When the Trump tax act passed in 2017 there was no outcry from ordinary conservatives because who couldn’t love a tax cut. That’s a good thing, right? It was supposed to pay for itself by spurring the economy. It didn’t. Nothing happened to move the economy to a better place. Instead, it tilted the playing field even more toward the most wealthy, and boosted the national debt by about $6 trillion in only four years. It’s expected to cost about $1.9 trillion in lost revenues over ten years, and that’s a hefty price to pay for making the wealthy richer while doing nothing for the nation. But no one complained because it was a tax cut. By the way, the minuscule tax cuts for lower and middle income people are due to expire inn 2022. Tax cuts for the wealthy are not.
With this week’s Relief Act, the outcry has started. Ordinary rank and file conservatives are upset with the bill because it will cost $1.9 trillion. It’s filled with waste, they say, and worse, it will burden our grandchildren with debt. It’s the old canard. The relief act is intended to help rebuild a solid foundation under a pandemic weakened economy so that its growth will return more prosperity to more low and middle income working people. Forty years of using government money to underwrite supply side, voodoo Reaganomics have demonstrated time and again that making the wealthy richer never trickles down. It never pays for itself; it only increases national debt without benefiting anyone but the wealthy.
This time, government resources are aimed at creating opportunities for low and middle income workers. It should set in motion more stable economic growth that will, once again, begin to reduce annual deficits and reduce national debt as a percentage of Gross National Product. It’s genuine fiscal responsibility, something ordinary conservatives should love. Will they? They won’t. They’ve been sold too hard for too long by supply siders. I encountered someone a few days ago who insisted this horrible bill will burden generations with debt that will kill the economy and their hope for a good life. She had no memory of the Trump tax cut fiasco, and no understanding of national income, deficits and debt. She only knew government spending, except for the military, was bad, tax cuts in any form were good, and this money was going to be wasted on people who don’t deserve it. It’s a mindset etched in stone.
What’s next, higher taxes? I sure hope so. A much higher marginal rate on super salaries, minimum corporate federal taxes on big corporations that have long avoided paying any, and maybe a small bite out of super wealth. Also, get rid of the cap on FICA. Yes, we need higher taxes. We need tax code reform that will return some degree of level to a playing field long tilted toward the wealthy.