Today, April 26, 2017, Trump announced the outlines of his proposal for the latest trillion dollar business tax cuts that have been a hallmark of US neoliberal policies since 1978. Trump’s tax cuts are the policy centerpiece of his regime. They are what he and the entire US capitalist class have agreed on, unlike some of Trump’s ‘right wing populism’ proposals on which he ran during the 2016 elections. Those right wing populist proposals are now being swept off the table by Trump himself, as he retreats quickly during his first 100 days from those popular appeals. (Another article and analysis coming on that shortly).
The real essence of Trump policy is massive tax cuts, across the board deregulation, and renegotiating of free trade deals so US business gets a bigger cut from its global capitalist competitors as the global trade pie continues to grow more slowly and shrink in the period ahead. All the rest populist appeals–the wall, create jobs in the US, NATO, Russia, Syria, China, immigration, Obamacare repeal, etc. are secondary and will be removed as policy obstacles to enable the tax cuts, deregulation, and free trade deal renegotiations.
In terms of tax cutting, the Trump proposals are the initial down payment of his proposed $6 trillion more in tax reduction, almost all of which accrue to business, corporations and investors.
These proposals represent Trump as part of the Neoliberal tradition in the US going back to 1978-80.
Reagan proposed a $792 billion tax cut in 1982. More tax cuts followed in 1986. Clinton cut taxes in 1997-98. George W. Bush cut taxes by $3.4 trillion in his first term, 80% of which accrued to businesses and the wealthiest households. He added another $350 billion in tax cuts for multinational corporations and another $100 billion for energy companies in 2005-06, and another $180 billion in 2008.
Obama was an even bigger tax cutter than Bush. His 2009 fiscal stimulus bill provided $300 billion in tax cuts, which he increased by $800 billion in late 2010 as recovery faltered. He then extended Bush’s tax cuts by two more years, worth another $450 billion. Obama cut a deal with Republicans in late 2012 called the ‘fiscal cliff’ compromise, which extended the Bush tax cuts another 10 years at a cost of $5 trillion.
So Bush’s tax cuts amounted to more than $4 trillion and Obama’s more than $6 trillion. More than $10 trillion in tax cuts, in other words, under Bush and Obama alone, before Trump begins his latest round of tax giveaways to business, investors and corporations.
A good deal of the income inequality in America is due to the massive tax shifting for more than three decades. So is the rise of the US government debt from $4 trillion in 2000 to more than $19 trillion today. Studies show that collapsing tax revenue is responsible for 60% of the deficits and debt in the US. (For another detailed look at that, see my piece ‘The Eight Real Causes of Deficits and the Debt’, on this blog).
The Trump tax proposals are a repeat and acceleration of the Bush tax cuts, which Obama extended, but even more aggressive in handouts to the rich and their corporations than provided by Bush-Obama.
For my analysis of the Tax Shift before 2000 and Bush-Obama-Trump, see my website, where I’ve uploaded chapter 2 from my 2005 book,’The War at Home: The Corporate Offensive from Reagan to Bush’. It is available on the website at:
http://www.kyklosproductions.com/articles.html
The ‘War At Home’ book documents the various policies, including tax policies, by which $1 trillion a year, every year, up to 2005, was being shifted from working and middle class incomes to capital incomes–a centerpiece of Neoliberal policies since 1978. The book is available from this blog or the website for discount at $10, or on Amazon.
It looks like a blatant money grab. I appreciate the chronology of tax reductions. The EPI.org blog had a piece today, http://www.epi.org/blog/trumps-opening-bid-for-tax-reform-is-more-tax-cuts-and-loopholes-for-the-rich/ ===
The Tax Policy Center lays out their critique saying it creates an additional $4 trillion in debt over 10 years. (Maybe it’s $6 trillion) The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities claims that social benefit programs will be slashed by 40%, and 62% of the tax cuts will come out of these programs. Aside from the EPI source, I recommend an interview with professor Wm. Lazonick at the Institute for New Economic Thinking, he talks about the corporate shift in retained earnings away from the corporation and the workers to strictly shareholders — about 91% of corporate profits from the S&P 500 corporations over a 10 year period go to dividends and stock buybacks. And not much to workers to keep up consumer strength, nor to R&D to keep the corporations competitive.
What we are watching is the looting of America by the richest.
The Lazonick talk at INET: https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/videos/the-rise-and-fall-of-american-middle-class
Trump’s $6 Trillion Corporate-Investor Tax Cut Emergesby jackrasmus
REGARDING: These proposals represent Trump as part of the Neoliberal tradition in the US going back to 1978-80. RESPONSE: Actually, let’s begin in 1974 when ERISA was passed. Wall Street was behind ERISA. Circa 1970, the average volume on the NYSE was less than 5,000,000 shares/day. Today, it’s around 3 BILLION shares/day. That’s an increase of 600 times.
REGARDING: Reagan proposed a $792 billion tax cut in 1982. RESPONSE: Most seem to believe the Reagan tax cuts were the #1 stimulus for our economics. FALSE. The #1 stimulus, by far, was when a 6’7” Chair of the Fed took his large foot off the economy.
REGARDING: More tax cuts followed in 1986. RESPONSE: An absolute fraud upon the middle class (bottom 95%). The centerpiece was the cut in the top rate from 50% to 28%, giving, e.g., a tax cut of $220 million on a billion of income. Oh, but just a $220,000 on someone making $1,000,000. This was more of a shift of wealth from the middle class to the top 0.01%.
REGARDING: George W. Bush cut taxes by $3.4 trillion in his first term, 80% of which accrued to businesses and the wealthiest households. He added another $350 billion in tax cuts for multinational corporations and another $100 billion for energy companies in 2005-06, and another $180 billion in 2008. RESPONSE: The Bush tax cuts were a FRAUD caused by Alan Greenspan’s January 25, 2001, testimony before the Senate’s Committee on the Budget, during which he claimed his biggest fear was that he projected the national debt would be paid during the next ten years due to burgeoning federal surpluses. His fear was that we would wind up buying businesses and competing against private enterprises. LOL x 373,011.
REGARDING: Obama was an even bigger tax cutter than Bush. His 2009 fiscal stimulus bill provided $300 billion in tax cuts, which he increased by $800 billion in late 2010 as recovery faltered. He then extended Bush’s tax cuts by two more years, worth another $450 billion. Obama cut a deal with Republicans in late 2012 called the ‘fiscal cliff’ compromise, which extended the Bush tax cuts another 10 years at a cost of $5 trillion.
RESPONSE: Another Obama lie. As he was running against Ms. Clinton, he, strongly, claimed he was going to reverse the Bush tax cuts. He had both Houses and did not follow through.
REGARDING: A good deal of the income inequality in America is due to the massive tax shifting for more than three decades. RESPONSE: Spot on!!
REGARDING: The Trump tax proposals are a repeat and acceleration of the Bush tax cuts, which Obama extended, but even more aggressive in handouts to the rich and their corporations than provided by Bush-Obama. RESPONSE: Oops!! Once again…, spot on!!!
SOLUTION TO CREATE >4% GDP and 4-6 million jobs/year, see:
http://writerbeat.com/articles/16200-EQUITABLE-TAX-RECONFIGURATION-PLUS-
Thank you,
mz
mikiesmoky@aol.com
04/26/2017
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