House GOP banking chairman waves off tax cut deficit concerns, pivots to entitlement reform
On Thursday, the congressional tax scorekeepers at the Joint Committee on Taxation projected that the Senate Republican tax plan would add $1 trillion to the federal deficit, using "dynamic scoring" that accounts for economic growth. "This is the standard by which the GOP has insisted that fiscal legislation should be judged" for 40 years now, notes New York Times business reporter Binyamin Appelbaum. It wasn't the result deficit-wary Republicans wanted, and it led to an overnight rewrite of the tax plan — that plus a parliamentary disqualification of a proposed "trigger" to raise taxes if the $1.63 trillion in tax cuts don't pay for themselves.
Earlier Thursday, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) dismissed the "trigger" idea. "The bottom line is, we'll be able to fill any deficit hole with additional revenues, and we basically saw the same during the Reagan tax cuts, frankly the Kennedy tax cut, you can even go all the way back to the Coolidge tax cut," he told Bloomberg's Kevin Cirilli. "We will be able to raise more revenues, and if not, as a Republican, the answer would be less spending, not more taxes."
The national debt is "the greatest crisis that receives almost no attention in Washington," Hensarling added, elaborating on the spending cuts. "What we need to do is, obviously, reform current entitlement programs for future generations. That's a heavy political lift, but so far we haven't found any help from Democrats."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had similarly suggested cutting future Medicare and Social Security benefits as the next step after passing tax cuts. Calvin Coolidge's tax cuts in 1926, it should be noted, "would substantially contribute to the causes of the Great Depression," the precursor to entitlements, Great Depression historian Robert McElvaine wrote in The Washington Post on Thursday. "Yet the plain fact that the trickle-down approach has never worked leaves Republicans unfazed." You can read more at the Post.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The art world and motherhood: the end of a final taboo?
Talking Point Hettie Judah's new touring exhibition offers a 'riveting riposte' to old cliches
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Musk's reliance on China draws rising scrutiny'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biba: the story of a 'legendary emporium'
The Week Recommends Brand's 60th anniversary is being marked with retrospective celebrating the 'iconic shop's cultural importance'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Immigration helped the US economy outpace peers
speed read The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
4-day workweek gets boost from UK study
Speed Read Following a six-month trial, the majority of participating British companies are still using the truncated schedule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sues to block Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery giants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nvidia sees historic stock rise on AI chips success
Speed Read U.S. chipmaker Nvidia achieved the biggest one-day increase in value of any company in history
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published