GOP Tax Bill Is The End Of All Economic Sanity In Washington

thoughtone

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
source: Forbes

GOP Tax Bill Is The End Of All Economic Sanity In Washington

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No doubt many of you read the above headline and immediately started to tweet that the GOP tax bill can't be the end of economic sanity in Washington because there never was any to begin with.

I have two responses.

First...please do tweet that, and link to this post when you do.

Second...you're wrong. If it's enacted, the GOP tax cut now working its way through Congress will be the start of a decades-long economic policy disaster unlike any other that has occurred in American history.

There's no economic justification whatsoever for a tax cut at this time. U.S. GDP is growing, unemployment is close to 4 percent (below what is commonly considered "full employment"), corporate profits are at record levels and stock markets are soaring. It makes no sense to add any federal government-induced stimulus to all this private sector-caused economic activity, let alone a tax cut as big as this one.

This is actually the ideal time for Washington to be doing the opposite. But by damning the economic torpedoes and moving full-speed ahead, House and Senate Republicans and the Trump White House are setting up the U.S. for the modern-day analog of the inflation-producing guns-and-buttereconomic policy of the Vietnam era. The GOP tax bill will increase the federal deficit by $2 trillion or more over the next decade (the official estimates of $1.5 trillion hide the real amount with a witches brew of gimmicks and outright lies) that, unless all the rules have changed, is virtually certain to result in inflation and much higher interest rates than would otherwise occur.

The GOP's insanity is compounded by its moving ahead without having any idea of what this policy will actually do to the economy. The debates in the Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees and on the House floor all took place before the Congressional Budget Office's analysis and, if it really exists, the constantly-promised-but-never-seen report from the Treasury on the economics of this tax bill.


Meanwhile, Congress has ignored other estimates like this one from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School showing that the tax bill won't do what the GOP is promising.

In other words, the GOP tax bill may be enacted without anyone who votes for it having any understanding of the damage it could do to the economy. They have wishes, hopes and prayers but in reality nothing beyond the economic equivalent of pagan superstition.

On top of everything else, there is no reason to rush this debate as the GOP is doing. Given that it's not really needed, a bill that is enacted next January or February will make as much economic sense as one signed into law by the end of this December. The must-do-it-by-Christmas deadline Trump has imposed is completely artificial and nonsensical.

The real economic insanity of the GOP's tax bill will be felt in future years. Consider the following.

  • The $1 trillion a year budget deficit will not be the result of cyclical changes that will be reversed when the economy improves. These will be permanent structural deficit increases.
  • The tax hikes that will be needed to resolve the structural imbalance between federal spending and revenues will be impossible for political reasons.
  • Whenever the U.S. economy grows more slowly than expected or there's a downturn, an annual deficit of $2 trillion could easily become the norm.
  • The federal government will have far less ability to respond to economic downturns unless previously unimaginable and politically intolerable deficits, tax increases or spending cuts suddenly become acceptable.
  • Reduce the national debt? As they say in New York, fuhgeddaboudit at least in the next decade.
  • Much more national debt plus rising interest rates means interest on the national debt will be the fastest growing part of the federal budget.
  • Without massive cuts in Social Security, Medicare and the Pentagon, it won't be possible to reduce federal spending enough to do more than tweak the deficit.
  • Washington's ability to invest in anything new that will improve the economy (think infrastructure, education and medical research) will be far less given the already-high deficits.
  • Even though the limits to monetary policy became obvious the past few years, the Federal Reserve will be the major economic policy maker in Washington over the next decade.
In other words, if the GOP tax bill is enacted, Congress and the president this year will give up almost all ability to deal with the U.S. economy for at least a decade even when, as almost certainly will happen, there's a downturn. No one else will be able to fulfill this role.

That's almost a textbook definition of economic insanity.
 

muckraker10021

Superstar *****
BGOL Investor
The Republican tax scam would:

  • Give massive cuts to corporations and a relative handful of the very top most wealthy families, including the elimination of the Estate Tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax
  • Directly set up massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public education, and other vital programs
  • Increase taxes on millions of middle-class tax payers, especially in states like California, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland
  • Increase the overall tax burden over 10 years on 46% of Americans earning under $100,000 a year
  • Incentivize the offshoring of jobs via a specific tax giveaway to American companies with offshore subsidiaries
  • Reduce giving to charities in the US by BILLIONS, through changes in the tax code.
  • Blow a massive hole in our national debt (as much a $1.5 trillion)
If this bill passes it will be disastrous for all Americans except for the wealthiest 1% and corporations.

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This is a unjustified massive tax cut for the .01% that Trump is trying to to get passed with RepubliKlan votes only in the congress despite the the fact that only 30% of Americans support the hideous legislation. Unless an abrupt halt occurs in the 2018 midterm elections the U.S.A. is being turned into a neo-facist country controlled by a few thousand people. A PORNOCRACY

dictionary.jpg


pornocracy /pɔːˈnɒkrəsɪ/
noun
1.Government or Domination of Government by Whores


As former President of the U.S. Jimmy Carter stated in 2016, — he said that the United States is now:

"Just An Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery"

The shit sandwich tax bill that the RepubliKlans are trying to ram through the US Senate is the direct result of slave-bitch republiklan politicos being $$$$$$$$$$$ bribed with Millions$$$$$$ from some of the richest people in America. Look at the chart below. What you see is legalized political bribery; legal due to the SCOTUS citizens united ruling.

Republi_Klan_Tax_Bill_Bribery_2017.jpg



For the very, very, very few of you peeps who still read anything longer than 300 words
READ:
GOP insider Bruce Bartlett:
“The Republican Party needs to die”
Onetime Reagan White House aide Bruce Bartlett on the media’s massive failure and his own republican party’s authoritarianism, demagoguery & deep affinity for fascism; a living death
https://www.salon.com/2017/11/23/gop-insider-bruce-bartlett-the-republican-party-needs-to-die/
 

easy_b

Look into my eyes you are getting sleepy!!!
BGOL Investor
This tax Bill is going to fuck up the economy worst then the housing crisis. Notice the recent run up with the stock market is only benefiting the rich my 401k which is marginally aggressive hasn’t did shit all year
 

easy_b

Look into my eyes you are getting sleepy!!!
BGOL Investor
This tax Bill is going to fuck up the economy worst then the housing crisis. Notice the recent run up with the stock market is only benefiting the rich my 401k which is marginally aggressive hasn’t did shit all year
As soon as Biden got into office my 401(k) jumped pretty high so this is good but we still have issues with housing and now apartments
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
For those who care and pay attention to what is going on beyond a 50 mile radius of their place of residence.

The Trump/GOP Tax cut they did back in December 2017 goes away for the poor, working class and middle class Americans this year.

That means your taxes will be going up and a reduction in your take home pay.

Corporations and the filthy rich takes will continue to remain low because their tax rate is fixed.
 
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