government had to first create it before it could reside in your pants pocket.
And no, the government can't spend willy-nilly and we all will live in mansions and drive Cadillacs and pay no tax. Spending - private plus public - cannot exceed the productive capacity of the economy, or else the people and companies and gov't spending will bid up prices and cause inflation to rise. So the government uses taxes to withdraw spending and demand from the private sector to make fiscal room for public spending that will not stoke inflation.
The tax plan deserves criticism for its ability to advance the public purpose, and for its ability to boost employment and keep inflation low. The size of the deficit is not a reason to criticize the tax plan, because the deficit never limits the government's ability to spend.
The size of the past deficit never prevents the government from future spending. The government just spends, then uses a complicated process to account for the spending. To believe otherwise ignores where the cash in your pocket comes from - the government had to first create it before it could reside in your pants pocket.
And no, the government can't spend willy-nilly and we all will live in mansions and drive Cadillacs and pay no tax. Spending - private plus public - cannot exceed the productive capacity of the economy, or else the people and companies and gov't spending will bid up prices and cause inflation to rise. So the government uses taxes to withdraw spending and demand from the private sector to make fiscal room for public spending that will not stoke inflation.
The tax plan deserves criticism for its ability to advance the public purpose, and for its ability to boost employment and keep inflation low. The size of the deficit is not a reason to criticize the tax plan, because the deficit never limits the government's ability to spend.
Not only is Trump the "King of Debt", but he is also a King of Gambling who owned failed Casinos. You know the old saying; "You can't beat the House", and Trump owned the house and still lost it.
The economy has steadily regained health, and is doing quite well as evidenced by the recent Federal reserve interest rate hike and unemployment is below 5 percent meaning pretty much full employment.
A tax cut is certainly a gamble that is not necessary at this time.
Trump and the Republicans are simply trying to buy voters. The Rich and Corporations finance Congressional campaigns and the Republicans in turn pay off the voters who simply succumb to the lure of extra cash.
Indeed. It's the biggest bribe in history and I'm not buying it.
I'll be watching to see if the Republican Congressmen go along with a ballooning deficit and debt.
The economy has steadily regained health, and is doing quite well as evidenced by the recent Federal reserve interest rate hike and unemployment is below 5 percent meaning pretty much full employment.
A tax cut is certainly a gamble that is not necessary at this time.
Trump and the Republicans are simply trying to buy voters. The Rich and Corporations finance Congressional campaigns and the Republicans in turn pay off the voters who simply succumb to the lure of extra cash.
Indeed. It's the biggest bribe in history and I'm not buying it.
I'll be watching to see if the Republican Congressmen go along with a ballooning deficit and debt.
5
Maybe Ryan will tell Trump to place asterisks at the bottom of his one-page tax cut proposal then all republicans will fall in line and enthusiastically pass the proposal for their "struggling" donors and the 1%. Asterisks always worked for Ryan.
Settle for even short term tax cuts, live with long term fiscal damage. This is much too serious an issue to be decided on strictly partisan terms. Dare we hope that at some point sane economic policy will trump ideology?
2
Well if the Republicans let Trump's self-serving tax plan go through, then it's clear that all those times they claimed to be concerned about the national debt and the deficit, they were lying.
And since that was so often, it'll be clear that Republican congresspeople are capable of lying all the time, like Trump. So their statements should be routinely disregarded from here on in, as the odds are good that they are just lying again.
Of course, their supporters won't recognize this, as it seems any of their supporters who aren't reaping the profits of their plans by being extremely rich, are basically totally delusional, incapable of realizing they're being lied to all the time.
And since that was so often, it'll be clear that Republican congresspeople are capable of lying all the time, like Trump. So their statements should be routinely disregarded from here on in, as the odds are good that they are just lying again.
Of course, their supporters won't recognize this, as it seems any of their supporters who aren't reaping the profits of their plans by being extremely rich, are basically totally delusional, incapable of realizing they're being lied to all the time.
Republicans have never cared about the debt or deficit whenever one of their own has been in the White House. It was always an invented outrage to use against Democrat presidents. So I think Trump's debt-exploding tax cuts will pass through congress faster than a runaway train. But when a democrat gets back to the presidency, then the false outrage will return.
There has never been a GOP tax cut that didn't benefit the rich and harm the middle class and poor. Reagan's tax cuts transformed the USA from being the world's largest creditor nation to the world's largest debtor nation. Bush's tax cuts led to the Great Recession in 2007-08. It's faux alternative facts that Republicans are deficit hawks - they only watch the budget when Democrats hold the White House or a Congressional majority, a pure power politics strategy. While the Dems are no angels, they have demonstrated a desire to spend for the benefit of the 99%, to create jobs, to protect the environment, and to spur the economy, whereas the Republicans continue to demonstrated a desire to benefit themselves and their wealthy patrons, only. The last Republican era of government in the US to spend out tax dollars on major infrastructure was Eisenhower - think the Interstate Highway project. So, it's the economy, stupid, and the GOP-led government are completely disinterested in priming the larger economic pump. They simply want to thicken their own and their puppet masters pockets, using the same old play book to harm working class Americans as they always do. As Ronnie Headrest liked to say, 'there you go again.' Indeed.
1
Reckoning? No, that day passed in November, when they succeeded in hypnotizing millions of voters to finally give them complete control. Soon, the only items in the federal budget will be defense, entitlement program spending, and debt service. We will be borrowing to pay the interest on the government debt, and the cost of everything will be unaffordable to the middle and lower class because there are no imported goods that they can afford to buy. And intra-borders will spike as folks move from state to state chasing any benefits and health care the states can offer, until they go bankrupt with all the new beneficiaries. But at least we will have choices in health care, even though no one can afford it. Gullible citizens who think they have it all figured out and everyone else is the reason we have so many problems...you and your former deficit-hawk representatives will have your reckoning.
So George Bush came into office with a projected surplus after eight years of a Democrat in the White House and he left office with the economy is shambles. Typical Republican. Now that it took another eight years of a Democrat in the White House to take care of Bush's mess, we have Trump and the Republicans - once again ready to wreck the economy.
3
bush only doubled the debt ( 5 > 10 tril )
trump will easily beat that
im looking for 5- 10 fold
One of the main purposes of government these days seems to be to enrich Trump. The entire tax plan will enrich the Trumps and impoverish everyone else. While you and I pay steep taxes the Trump heirs will inherit billions witout paying a cent in taxes. Think of how that money could be used to eliminate poverty and provide medical care for all!
1
Don't be distracted by these silly headlines, these tactics are working for those who have short attention spans.
Stay on task with the real important issues. Trump is clearly playing the media like a fiddle and feeding it headlines that will do nothing but drum up controversy and distract everyone.
This tax plan is nothing more than smoke and mirrors, worry about it when/if more details come out, not just a one page, made for TV drama.
Stay on task with the real important issues. Trump is clearly playing the media like a fiddle and feeding it headlines that will do nothing but drum up controversy and distract everyone.
