Dueling tax plans

[Rewind]

Even if Congress was not in recess, there is no way they could get another tax cut passed in only two weeks. No Democrats would support another tax cut and, considering how the last tax cut added a trillion dollars to the federal deficit, few Republicans would support it either -- but that didn't stop Trump from making another false claim.

Trump is already backtracking on his promise for a 'very major tax cut' before the midterm elections

https://www.businessinsider.com/trum...romise-2018-10

[Rewind]

Dean Martin sang, "Promise her anything but give her love." A French perfume had a slogan, "Promise her anything but give her Arpège." In 2018, President Trump thinks, "I'll promise the voters anything if it will help me get votes."

Trump's bewildering new tax cut proposal is an admission the GOP tax law has failed politically
Bob Bryan, Business Insider, Oct 28 2018

The Republicans were counting on the GOP tax law passed in December to be a cornerstone of their midterm election strategy. But the bill is wildly unpopular and most Americans believe it benefits the wealthy and corporations. Many analysts believe President Donald Trump's unexpected promise that another tax cut is on the way is an admission that the first tax bill "has failed politically."

As the GOP tax law was set to pass in December 2017, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act would be a centerpiece of the party's messaging strategy for upcoming elections. "If we can't sell this to the American people, we ought to go into another line of work," McConnell said. They might want to start looking around.

As the midterm elections approach, economists and policy analysts say the tax law has become a political dud. Perhaps the most prominent evidence: President Donald Trump's stunning promise of a new 10% tax cut for the middle class.

Trump said last weekend that Republicans would pass a tax cut aimed directly at the middle class before the midterms. Since then, Trump and congressional Republican leaders have backtracked on both the timeframe and the scope of the cut. Chris Krueger, a policy analyst for Cowen Washington Research Group, said of the new proposal, "It's a pretty clear indication that the GOP's tax bill is not paying the dividends that were promised — quite the opposite, in fact. Seems only Democrats are really talking about it — and all in a negative fashion."

The TCJA does not poll well. Even Republican voters think that the bill mostly benefits wealthier Americans and corporations. Republican candidates and political action groups have largely declined to employ the bill in campaign ads as a tool to rally voters.

Greg Valliere, chief global strategist at Horizon Investments, said the new proposal is a "clear admission by Trump" that the TCJA "has failed politically."

While Trump's proposal may serve as an admission of political failure, the next question becomes just how seriously to take the promised second round of cuts. Short answer: not seriously. Congress is out of session until after the midterms. And for at least the foreseeable future, Republicans do not have a path to getting another major tax cut through Congress. While the GOP had little problem overlooking the TCJA's $1.5 trillion price tag, adding another lump of debt on top of the previous round would likely give GOP deficit hawks heartburn.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trum...ctions-2018-10

[Rewind]

But.....but.....didn't the President promise the huge tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans would pay for themselves by stimulating the economy? Golly gee, it appears he was mistaken.

The US will issue $1.34 trillion in debt in 2018, the highest amount since the depths of the Great Recession in 2010

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...52xb?ocid=AMZN

[Rewind]

Trump thought he could punish heavily Democratic states such as California, Virginia and New Jersey by imposing a limit on federal deductions for state and local taxes. His plan backfired. Those states have very high taxes and voters were not happy to see their taxes climb even higher as a result of Trump's tax-cuts-for-the-wealthy legislation. Thus, they elected Democrats in several Congressional districts that were longtime Republican strongholds. Cheer up, Donald -- the wealthiest 1% of Americans will continue to vote Republican.

A tax increase tucked into Trump's tax cut came back to bite Republicans

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...SNO1?ocid=AMZN

[Rewind]

Trump and the Republicans assured us that their 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act would lead to the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs. It didn't. They assured us the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act would not benefit the wealthiest Americans. It did. Trump and the Republicans are now upset with General Motors' decision to close five plants and fire 14,000 workers. Oh, boo-hoo. Cry me a river. They can blame themselves.

GM layoffs show Congress played Americans with its corporate tax cut

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/...porate-tax-cut

[Rewind]

Today, the second anniversary of Donald Trump's swearing-in as President, Business Insider explains why Trump's huge tax cuts for banks, big corporations and the wealthiest Americans (including Trump) didn't really benefit anyone other than banks, big corporations and the wealthiest Americans (including Trump).

Trump said tax cuts would be 'rocket fuel' for the US economy. Here's why they weren't.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/...9-1-1027881117

[Rewind]

On the bright side, Trump will get a lot of nice Valentine's Day cards from all the banks, big corporations and billionaires whose taxes he cut.

$1.5 trillion tax cut had no major impact on business spending
The White House had predicted that the massive fiscal stimulus package would boost investment and job growth.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...siness-n963411

[Rewind]

Trump told us his $1.5 trillion in tax cuts -- which mostly benefited banks, big corporations and the wealthiest Americans (including Trump) -- would stimulate the economy by leading to hundreds of thousands of new jobs and investments in new factories and expansions. That didn't happen. In fact, US companies spent a combined $1.05 trillion on stock buybacks in 2018 -- and the rich keep getting richer.

Just 4% of US companies boosted hiring because of tax cuts

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/28/busin...abe/index.html

[Rewind]

Trump bragged that giving huge tax cuts to banks, big corporations and the wealthiest Americans would be like "rocket fuel" to boost the economy. It should surprise no one that the "boost" is turning out to be somewhat of a "bust."

Trump tax cuts won't power the growth he predicts, officials concede

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tr...ede/ar-BBUYV2c

[Rewind]

Here is where Trump's $1.5 trillion in tax cuts have brought us -- and it's obvious the record-high $22 trillion federal debt is going to get even higher.

US posts largest-ever monthly budget deficit as corporate tax receipts plunge

https://www.latimes.com/business/la-...322-story.html