The GOP’s pipe dream of radical tax cuts

[applegrove]

The GOP’s pipe dream of radical tax cuts

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gops-pipe-dream-of-radical-tax-cuts/2015/11/14/27575b84-8a35-11e5-be39-0034bb576eee_story.html

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TO GRASP the utter fiscal irresponsibility of the Republican presidential campaign so far, consider these statistical realities, from the Congressional Budget Office.

Under current law (a relatively optimistic policy assumption), the U.S. government is on course for high and rising annual budget deficits after 2018, leading to national debt equal to 103 percent of economic output by 2040. In that year, four of every five federal dollars spent would go to entitlements and interest, with one left over for every other need, including defense. Avoiding this scenario, merely to the extent of keeping the debt at today’s already historically high level (74 percent of output), would require a downward adjustment in the projected debt accumulation of 1.1 percent of economic output each year for the next quarter-century. That’s the equivalent of 5.5 percent less spending in each of those years, or 6 percent more taxes.

In the face of these realities, the major GOP candidates are proposing nothing like such a huge cut in spending — while they are proposing tax plans that would slash revenue .

Not surprisingly, businessman Donald Trump’s plan is the most implausible, costing the treasury $10.1 trillion over a decade, according to the Tax Foundation. Sen. Marco Rubio’s (Fla.) would cost $2.4 trillion; former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s plan, $1.6 trillion; and Sen. Ted Cruz’s (Tex.), $768 billion. (And yes, the Tax Foundation did account for the higher growth these cuts would supposedly encourage, meaning that the estimates are probably on the low side.) Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is calling for a flat tax, as is former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina, but their plans have been too sketchy to “score” so far. And don’t get us started about the fact that upper-income people would benefit most from each of these plans.





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[COLGATE4]

1. But....but....but.... huge tax cuts will generate

huge increases in revenue, so not to worry. Just ask the Kansans how well it works.