This tax plan is nothing more than smoke and mirrors, worry about it when/if more details come out, not just a one page, made for TV drama.
Remember when Trump suggested he'd "renegotiate the debt" (let the country go bankrupt) because it had worked so well for him? I think that's the plan.
5
Trump wants to run America like a business, particularly his business - Into bankruptcy.
The title of this article helps perpetuate a lie that Republicans are a fiscally conservative party. They hate taxes and don't give a damn if tax cuts mean other people will suffer. To the not rich, they say "It's your problem", not the job of government. For the "haves", a larger percentage takes pleasure in distinguishing themselves from the "have nots" - basic human cruelty wrapped in a veneer of economic individualism that is, at this point, a theology.
Only when this lie can be exposed and understood by the masses will it come home to roost in the clubs of the wealthy.
Only when this lie can be exposed and understood by the masses will it come home to roost in the clubs of the wealthy.
54
Gregg, help us expose and hold responsible the Elected Politicians' misleading statements, lies, slef-interests and mismanagement that have put US $20T in debt, $100T in future unfunded liabilities - and growing!
http://usdebtforum.com
http://usdebtforum.com
Nothing like the 100-day deadline to highlight how unprepared our President is. He presented talking points. No detail for a thoughtful mind to consider the merits.
His plan’s only certainty is revenues will be reduced. HIs hope GDP will rise (6% he says) to offset revenue reduction is only supported by wishful thinking and some theory like-minded economists are prepared to create.
What happens when the growth plan and related revenue increase doesn’t materialize? With 208 in Congress and 45 in the Senate, all Republicans, signers of the Norquist Pledge to never raise taxes how will taxes be raised. First, have all 253 Republicans in Congress repudiate, in writing, their Pledge then let’s talk about taxes. Anything less adds to the foolishness.
Due to the continued mismanagement and self-interest of Elected Politicians our country is running hundreds of billions in annual deficits (losses per the President), 20T in debt and $100T in future, unfunded liabilities, all growing.
If the President’s “Biggest Ever” tax reduction plan is approved, even if GDP rises but not enough to offset the reduction in revenue with lower rates, debt will keep mounting. This is not Winning! This is a National Security Threat and places 99% of Americans in future jeopardy. The Trump brand for him and future Trump generations may be “The Biggest Loser!”
Politicians must be held responsible for their self-interest and mismanagement of our country!
http://usdebtforum.com
His plan’s only certainty is revenues will be reduced. HIs hope GDP will rise (6% he says) to offset revenue reduction is only supported by wishful thinking and some theory like-minded economists are prepared to create.
What happens when the growth plan and related revenue increase doesn’t materialize? With 208 in Congress and 45 in the Senate, all Republicans, signers of the Norquist Pledge to never raise taxes how will taxes be raised. First, have all 253 Republicans in Congress repudiate, in writing, their Pledge then let’s talk about taxes. Anything less adds to the foolishness.
Due to the continued mismanagement and self-interest of Elected Politicians our country is running hundreds of billions in annual deficits (losses per the President), 20T in debt and $100T in future, unfunded liabilities, all growing.
If the President’s “Biggest Ever” tax reduction plan is approved, even if GDP rises but not enough to offset the reduction in revenue with lower rates, debt will keep mounting. This is not Winning! This is a National Security Threat and places 99% of Americans in future jeopardy. The Trump brand for him and future Trump generations may be “The Biggest Loser!”
Politicians must be held responsible for their self-interest and mismanagement of our country!
http://usdebtforum.com
This is an old trick W played with disastrous results, Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me
Are we suffering a nationwide case of amnesia?
Note to Trump - the United States Government cannot file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That option that you used so frequently in your businesses isn't an option you can use in the White House.
20
With the economy in a good shape like this, US needs to pay off its debts, not increase it.
A Moment of Truth for Republicans. I like the attempt in the face of recent history to continue the myth that Republicans are capable of honesty. Truth? Integrity? It seems so dated and naive these days to try to leverage that into the conversation with our current government.
Their one page outline gets an article that exceeds its word count.
Why not this headline?
Republican's 2-Trillion Dollar Tax Plan promises to create the largest Credit Card in History!
These tax cuts are meant to further enrich and entrench America's wealthiest families. The rest of us will get small coins that will be gobbled up by the inflation that results from such shaky economics.
Their one page outline gets an article that exceeds its word count.
Why not this headline?
Republican's 2-Trillion Dollar Tax Plan promises to create the largest Credit Card in History!
These tax cuts are meant to further enrich and entrench America's wealthiest families. The rest of us will get small coins that will be gobbled up by the inflation that results from such shaky economics.
11
These are NOT TAX CUTS. Look closer. Look closer. They are INCREASES for millions of middle class families, dressed up to look like cuts.
By the way, the massive deficits are not a bug, they're a feature.
For decades, the True Believers (TM) have embraced this approach as a way of "making government so small you could drown it in a bathtub," to paraphrase the traitor Grover Norquist. They realize that abolishing the New Deal is an unpopular idea.
This reckless fiscal policy which the GOP pursues EVERY time they get into office achieves the abolition of the New Deal by other means.
For decades, the True Believers (TM) have embraced this approach as a way of "making government so small you could drown it in a bathtub," to paraphrase the traitor Grover Norquist. They realize that abolishing the New Deal is an unpopular idea.
This reckless fiscal policy which the GOP pursues EVERY time they get into office achieves the abolition of the New Deal by other means.
16
Geese and Ganders are apparently two quite different animals.
11
Considering the state of the current deficit, it's not like we haven't seen this movie before. Why should be expect to see anything new?
6
Republican capitalism = socialize the costs, privatize the profits.
Any questions?
Any questions?
13
The GOP has been having its 'moments of truth' on deficit spending for over thirty years now. When Reagan cut taxes and increased military spending deficits weren't a problem. When Bush really slashed taxes and decided to put two wars on the nations credit card the GOP was completely behind him. And my bet is that the huge deficit hole that any version of the Trump cuts will produce will continue to find support from most of the GOP.
These deficit hawks will let the rich take the money and run and once again try and balance the budget on the backs of the poor and middles class. As Reagan said" government is the problem", except when it's funneling public money into private hands. Then deficits be damned and full speed ahead.
These deficit hawks will let the rich take the money and run and once again try and balance the budget on the backs of the poor and middles class. As Reagan said" government is the problem", except when it's funneling public money into private hands. Then deficits be damned and full speed ahead.
9
"Moment of truth"??? Ummm, we're talking about Republican politicians here - truth has got nothing to do with it...
12
Is what's the remainder of the Middle Class going to have to resort to pitchforks and torches in front of the White House, and en-masse in front of the Capitol building. The entire Republican party simply doesn't get it. The rich don't need any benefits here. They are already rich and they are not suffering. The entire executive, legislative and judicial branches are not listening to the echoes of those abandoned by the Reagan revolution.
Is another revolution in the offing, albeit much more ugly?
Is another revolution in the offing, albeit much more ugly?
