The great Republican deficit swindle

Democrats keep getting rolled on the national debt

Rolling out the green carpet.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Image courtesy iStock)

Republicans are planning a push for tax "reform" — which predictably consists almost entirely of huge tax cuts for the rich. They're going to sell them with what is becoming the standard Republican tactic: transparent deception. President Trump's economic adviser Gary Cohn loves to say that the tax cuts are going to pay for themselves with supercharged growth, and that rich people won't be getting a cut — but, in fact, the top 1 percent of incomes will claim roughly four-fifths of the benefits by 2027.

"A ceaseless tide of duplicity" is basically the Trump administration motto. But at least we can get a clear picture now of the great Republican deficit swindle. For the entire Obama presidency, the Republican Party constantly bleated like lost baby goats over the deficit. "We can't afford it," was the chanted Republican mantra that confronted the prospect of any new social program.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.