All this about a plan that is being crafted in secret and is unknown to the general public? And has been delayed in being released to the public?

I'll save millions! I'm guessing that Donald wants a plan that favors the kind of people Donald plays golf with.

Of course Marty is correct in that we'll end up with a larger deficit - but it's not the fault of the politicians. In the long run they'll be out of office/dead. The fault is with the voters. This board is a fine example. All these "small government conservatives" are all Democrats now. They're all for deficit spending that will "spur" the economy. "The growth will be greater than the deficit being created!" Every administration says that but some people continue to believe it.

Once you get in power your prospective changes. Mick Mulvaney was once a deficit hawk, Freedom Caucus and all that. Now he's out trying to sell a bill of goods that many in Congress ain't buying.

---

(11-01-2017, 10:55 AM)MalabarJag Wrote:

(11-01-2017, 07:47 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: I

I think the idea is that the congress doesn't want to increase the deficit.  So they want to pair a tax cut with either a spending cut or a new tax somewhere else.  And since apparently no politician can bring them self to cut spending, they're left with taxing savings.  Ultimately, that will also fail and they will bow to pressure from the voters and simply increase the deficit.   Then they'll claim the increased economic activity will bring in more tax revenue and close the gap between receipts and expenditures.  In the long run, the debt will increase to the point where we have a financial crisis and we'll wind up like Greece.  

We're doomed, because the politicians don't have the guts to tell us the truth about our mounting debt, and even if they did, the public wouldn't have the courage to man up and deal with a very depressing and painful reality.  

Tax cuts!  Tax cuts!  Don't worry about the future!  We're gonna party like it's 1929!

Cutting or taxing 401K contributions is a non-starter. The difference is more likely to be made up by ending deductions for state and local taxes. This mostly affects high-income people in high-tax states. For those who itemize* and pay a lot of state tax, there would be a tax increase.

But yes, by the time the dust settles the final bill will probably be a tax cut with no offsetting source of revenue and no (or insignificant) spending cuts. Politicians like to take the easy way out.



*  30% now and it should be much smaller with the standard deduction doubling

I think you're correct. Donald seems to want a HUGE tax cut. That's what buys votes.

---