9
As much as the gop pretend to believe it, tax cuts for the rich and trickle down economics do not work. How much proof do they need? Go ask Kansas how they're doing with their little tax cut experiment (terribly). Now go ask California, who raised taxes on the rich, how they're doing (booming). Republicans will say and do absolutely anything to achieve their one true goal... tax cuts for rich people.
And what of the middle class voters that support the gop? Is there a groundswell of support for tax cuts for corporations and the rich? Are ordinary citizens badgering their gop legislators at town halls to increase the deficit so rich people could have even more money? No. They're victims of yet another bait and switch that advances the bizarre gop ideology. You would think people would wake up by now.
And what of the middle class voters that support the gop? Is there a groundswell of support for tax cuts for corporations and the rich? Are ordinary citizens badgering their gop legislators at town halls to increase the deficit so rich people could have even more money? No. They're victims of yet another bait and switch that advances the bizarre gop ideology. You would think people would wake up by now.
7
Climate change is not man-made and tax cuts only stimulate the economy, boost productivity and reduce the deficit. At least their thinking is always perfectly consistent . . . only backwards.
Actually it's the right time to raise taxes to reduce the deficit, as the economy continues to do well.
6
If the goal here is to spur the economy, and the belief is that lower corporate taxes (and much lower taxes on the leaders of these corporations) will spur economic growth, why do the breaks have to come before the gain?
If that really is the goal, tax these corporations, and for every job they create, for every dollar they pump into the economy, allow them to THEN take the tax breaks.
Instead, they want to give them the tax breaks, put the money in their hands, and HOPE it generates more money, and if it doesn't...if it doesn't...umm...oh well not our problem that is 5 years down the road.
If that really is the goal, tax these corporations, and for every job they create, for every dollar they pump into the economy, allow them to THEN take the tax breaks.
Instead, they want to give them the tax breaks, put the money in their hands, and HOPE it generates more money, and if it doesn't...if it doesn't...umm...oh well not our problem that is 5 years down the road.
3
No. The only reckoning for any politician is on Election Day. For at least
90 % of the people in congress, they will NEVER, EVER have a " job" as good as being in office. And deep down, they realize that simple fact. That's why they follow their leaders, right off any cliff. And the Presidential Apprentice??? Why, they'll go along with anything, to appease their base.
It's ALL about keeping the " job". Service to the country, their constituents
Or anything else is way down on their priority list. The only thing they can comprehend, and fear, is losing an election. Let's give them that opportunity, as soon as possible.
90 % of the people in congress, they will NEVER, EVER have a " job" as good as being in office. And deep down, they realize that simple fact. That's why they follow their leaders, right off any cliff. And the Presidential Apprentice??? Why, they'll go along with anything, to appease their base.
It's ALL about keeping the " job". Service to the country, their constituents
Or anything else is way down on their priority list. The only thing they can comprehend, and fear, is losing an election. Let's give them that opportunity, as soon as possible.
3
like with Bush, we had to wait for another Republican administration to dig our federal deficit into the ground after years of efforts .
whenever a Democratic president take office, we will have another tea party movement waking up and blaming him or her of spending too much .
whenever a Democratic president take office, we will have another tea party movement waking up and blaming him or her of spending too much .
4
First of all, a tax code that allows Wall Street banks to deduct $400,000 speeches by anyone, whether both of the Clintons' or Barack Obama, or any Republican politician, or anyone is both immoral and should not exist as a deduction. That is the problem, in that the tax code has been written by people without a conscience for people without a conscience. Sitting with my 96 year old mother yesterday, when it came on that Barack Obama was going to be getting $400,000, I said well Republicans do it too, and she turned to me and said, "It was plain wrong to get that much money." You seem my mother came from an era, born in 1921 that lived through the great depression, her father was a doctor who never got any of his income from an insurance company or government program, as he worked 24-7 and 7 days a week. Yes, there is nothing to admire in anyone that wrote the tax code or has gotten a pension after they have retired from political life, as they should never have gotten any as that is not service. We don't understand service unless we believe in the old days and what stood for character, honesty, unselfishness, humility, a lack of greed. That does not exist. My grandfather died suddenly at the age of 64 in 1961 having worked himself to death taking care of others. He was both a general practitioner, and surgeon, who never had anyone say a bad word about him and his care. The same can't be said for most politicians who have been in Congress for the last 60 years.
7
Thank you for having written this. There are many of us who feel the same way.
1
These tax cuts will create a huge deficit that they want so they can cut health care in a couple years, when suddenly the deficit will matter again.
7
The Trump White House is awash in group think. This is a common ailment in failing businesses when one person runs the business as an autocratic ruler and there is no one to give him opposing views are worst-case scenarios. In addition this is one of the most dangerous and corrupt groups of people to ever run an administration. Further, the leader does not seem to have the acumen or the desire to process complex thoughts and contrary opinions. White House management consultants and a GOP Congress are going to search for short-term solutions, who view the government as a business that can be quickly "turned around" and "spruced up" and then sold off to the highest bidder.
Unfortunately, any short-term gains will once again prove to be disastrous (and short-lived) and then sane people will have to come in and fix this up again. And we will be the chumps holding the worthless bag while the Corporatocracy laughs all the way to the bank.
Unfortunately, any short-term gains will once again prove to be disastrous (and short-lived) and then sane people will have to come in and fix this up again. And we will be the chumps holding the worthless bag while the Corporatocracy laughs all the way to the bank.
3
This tax hurts people that live in states with high state taxes that won't be able to deduct those taxes from their federal income tax. (CA, NY, NJ, CT, etc).
I'd bet my life's savings that Trump files his return from Florida, so it won't effect him. Come to think of it, maybe that's why he's always flying down to Mar-a-lago - so he's there enough to avoid NYS residency taxes.
I'd bet my life's savings that Trump files his return from Florida, so it won't effect him. Come to think of it, maybe that's why he's always flying down to Mar-a-lago - so he's there enough to avoid NYS residency taxes.
I thought we were done with the Laffer Curve.
3
I miss the 80's too.
The basic principle of business: charge as much as you can and give as little as you can.
Run government like a business? It's working!
Run government like a business? It's working!
9
Whenever I hear someone say "Run government like a business," I am reminded of the sterling example of Enron. The men running this company were the self-styled "Smartest guys in the room."
A cautionary tale...
A cautionary tale...
3
voodoo economics (slight return) - Circa 2017
35
Pundits, including editorial writers, appear to be clueless about what the "massive tax cut" is all about: Mr. Trump wants to go down in history as the progenitor of the largest number of billionaires ever.
1
The Chinese are foaming in the mouth at the prospect of owning more U.S. notes/treasuries, not to mention that interest rates can only go up . Remember, the U.S. government does not default on its debt.
Will the GOP Congress show some conones or will Trump simply "Sound & Fury" them into nothingness?
4
'Senator Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, said' -- these are a different kind of deficits. They don't coddle the poor, they coddle the rich!
11
"Trump Tax Cut Is Moment of Truth on Deficit for Republicans"?
That's a GOOD one!
