The United States Treasury says the current “Republican” tax cut plan would not only cover its $1.5 trillion price tag – but actually put $300 billion worth of new revenue into government coffers over the next ten years.
For those of you unhip to addition, that’s $1.8 trillion worth of projected economic “stimulus” over the coming decade.
How would the GOP plan achieve such lofty revenue aims? According to a one-page analysis (.pdf) released by the Treasury on Monday, the proposal would increase America’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.7 percent annually over the next ten years – to a projected 2.9 percent annual growth rate.
Treasury attributes half of the expanded GDP growth to proposed “changes to corporate taxation” and the other half to “changes to pass-through taxation and individual tax reform, as well as from a combination of regulatory reform, infrastructure development and welfare reform as proposed in the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget.”
Do we buy this math? No …
The U.S. economy hasn’t hit the 2.9 percent GDP growth threshold since 2005 – when it clocked in at 3.3 percent. In fact its highest GDP print in the preceding decade is a modest 2.6 percent – achieved in 2015.
Last year the economy grew at an anemic 1.6 percent clip – barely worth breaking out our jar of green ink.
And now we are to assume the plan U.S. president Donald Trump intends to sign prior to Christmas will create annual 2.9 percent growth for a full decade?
Yeah … we just don’t see that happening.
Especially not when you consider the GOP tax plan routes the vast majority of its relief to uber-wealthy Americans and large corporations.
As we’ve said from the beginning of this debate, “Republicans” had a simple path to follow this year: Repeal Obamacare, cut spending and target tax relief where it’s needed most – the American middle class and American small businesses.
They have failed on all fronts …
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