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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFORBES: GOP Tax Bill Is The End Of All Economic Sanity In Washington
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-butter economic 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. . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stancollender/2017/11/19/gop-tax-bill-is-the-end-of-all-economic-sanity-in-washington/#4a2f709977ef
panader0
(25,816 posts)gratuitous
(82,849 posts)They just hate America sooooo much.
thesquanderer
(11,990 posts)It is a contributor piece on their web site, and as it says at the link, "Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own."
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)One can probably begin to safely assume that 'Forbes' is supportive of these missives at this point.
They're not 'printing' these articles NOW .. so that 5-10 years from now they can show that ... the stuff that other people (read: libtards) wrote (but THEY published) ... was totally wrong ... cause they're confident the economy will be booming, and people/readers will understand the distinction at that time between 'Forbes' and 'Contributors'.
It's a lot more logical IMHO to assume 'Forbes' actually feels these articles are accurate and important, otherwise they'd just skip 'em.
senaca
(209 posts)Did you see the Seattle Times article "U.S. Military Readies Overhaul of Retirement System"? "The new system still offers a pension, but one calculated using a formula that reduces it by 20 percent."
That and a new blended system like civilian investment accounts.
What does that do to those who have already retired from the military and those who are close to serving their twenty years who have been promised the full pension and benefits upon retiring?
I'd post the article but still am not savvy enough to link it.
doc03
(35,363 posts)possible to reduce Federal spending enough to more than tweak the deficit". "That's almost a textbook definition of economic insanity".
This is from Forbes of all places!
Tom Rinaldo
(22,913 posts)RainCaster
(10,911 posts)WTF?
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)Everything and everyone will be sacrificed to achieve that end. redumbliCONs must be stopped, then removed from office.
lark
(23,147 posts)It's about taking available money and moving it all to the rich from the pockets of the middle class and poor. 'they are stealing our Medicare and Medicaid to stash in their banks, buy more elections and turn us permanently into an oligarchy. No more free education, no government assistance with healthcare, even for the very elderly, old people will lbe pushed out of nursing homes with no place to go and no one to help, no labor laws, including children will have to work, ending rape and assault laws because as long as someone is rw white and male, they are allowed. drumpf is actively trying to destroy the country by following Putins commands and he's such an ignoramus he thinks he will greatly profit when it's much more likely Putin will destroy him after we are a dictatorship too to create even more chaos here.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)day to day normalization of everything repubs are doing...
THAT is the big picture.
IT IS INTENTIONAL...
PatrickforO
(14,586 posts)I'm sick to death of this imbalance in wealth and income. It's gotten worse, and now needs to be reversed. We've been squeezed too much.
That's it in a nutshell. The Ultra rich right wing want us to become an Oligarchy just like Russia. I wish more people could see this. The right has been very effective at throwing up distractions to divert attention from what they are trying to do.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)People don't understand. The republicans want to destroy the economy for the 99% and let their 1% masters reap the benefits.
Social Security/medicaid/Medicare/ACA are the biggest targets.
Hamlette
(15,412 posts)We had inflation under Carter. We had what was for us a large government contract ($175K per year) we got them to pay it all at the beginning of the year and put most of it in a simple savings account making 18% interest. Yep. Eighteen percent.
We can "afford" our current national debt because the interest rate is basically insignificant but if it goes up to 18%, the interest alone will be 20% of the federal budget. Since SS is another 20%, the military is 20% and medical is 20%, only one in $5 you pay in taxes is left to pay everything else. Courts, government, FBI, roads, everything else. And it will be squeezed even more.
To say nothing of retirees who are trying to live on a fixed income. The value of any pension you may receive will decline.
And we'll leave a bigger and bigger debt to our children and grandchildren to pay off. No danger they will call us the greatest generation!
dalton99a
(81,568 posts)mountain grammy
(26,644 posts)PatrickforO
(14,586 posts)Forbes is a heavy hitter for these Republican business types, and this article had enough weight that I actually called my senators about it. One, a Dem, is of course opposed and will fight it tooth and nail to the bitter end.
The other, a Republican, as he always does when the GOP is about to vote on something stupid and wildly unpopular, did not answer his phones, but I left a message. I'm also writing him an email.
As always, I urge you to keep the pressure up on your own Representatives and Senators, and let them all know how we, the people who actually vote them into office, oppose this piece of crap legislation. Rich people and corporations don't need tax cuts right now, and we don't need to have programs that we depend on adversely affected by cuts. To heck with the donors - these people need to start looking after OUR interests.
Glorfindel
(9,733 posts)bucolic_frolic
(43,258 posts)no one listens. Stimulating a robust economy is inflationary in the extreme.
riverbendviewgal
(4,253 posts)That the rich want to bankrupt te USA so they get buy all the land and services at fire sale prices.
Mr. Sparkle
(2,940 posts)its about time fiscal conservatives were called out for what they actually are , frauds.
Response to CousinIT (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
FakeNoose
(32,722 posts)And before the Tea Party, it was the end-game for the group behind Ronald Reagan.
We're not seeing anything new in the right-wing political philosophy, it's just a shocking, naked greed that was never so blatant as right now. They've hijacked the Republican Party, engineered the gerrymandering in probably 40 of our 50 states, and triumphed in voter suppression and electronic voter machine hacking wherever they can.
Guys, this has been going on for at least 35 years, and probably longer. Ronald Reagan came in in 1980 and it's been all downhill for the American people since then. The fans of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News have been totally duped, and now they're part of the problem.
When Forbes Magazine tells its readers what a mistake this "tax reform" bill is for our economy, do you think anyone is even listening? Oh hell no, nobody believes we could ever go back to the 1930's again, but that's exactly where we're headed. It's THAT BAD!
The only full employment we'll ever see will be the full employment of robots. People will be expendable at that point. Many of us already are, according to the one-percenters.
CrispyQ
(36,502 posts)This insane tax 'policy' is brought to you by the same people who think you can renovate your kitchen or buy a car with the $1000 annual tax cut that you'll receive. The GOP doesn't want less government; it wants less government for you, while they hijack it to serve them.
pbmus
(12,422 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,624 posts)SleeplessinSoCal
(9,135 posts)We keep muddying the waters and grasping at straws rather than pointing out the outright robbery of everyone but billionaires in this tax bill.
lindysalsagal
(20,726 posts)I think they see that as the only way to rip everyone off all at once without going to jail.
They see those bail-outs as their only real successes.
This time, can they really claim ignorance?
Stonepounder
(4,033 posts)Every single time the wealth disparity gets too great, there has been a revolution. Sometimes basically bloodless, like Britain between the wars, when the confiscatory taxes were imposed on the grand estates. But usually very bloody, like France and Russia, when the first to be killed are the heads of government and the oligarchs.
world wide wally
(21,754 posts)The rest of the GOP puppets just think they will be rewarded by their donors.
The very last thing they give a shit about is the American people or the country as a whole.
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)geretogo
(1,281 posts)SS and Medicare , and when democrats get in to refund Medicare and SS the Rethugs
scream DEFICIT , you can't raise taxes . When millions are are on the streets begging for
food the civilized world will see the us for the filthy corrupt oligarchy that we are .