There's NO truth in Trump's tax-cuts for-the-rich "plan" and NO truthfulness in the tax-cuts for-the-rich schemes of Ryan and his gang of Republicans! Why keep reporting on these as if there's ANY basis in economics for such nonsense, not to mention the math of the last 30 years!
So somehow Trump's utter untruthfulness on the budget (like so much else) and the Ryan's untruthfulness are manically supposed to cancel each other out and make a "truthful," positively charged atom of a moment out of two, highly negatively-charged electrons moments lasting for years?
It's certainly Republican "voodoo economics squared! Yet again! And this seems exemplify Republican "science" too!
That's a GOOD one!
There's NO truth in Trump's tax-cuts for-the-rich "plan" and NO truthfulness in the tax-cuts for-the-rich schemes of Ryan and his gang of Republicans! Why keep reporting on these as if there's ANY basis in economics for such nonsense, not to mention the math of the last 30 years!
So somehow Trump's utter untruthfulness on the budget (like so much else) and the Ryan's untruthfulness are manically supposed to cancel each other out and make a "truthful," positively charged atom of a moment out of two, highly negatively-charged electrons moments lasting for years?
It's certainly Republican "voodoo economics squared! Yet again! And this seems exemplify Republican "science" too!
12
Super deficit hawk and bonafide Reagan groupie, Joe Scarborough, was noticeably silent on air yesterday. For those viewers who think that that guy is on your side or even close to being a moderate, think again. Scarborough took a page out of Reagan's playbook and always puts a (somewhat) amiable face on draconian and inhumane policies.
5
Members of the GOP must've failed accounting and, quite possibly, failed basic mathematics since they fail to grasp the entire concept of when money goes OUT there needs to be money coming IN. When will the American public finally learn the lessons of the past- even the recent past- that the Republican Party 1. cannot handle money and 2. that the only people benefitting from the Republican Party are the richest elites in our land? Explain to me how you're going to, apparently, start wars with North Korea, Yemen, and Syria and pay for it with large tax cuts???? Didn't we do this already President GW Bush?
7
Republicans only care about deficits when Democrats are in control. They'll crash the economy again and when a Democratic president wants an economic stimulus package, they'll oppose that too. Bank bailouts are fine, since they serve the interests of their corporate masters. How stupid are the American people? We'll find out soon enough, when they learn that their Social Security fund was raided to pay for our ever bloated military. SAD!
12
Voodoo economics with the Voodoo doll being, you guessed it, the Middle Class.
So many pins already hurting the body politic and now more!
So many pins already hurting the body politic and now more!
9
The only time deficits matter to Republicans is when a Democrat is in the White House.
21
He is the President of the US, and this bill could be come law and have drastic effects on people's lives. :/
3
Mulvaney: “But we also look at deficits through sort of a different lens.” Unfortunately Mulvaney's lens has a toxic self interest cataract so opaque as to blind him, and the rest of these deplorables, to the facts.
I don't mind a deficit. It is actually a good idea if the spending is for the benefit of all. I do mind a deficit caused by tax cuts for the greedy.
I don't mind a deficit. It is actually a good idea if the spending is for the benefit of all. I do mind a deficit caused by tax cuts for the greedy.
7
"The White House insists that economic growth will cover the cost"
...when will people learn that this doesn't work?
Corporate profits are at record highs. They are doing wonderfully.
As the last 30 years since Reagan's cuts have PROVEN, all additional profit goes to the increase the C-level (CEO, CFO, et al) salaries while the worker bees are either replaced by cheaper labor in India or, if they're lucky, their salary remains stagnant.
You cannot argue facts, and those are the facts.
The wealthy need yet another windfall like a hole in the head.
And, incredibly, this plan HURTS the middle and lower classes by eliminating tax deductions they depend on.
THIS IS ABSURD. And middle class Trump supporters have the audacity to be offended when they are called uninformed. This is what folks are talking about when they call you uneducated, folks! Voting to make the wealthy wealthier whilst giving the middle class the short end of the stick. AGAIN. When, oh when will you learn?
...when will people learn that this doesn't work?
Corporate profits are at record highs. They are doing wonderfully.
As the last 30 years since Reagan's cuts have PROVEN, all additional profit goes to the increase the C-level (CEO, CFO, et al) salaries while the worker bees are either replaced by cheaper labor in India or, if they're lucky, their salary remains stagnant.
You cannot argue facts, and those are the facts.
The wealthy need yet another windfall like a hole in the head.
And, incredibly, this plan HURTS the middle and lower classes by eliminating tax deductions they depend on.
THIS IS ABSURD. And middle class Trump supporters have the audacity to be offended when they are called uninformed. This is what folks are talking about when they call you uneducated, folks! Voting to make the wealthy wealthier whilst giving the middle class the short end of the stick. AGAIN. When, oh when will you learn?
16
in arguing that the reduced revenue caused by reduced taxes would be paid for by "growth", trump's people obviously think we--especially repubs in congress--are total nitwits.
this kind of experiment has been tried, again, in kansas. while the wealthy in kansas can get along for awhile without public schools and other public services, the state as a whole can't. sooner or later, kansas voters will figure that out--that their state will effectively (not literally, because it can't) go bankrupt.
remember, bankrupcy is at the heart of trump's business "success". his goal is to create a functional governmental bankruptcy. terrific news for the super wealthy; not so good for everyone else.
this kind of experiment has been tried, again, in kansas. while the wealthy in kansas can get along for awhile without public schools and other public services, the state as a whole can't. sooner or later, kansas voters will figure that out--that their state will effectively (not literally, because it can't) go bankrupt.
remember, bankrupcy is at the heart of trump's business "success". his goal is to create a functional governmental bankruptcy. terrific news for the super wealthy; not so good for everyone else.
6
And what does Trump ultimately do with debt? He walks away from it like an arsonist walking away from a house fire. What is particularly galling is that while setting the fire, he and his gang of thieves are stuffing their pockets with the cash that could be used to help those in need and fix our crumbling roads, bridges and tunnels. Make America Great Again? Hardly.
10
What always makes these policy debates frustrating both for the average person and for policy experts is that elected officials debate as if increasing or decreasing taxes, cutting or spending, saving or investing, were exclusive policy imperatives for all time rather than responses to existing economic circumstances. There are cycles, and government should adjust accordingly.
4
I'd have put the last paragraph in the article first since the best litmus test for any tax plan is whether Grover Norquist supports it or not.
If Norquist supports a tax plan, it's safe to assume that it is a plan written by anti-government zealots who believe that the only legitimate purpose of government is to keep the defense industry alive.
No thanks, Mr.Mnuchin and Mr. Trump. We're not buying yet another round of "trickle down".
If Norquist supports a tax plan, it's safe to assume that it is a plan written by anti-government zealots who believe that the only legitimate purpose of government is to keep the defense industry alive.
No thanks, Mr.Mnuchin and Mr. Trump. We're not buying yet another round of "trickle down".
9
Nothing is going to change. America is still fosters corporate socialism and continues to aggregate global financial wealth in expense of diving median wealth and income in society.
