Tag: GOP supply side economics

‘Not what we expected’: Trump’s tax bill is losing popularity

The following article by Heather Long was posted on the Washington Post website June 29, 2018:

Pres. Trump in the White House Cabinet Room. Credit: Getty, Win McNamee

In a packed arena in Fargo, N.D., this week, President Trump’s most ardent supporters roared with approval when he talked about protecting the U.S. borders, beating the Democrats and “respect for our great, beautiful, wonderful American flag.” When Trump pivoted to the tax bill, his top legislative accomplishment, the crowd clapped — but without the fervor they had shown for many of his other applause lines.

Trump signed the tax cut legislation just before Christmas. Six months later, it is losing popularity. Continue reading “‘Not what we expected’: Trump’s tax bill is losing popularity”

Trump Tax Law Gives Big Banks Enormous Second-Quarter

America’s biggest banks reported earning enormous second-quarter profit margins, largely because of the Trump tax law. