It appears Trump has taken the Democrats to the 11th hour by making them think the fight over the budget would be all about the border wall. They may have taken the fake and not organized an effective assault on the budget. Dare I say Trump is skillfully navigating Washington’s budget realities?
.. The president is disappointing the Democrats who thought he’d be insistent, with no flexibility. Perhaps the Democrats are being played. Trump may have been bluffing all along to distract the left into thinking this budget battle would be all about the wall.
Tactical Nuclear Option Inside Reconciliation
With dynamic scoring, the Trump tax cuts would sail right through.
.. hats off to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for doing some swamp-draining when he exercised the “nuclear option” to overturn the filibuster for Supreme Court justices. McConnell busted an old 19th century rule, which was never in the Constitution
.. hats off to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for doing some swamp-draining when he exercised the “nuclear option” to overturn the filibuster for Supreme Court justices. McConnell busted an old 19th century rule, which was never in the Constitution
.. the scorekeepers are happy with tax hikes, allegedly to balance the budget. But tax hikes depress economic growth, which reduces GDP. And with a smaller income base, actual revenues decline, simply because most everybody is worse off.
.. only full employment can balance the budget, and tax reduction can pave the way to that employment.”
.. only full employment can balance the budget, and tax reduction can pave the way to that employment.”
.. only full employment can balance the budget, and tax reduction can pave the way to that employment.”
.. The CBO estimates real economic growth over the next ten years will continue to stagnate at a 1.8 percent annual pace.
.. How about a 3 percent growth rate over the next ten years? It’s still below America’s long-run average. But if you slash tax rates, particularly on large and small business, it is reasonable to assume more investment, new companies, profits, productivity, wages, and job creation
.. an economy growing at 3.1 percent per year would generate $4.5 trillion more revenues than an economy growing at 1.8 percent. $4.5 trillion.
..if Mike Enzi, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, decides to use dynamic scoring, the Trump tax-cut proposals would sail through.
The nonreality of the current tax debate
An objective look at the reality of today’s economy, our demographics and our income distribution suggests that the current tax debate is terribly misguided.
.. the increasing tendency of Republicans to engage in reverse Robin Hoodism — paying for huge breaks for the wealthy by raising taxes or cutting spending on the poor — in an economy that generates too much inequality before taxes kick in is unjust and terrible policy
.. For Democrats, it means abandoning the notion that we can have everything we want and send the bill to the top 1 percent, and accepting that the corporate tax system is a hot mess that needs repair.
.. But “get it from the rich” can’t be the extent of every Democratic tax plan.
.. private business will provide optimal levels of public goods and services such as education, transportation, health care and retirement security, global protection (both defense and climate), the justice system, labor and financial market oversight, and anti-poverty and countercyclical policies
.. Since 1970, the federal revenue share of the gross domestic product has averaged 17.4 percent, ranging from around 15 to 20 percent. It’s just under 18 percent today. Congressional Budget Office analysis reveals that meeting the promises of Social Security and Medicare would require about 2.5 percentage points more than that by 2027.
That takes us slightly past the upper bound of the historical record, but the extent of our aging demographics is historically unique.
.. Tax reform .. should be revenue positive.
Trump’s Border Wall: A Tall Order
Installed fencing is scarce in the lower valley, in part because most of the land is either privately owned or is held by wildlife reserves.
.. The Trump administration’s budget proposal in late March included requests for 34 miles of additional fencing in this area: nearly $500 million for 28 miles of a new levee-wall system and another $146 million for 6 miles of other wall construction.