Yes at this stage of economical development it is right way to withstand global issues, but it destroys internal american "free" market economy.
Be ready for social crisis when 99% of wealth is going to be under control of 0.01% of population. Existing society is going to crack. New models of social organization are needed to be considered.
Yes at this stage of economical development it is right way to withstand global issues, but it destroys internal american "free" market economy.
Be ready for social crisis when 99% of wealth is going to be under control of 0.01% of population. Existing society is going to crack. New models of social organization are needed to be considered.
3
Just maybe, if the 1% pay the most they actually ever paid over the 0% they now pay,
15% would be a Windfall for the Country.
15% would be a Windfall for the Country.
1
Seems to me that the number of serious economists who believe that projected growth will cover the cost of tax cuts is just about equal to the number of serious scientists who believe that global warming is a hoax.
9
We’ve seen this playbook from Republicans over and over. Will their working class voters ever learn?
Do you hear that very loud roar of the vacuum? That is the sound of community wealth funneling its way up to the top 1%. In its wake: lost jobs, crumbling infrastructure, toxic water.
WAKE UP Trump voters. Go to your representative’s local office and RESIST these tax cuts.
Do you hear that very loud roar of the vacuum? That is the sound of community wealth funneling its way up to the top 1%. In its wake: lost jobs, crumbling infrastructure, toxic water.
WAKE UP Trump voters. Go to your representative’s local office and RESIST these tax cuts.
7
Growth growth growth. For what? Grover Norquist is a tumor on this nation. Tumors are the only thing that grows for the sake of growth alone.
Now, Trump proposed to "Make America Great" and to "Drain The Swamp." And now this, which does not drain the swamp, it stocks it with goodies on which the 1% love to feast, and it will hobble the economy, not make it great.
Now, Trump proposed to "Make America Great" and to "Drain The Swamp." And now this, which does not drain the swamp, it stocks it with goodies on which the 1% love to feast, and it will hobble the economy, not make it great.
5
Anybody who believes the Republicans have a viable tax plan need only look at the disaster Sam Brownback has made of Kansas using the same financial fantasies. Any one who would want that for their country would be happy letting Russian agents run it for them.
12
This plan lacks a requirement that any overseas profits repatriated with a ine-time tax break be reinvested in the U.S. to create jobs. Otherwise, most of those profits will be used by these companies to repurchase stock, simply engrossing the bank accounts of shareholders.
1
I wish the Times would revisit the subject of the wealth of senators and congressmen. Many of them (but not all, I know) are exceptionally rich: the tax legislation they're being invited to craft will certainly affect them directly. Where are the conflicts of interest -not as regards their states, but themselves? Or are they, too, exempt from releasing their tax returns?
P.S. Grover Norquist is just a civic abomination: giving cover to Republicans who don't have the courage to legislate as true, conscientious Americans.
P.S. Grover Norquist is just a civic abomination: giving cover to Republicans who don't have the courage to legislate as true, conscientious Americans.
4
As long as we have unending war and military spending we will have deficits. The 1% don't send their children to war, so let's tax them more to cover the expenses. NO TAX CUTS!
3
Keynesian economics is alive and well, apparently, even for those who proudly call themselves conservative. Cutting taxes in an economy that is already moving along at a rational pace commensurate with our population growth, and characterized by low unemployment, reasonable inventories, and a booming (albeit slightly irrationally, "exuberantly" as one Fed Chair once said) stock market is likely a foolish -- dare I say "greedy"? -- idea. Save spending and tax-cutting for the inevitable just-around-the-corner downturn when it is urgently, direly needed, not when it's merely rich, greasy gravy poured lavishly over an already sumptuous feast!!
88
Technically this isn't Keynesian but the Chicago school of thought. "Supply-side economics developed during the 1970s in response to Keynesian economic policy, and in particular the failure of demand management to stabilize Western economies during the stagflation of the 1970s. It drew on a range of non-Keynesian economic thought, particularly the Chicago School and New Classical School," per Wikipedia. Arthur Laffer was one of the father's of the idea.
2
"Keynes advocated increased government expenditures and lower taxes to stimulate demand and pull the global economy out of the Depression." Problem here - there is no depression. Also:
"The main plank of Keynes’s theory, which has come to bear his name, is the assertion that aggregate demand—measured as the sum of spending by households, businesses, and the government—is the most important driving force in an economy. Keynes further asserted that free markets have no self-balancing mechanisms that lead to full employment. Keynesian economists justify government intervention through public policies that aim to achieve full employment and price stability." IMF; "What Is Keynesian Economics?"
Finance & Development, September 2014, Vol. 51, No. 3.
This tax plan is the antithesis of that. May I suggest a different economic theory favored by 45 and his gang of thieves? Greed.
"The main plank of Keynes’s theory, which has come to bear his name, is the assertion that aggregate demand—measured as the sum of spending by households, businesses, and the government—is the most important driving force in an economy. Keynes further asserted that free markets have no self-balancing mechanisms that lead to full employment. Keynesian economists justify government intervention through public policies that aim to achieve full employment and price stability." IMF; "What Is Keynesian Economics?"
Finance & Development, September 2014, Vol. 51, No. 3.
This tax plan is the antithesis of that. May I suggest a different economic theory favored by 45 and his gang of thieves? Greed.
1
John Wilson is mistaken in referring to Keynesian economics. There is nothing Keynesian about borrow-and-spend financing done for no good reason. It is just crooked government.
1
NO. This is a day of reckoning for all Americans who value democracy.
Republicans WANT debt. They want to take OUR government over and put Us in debt to them. How? Through Shadow Banking.
According to Wikipedia, "Former US Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke provided the following definition in November 2013: "Shadow banking, as usually defined, comprises a diverse set of institutions and markets that, collectively, carry out traditional banking functions — but do so outside, or in ways only loosely linked to, the traditional system of regulated depository institutions. Examples of important components of the shadow banking system include securitization vehicles, asset-backed commercial paper [ABCP] conduits, money market funds, markets for repurchase agreements, investment banks, and mortgage companies"[2] Shadow banking has grown in importance to rival traditional depository banking, and was a primary factor in the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008 and the global recession that followed.[3][4][5]"
Over one half of Americans lost one-half the value of their homes and 401Ks and The Robber Barons' wealth skyrocketed.
WE - The Good People of The United States of America cannot ignore this.
WE CAN AND MUST FIGHT LIKE HELL TO STOP THEM.
Join the People's Climate March this Saturday, April 29, to loudly protest the 100th day of this hostile financial takeover of OUR America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banking_system
https://peoplesclimate.org/
Republicans WANT debt. They want to take OUR government over and put Us in debt to them. How? Through Shadow Banking.
According to Wikipedia, "Former US Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke provided the following definition in November 2013: "Shadow banking, as usually defined, comprises a diverse set of institutions and markets that, collectively, carry out traditional banking functions — but do so outside, or in ways only loosely linked to, the traditional system of regulated depository institutions. Examples of important components of the shadow banking system include securitization vehicles, asset-backed commercial paper [ABCP] conduits, money market funds, markets for repurchase agreements, investment banks, and mortgage companies"[2] Shadow banking has grown in importance to rival traditional depository banking, and was a primary factor in the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008 and the global recession that followed.[3][4][5]"
Over one half of Americans lost one-half the value of their homes and 401Ks and The Robber Barons' wealth skyrocketed.
