The tax cut fairy goes AWOL (as always)


This week we saw the same dreary scenario played out again. The big tax cuts for business and the wealthy were passed on the claim that this would result in both groups investing more in business, which would result in huge growth in employment and wages, thus increasing tax revenues that would offset the cost of the cuts and thus make it budget neutral

Of course this was bogus from the get-go and everyone knew it. What actually happened was what has happened before. The business beneficiaries of the tax cuts used it to buy back stock and pay increased dividends which enriched the wealthy even more, and the individual beneficiaries took the money and ran, either to their tax shelters or to their yacht dealers. As a result, the deficit ballooned to $779 billion.

The next step was also drearily predictable. Donald Trump asked all the agencies of government to cut spending by 5% while exempting the military. His budget director also blames the deficits on spending on earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare though neither was responsible for the ballooning deficits.

So now money is going to be taken away fro pretty much everyone other than the wealthy to pay for a ballooning deficit that was caused by giving away money to the wealthy.

That’s trickle down economics, folks!

Comments

  1. suttkus says

    Why is it called “trickle down” economics when the money just ends being thrown to the top? Shouldn’t we call it throw-up economics?

  2. lanir says

    suttkus: Pukenomics probably isn’t a term that would catch on.

    Economies actually work in the opposite direction. If you give money to poor or middle class people it quickly finds it’s way into the economy as they will spend the new windfall. If you give it to rich people it will be removed from the economy and land in savings or stock as soon as possible.

    I think part of how they keep getting away with all this is by deliberately conflating economies with savings. What’s good for your savings is to stash money away for a rainy day and spend frugally. What’s good for an economy is a high rate of monetary circulation. The two are somewhat opposed to each other.

  3. johnson catman says

    Why is it called “trickle down” economics when the money just ends being thrown to the top?

    Because the rich piss on everyone, and the stream trickles down to wet every part of you with their waste.

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