WE - The Good People of The United States of America cannot ignore this.
WE CAN AND MUST FIGHT LIKE HELL TO STOP THEM.
Join the People's Climate March this Saturday, April 29, to loudly protest the 100th day of this hostile financial takeover of OUR America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banking_system
https://peoplesclimate.org/
11
Enough with the marching. Get to the ballot box and throw the bums out.
1
When the public finally figures out the sham, and rid their bodies of Trump/GOP/Democrat Kool Aid, then their might be an awakening. An awakening that they finally realize that their elected leader, and "representatives" are selling out millions of people, for their own gain.
The middle class, most of them, will not see a tax reduction, but many will see a tax increase. Think about your own tax situation, and see if your taxes will decrease if you can only deduct mortgage interest and charitible contributions; period. And will doubling the standard deduction help cover the lost of your other deductions. And, remember, most middle class tax payers will not move to a lower tax bracket, only those in the higher tax brackets will join the middle class at 25%.
On top of this, remember your pay check? Well, to make this sham look good to conservatives, you have to get money from some where. Well, how about losing pre-tax status for your 401k, medical savings accounts, home office deduction if you do work at home full time), pre-tax health care premiums and other benefits you can deduct from your pay check; pre-tax. These will also go away.
So, not only do your taxes, probably increase, but chances are very good your net take home pay will decrease.
Like the sham with the GOP sponsored health care law, the devil is in the details. Combined, both of these will decimate the middle class.
Next on the hit list Social Security and Medicare, to finish the job.
The middle class, most of them, will not see a tax reduction, but many will see a tax increase. Think about your own tax situation, and see if your taxes will decrease if you can only deduct mortgage interest and charitible contributions; period. And will doubling the standard deduction help cover the lost of your other deductions. And, remember, most middle class tax payers will not move to a lower tax bracket, only those in the higher tax brackets will join the middle class at 25%.
On top of this, remember your pay check? Well, to make this sham look good to conservatives, you have to get money from some where. Well, how about losing pre-tax status for your 401k, medical savings accounts, home office deduction if you do work at home full time), pre-tax health care premiums and other benefits you can deduct from your pay check; pre-tax. These will also go away.
So, not only do your taxes, probably increase, but chances are very good your net take home pay will decrease.
Like the sham with the GOP sponsored health care law, the devil is in the details. Combined, both of these will decimate the middle class.
Next on the hit list Social Security and Medicare, to finish the job.
136
All true. And furthermore, the loss of exemptions will offset much of that "doubling of the standard deduction". Currently, the standard deduction plus two exemptions for a couple add up to 20,700, so that 24,000 is only slightly higher. For those who itemize, the combination of the loss of exemptions and the loss of deductions on state and local taxes will cost you dearly. There is no way you make up for this with the standard deduction increase or any reasonable adjustment of brackets. This is a loser for middle and upper middle class homeowners.
Prescient. I had the same thought on Social Security and Medicare.
Deficits only matter when Democrats are in charge.
169
For as much as this paper hates Trump they certainly seem to have a fixation on him, his wife, his kids, everybody whose ever known him. Wow, kind of creepy.
2
Not creepy. New Yorkers know Donald. I personally have been reading about him the the papers since the mid-70s.
And we have been continually disgusted with the scandals, divorces, p-s-y grabbing, vendor-cheating, and bankruptcies noted about him. The rest of the country is just waiting to be disappointed. Only 10% of Manhattanites voted for our so-called president. We know him.
And we have been continually disgusted with the scandals, divorces, p-s-y grabbing, vendor-cheating, and bankruptcies noted about him. The rest of the country is just waiting to be disappointed. Only 10% of Manhattanites voted for our so-called president. We know him.
6
Love to hate is what everything's come to.
He's the president. And, besides, this is the attention he craves - in quantity, if not in tone. Be careful what you wish for.
1
Many Days of Reckoning have passed for these toadies in the past year. If it's been a test of their will or strength, I'd give them an F.
7
A tax cut with no cuts in government spending should certainly produce better economic results than would have been the case without those measures. But will the improvement in the economy be enough to maintain tax collections at the lower tax rates? Many factors other than government spending and tax rates may affect the US economy, unpredictable and uncontrollable factors, some positive, some negative. It is a high-risk strategy, it could be a bust. Is the possibility of the upside worth the risk of the downside? Trump doesn't care. He sees great personal upside in the plan if it works. He will simply walk away from it and blame others if it doesn't, just as he has done with the many business disasters he has been the catalyst behind. Don't expect anything different here.
4
GOP Cowards will back trump's foolishness, because, gosh,he's got to 'win'.
All the fake crying over the deficit that President Obama had to deal with, thanks to the Bush Iraqi War.....and we now see how partisan it was.
trump's tax "plan", which is nothing more than an outline of an idea, will add Two TRILLION Dollars to the deficit.
All the fake crying over the deficit that President Obama had to deal with, thanks to the Bush Iraqi War.....and we now see how partisan it was.
trump's tax "plan", which is nothing more than an outline of an idea, will add Two TRILLION Dollars to the deficit.
16
This guy and his cronies are scam artists beyond belief.
Their so-called tax plan eliminates the Schedule A medical cost deduction AND eliminates the 3.8% tax on investment income to benefit only the wealthiest. This tax is what largely pays for the 'pre-existing condition' clauses in the ACA.
They're counting on their continuing tactic of lying until enough people believe their lies, as they did in the 2016 election.
Their so-called tax plan eliminates the Schedule A medical cost deduction AND eliminates the 3.8% tax on investment income to benefit only the wealthiest. This tax is what largely pays for the 'pre-existing condition' clauses in the ACA.
They're counting on their continuing tactic of lying until enough people believe their lies, as they did in the 2016 election.
85
Given that there will undoubtedly be endless arguments later about whether high growth was achieved with concomitant reduction in the debt, can the NYT establish in advance well-accepted criteria (do any exist that are not subject to reasonable debate), or at least the criteria that the GOP might agree to use in advance, to show the outcomes down the road if this plan is implemented?
When holding Trump and the congressional representatives accountable later for either success or failure, it would be useful to get them on record saying how the outcomes should be measured. Pin them down now. Otherwise, I expect 180-degree assessments from either side, as shown by the many recent statements saying that the Reagan-era tax cuts did not produce growth and increased jobs (not the same thing), yet we have Mick Mulvaney, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget, saying on PBS that those cuts did produce good growth.
These points of view seem particularly malleable in economics. I expect that many goals of the Trump era may not be reached yet will be spun later to show how they were successfully met. Pinning people down in advance by asking for their success criteria is a good way to say later that a goal was not met according to them, not according to their defined opposition, who will always be discredited by the base. Harder to wiggle out when assessed against their own criteria.
When holding Trump and the congressional representatives accountable later for either success or failure, it would be useful to get them on record saying how the outcomes should be measured. Pin them down now. Otherwise, I expect 180-degree assessments from either side, as shown by the many recent statements saying that the Reagan-era tax cuts did not produce growth and increased jobs (not the same thing), yet we have Mick Mulvaney, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget, saying on PBS that those cuts did produce good growth.
These points of view seem particularly malleable in economics. I expect that many goals of the Trump era may not be reached yet will be spun later to show how they were successfully met. Pinning people down in advance by asking for their success criteria is a good way to say later that a goal was not met according to them, not according to their defined opposition, who will always be discredited by the base. Harder to wiggle out when assessed against their own criteria.
6
Deficits only matter when Democrats occupy the White House.
Supply side economics will work this time. Really. Believe me. It's gonna be huge.
This time, instead of moving your jobs overseas with the extra dough, the wealthy elite will complete the task of automating most of the jobs that remain here. And the middle class and poor get tax "credits" which won't matter because they will end of with little or no taxable income to begin with.
Supply side economics will work this time. Really. Believe me. It's gonna be huge.
This time, instead of moving your jobs overseas with the extra dough, the wealthy elite will complete the task of automating most of the jobs that remain here. And the middle class and poor get tax "credits" which won't matter because they will end of with little or no taxable income to begin with.
17
One has to wonder when--not if--a national financial collapse will occur. We're borrowing roughly $1.5b per DAY just to stay afloat. If the 2027 deficit hits $1.4T, as the article cites, that's $3.8b per day. How much money is available, world-wide, to borrow to keep this Ponzi scheme afloat?
Yes, deficits matter, and debt matters more. The unwillingness to accept and deal with this intelligently is the great failure of not just this administration but those preceding. You can only live on the Visa card so long before the bills come due.
Yes, deficits matter, and debt matters more. The unwillingness to accept and deal with this intelligently is the great failure of not just this administration but those preceding. You can only live on the Visa card so long before the bills come due.
4
"I'm the king of debt! I love debt!" --Donald Trump on CNN last year.
Apparently he wants to be the king of an even bigger debt. Donald Trump borrowed all his money and then would declare bankruptcy and/or refuse to pay his legitimate creditors. He can't do that as president of the USA.
We found out during the Reagan years that cutting taxes does not stimulate growth. It only grows the debt. Cutting income to the US treasury and increasing spending does not equal a reduction in debt. It has never worked.
Bill Clinton increased taxes for the rich and we paid off the debt back in the 1990's. Dubya cut taxes and grew a new debt. California under Jerry Brown did the same thing to pay off California's huge debt. The only way to pay off debt is to do it the old fashioned way. Cut spending and/or increase taxes. Right now the US debt is so big we are borrowing money (increasing the debt) to pay JUST THE INTEREST on the debt.
Apparently he wants to be the king of an even bigger debt. Donald Trump borrowed all his money and then would declare bankruptcy and/or refuse to pay his legitimate creditors. He can't do that as president of the USA.
We found out during the Reagan years that cutting taxes does not stimulate growth. It only grows the debt. Cutting income to the US treasury and increasing spending does not equal a reduction in debt. It has never worked.
Bill Clinton increased taxes for the rich and we paid off the debt back in the 1990's. Dubya cut taxes and grew a new debt. California under Jerry Brown did the same thing to pay off California's huge debt. The only way to pay off debt is to do it the old fashioned way. Cut spending and/or increase taxes. Right now the US debt is so big we are borrowing money (increasing the debt) to pay JUST THE INTEREST on the debt.
12
We did not pay off the national debt during the Clinton presidency.
The Democrats did move the economy from annual deficit to annual surplus for a few years, when Bill Clinton was in charge.
Then, George Bush became President and, with the Republicans, put the country back into annual deficit.
The Democrats did move the economy from annual deficit to annual surplus for a few years, when Bill Clinton was in charge.
Then, George Bush became President and, with the Republicans, put the country back into annual deficit.
the 'Don', to be fair, should lower everyone's taxes to zero like his tax bill and print/borrow money for the entire Federal budget
4
If our elected so-called leaders were really thinking about what the United States need over the next generation, they would be focused first on investing in infrastructure and education. These are big-ticket items requiring public, not private investment. They really should be working on an infrastructure investment plan first.
Instead, they are pandering to the top 1% and corporate America by offering a tax cut that will blow up the deficit. That will preempt any talk of large investments on infrastructure because "we're worried about deficits."
The net result of this sucker punch is that Republicans will have achieved their objectives: 1) Tax cuts for business and the wealthy, 2) reducing the role of government in investing for the future. They will also exacerbate income inequality, thus further stagnating the growth they hope will pay for the tax cuts. This is slow-moving disaster which will ultimately blow up in the next economic crisis.
Instead, they are pandering to the top 1% and corporate America by offering a tax cut that will blow up the deficit. That will preempt any talk of large investments on infrastructure because "we're worried about deficits."
The net result of this sucker punch is that Republicans will have achieved their objectives: 1) Tax cuts for business and the wealthy, 2) reducing the role of government in investing for the future. They will also exacerbate income inequality, thus further stagnating the growth they hope will pay for the tax cuts. This is slow-moving disaster which will ultimately blow up in the next economic crisis.
15
Worse! This is a tax INCREASE for working professionals, since it eliminates the deductions for state and local taxes, and medical deductions. Doubling the standard deduction does not offset this for people living in high cost of living blue states. This is HOW THEY ARE PAYING for this.
It seems pretty simple to me that less money coming + more going out = debt. I'm not a financial genius by any stretch, but to me, that's just basic math. Once again, the hypocrisy of the GOP continues to stun me, even more so, that the average American still drinks this poison Kool-Aid.
232
It would truly be great if just once Trump would announce a new policy initiative, strategy or direction that actually looked like it was not developed on a napkin. The guy is talking about revamping 70,000 pages of IRS code and his entire thought process is presented in a single sheet of paper! unbelievable.
I'm now waiting to hear him say..."wow, who would have thought this tax stuff was so complicated".
Chalk another one up for the Mr. Magoo presidency.
I'm now waiting to hear him say..."wow, who would have thought this tax stuff was so complicated".
Chalk another one up for the Mr. Magoo presidency.
133
There was a study performed by Moody's Analytics Inc. on the effects of the tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush. The study determined that savings rates increased under the Bush - era tax cuts for the wealthiest. When taxes were raised under Bill Clinton, the savings rate fell. So the supply side (trickle down theory) is a fallacy.
That's okay, they just need to remember that, with control of all three branches of gov't, they have the power to undo Social Security and all the other safety net programs that they think are starving our tax coffers. Problem solved! Oops, almost forgot to mention that, of course, the "little guy" will pay for all this. All in a day's work for Republicans.
5
only the little people deficits
4
Gargantuan deficits and ballooning debt....all so the temporary resident of our White House can fill his pockets with OPM.
Well? What is it Republicans? Destroy the country for the short term leader of your party, or do the right thing?
Well? What is it Republicans? Destroy the country for the short term leader of your party, or do the right thing?
7
The answer to that would be: Destroy the country for the short term leader of your party. Next question?
2
how many times are americans going to do nothing while this time not only will the cookies be taken sight unseen every normal person knows this time the JAR BREAKS.
9
The big question is: Who will pay the bills ???
Trump’s tax proposal is a "Laffer curve” ball which is based on voodoo economics.
Both Presidents Reagan and Dubya cut taxes deeply based on the "Laffer curve” theory with disastrous results … deficits ballooned !!!
The poor and the middle class suffered, with no relief !!! and they still continue to fall behind !!!
Meanwhile, the wealthy prospered by pocketing their tax savings and grew their wealth !!!
Trump’s tax proposal is a "Laffer curve” ball which is based on voodoo economics.
Both Presidents Reagan and Dubya cut taxes deeply based on the "Laffer curve” theory with disastrous results … deficits ballooned !!!
The poor and the middle class suffered, with no relief !!! and they still continue to fall behind !!!
Meanwhile, the wealthy prospered by pocketing their tax savings and grew their wealth !!!
9
Q: If a Republican has a bad case of chlamydia, what is his preferred course of treatment?
A: A tax cut, of course.
A: A tax cut, of course.
9
Has anyone ever said, "I won't bother making a success of my company because I'll have to pay taxes on it"? This is z bizarre fantasy.
Come on now and let's be reasonable. Wasn't it the republicans hero dead eye Dick Cheney that said "deficits don't matter"
1
No, He said: "Reagan proved deficits don't matter."
1
Alternate deficits ?
15
Which economist developed this tax reform package? Kellyanne Conway?
It's not "many" economists. You are the NY Times. Poll every nobel prize winning economist. If you can get ONE to agree that this tax plan will pay for itself I'll start getting the paper every day rather than three times a week. Honestly, you have to stop trying to be fair to the flat earth society wing of the republican party. If you cut my taxes I just save more. At least cut the taxes of people who can use the money to boost the economy. This is just stupid.
156
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" or as Trump says "give me money from this tax break and something will trickle on you later" ... perhaps, the realization you've been had.
2
And pigs can fly. I walked past a sign in a shop window this morning that said "People who don't believe in magic will never find it." My friend said, "Neither will people who do believe in magic."
6
I will be eagerly watching to see the voting in Congress and promise to vote against anyone who sells out the future of our country.
Wearing a flag pin on your lapel? Doesn't mean you are patriotic. Massive tax cuts to increase income for wealthy people who don't need higher income is plainly wrong. Don't call your self a patriot or a Christian if you believe this is the way to go. This will harm the future of our country.
A true Conservative would never vote in favor of this plan.
Wearing a flag pin on your lapel? Doesn't mean you are patriotic. Massive tax cuts to increase income for wealthy people who don't need higher income is plainly wrong. Don't call your self a patriot or a Christian if you believe this is the way to go. This will harm the future of our country.
A true Conservative would never vote in favor of this plan.
4
The GOP doesn't care about deficits. Just ask Dick Cheney and his congressional Republican enablers. And maybe President Obama, who had pick up the pieces.
2
According to Treasury Secretary Goldman Munchkin:
The economy will be sprinkled with Lauffer Fairy Dust.
It will grow at a rate of elevendy-seven percent per year,
and cover the make believe fake news "deficits" created by the Trump Tax Plan.
What's the big deal about lost revenues of $7,000,000,000.00?
Munchkin continued:
The Founding Fathers fought for a principle.
Men died at the Ardenne Forest, Guadalcanal, the beaches on Normandy and the Bowling Green Massacre for that guiding principle:
Dynastic Inherited Wealth.
Creating more Paris Hiltons.
Assuring that Barron, son of the American Tsar, never ever has to work.
That is what makes America great.
Dynastic Inherited Wealth.
The economy will be sprinkled with Lauffer Fairy Dust.
It will grow at a rate of elevendy-seven percent per year,
and cover the make believe fake news "deficits" created by the Trump Tax Plan.
What's the big deal about lost revenues of $7,000,000,000.00?
Munchkin continued:
The Founding Fathers fought for a principle.
Men died at the Ardenne Forest, Guadalcanal, the beaches on Normandy and the Bowling Green Massacre for that guiding principle:
Dynastic Inherited Wealth.
Creating more Paris Hiltons.
Assuring that Barron, son of the American Tsar, never ever has to work.
That is what makes America great.
Dynastic Inherited Wealth.
6
Republican reckoning is that deficits only count when they are created by Democrats.
6
If Republicans were honest, they'd just admit: "Deficits only matter, when Democrats are in charge."
6
It's their plan.
It will wreck our economy and create massive havoc and misery.
They own it.
Let them proudly embrace it and go down in flames.
GOP Rest in Peace.
Not.
It will wreck our economy and create massive havoc and misery.
They own it.
Let them proudly embrace it and go down in flames.
GOP Rest in Peace.
Not.
5
Deficits are only bad when there is a Democrat in the White House.
4
The ruse here is very clear..... run the national debt to a level where the Social Security Trust Fund will have to be completely collateralized, then privatized, then drained..... it's that simple folks... and it's coming.
12
Curious after 8 years of " the sky is falling" our poor chlldruns' inhiritin' all that Obama debt SUDDENLY deficits don't matter!
Free money for all the job creators!
Tax cuts for the middle class! Haha, no, not that, but big cuts for the wealthy and voodoo all the way to the bank!
Free money for all the job creators!
Tax cuts for the middle class! Haha, no, not that, but big cuts for the wealthy and voodoo all the way to the bank!
7
"Truth" and "Republicans" are incidental, when they aren't coincidental, why there will be no "moment".
1
GOP Modus Operandi:
Democratic POTUS: I'm a deficit hawk.
GOP POTUS: I believe in magic.
This will save a lot of punditry, reporting, and writing about this issue.
Democratic POTUS: I'm a deficit hawk.
GOP POTUS: I believe in magic.
This will save a lot of punditry, reporting, and writing about this issue.
3
the Republicans gave lied about trickle down for years. They will pass this in order to satisfy their owners. This is not our country anymore...
3
Historically Republicans leave behind deficits or worse for the Democrats to clean up.
Mr. Trump will leave behind a memory of the United States of America, and its last presidency
Mr. Trump will leave behind a memory of the United States of America, and its last presidency
6
Whatever works for putting more $$$ into the pockets of the GOP members of Congress and the administration, their donors, the 1%, and big business regardless of the future consequences is unconscionable anyway way you add it up. It does matter to the public!
4
No, it's not a moment of truth. Aside from some individual members, the GOP has never cared about overusing the national credit card when they hold the White House. If their leaders--such as they are these days--even bother to mouth a few words as to how these deficit-exploding tax cuts conform with their intense anti-deficit positions during the Obama administration, I'll be much surprised. This is the party of Hey! We got what we wanted, now it's time for all you little losers to get over it and move on.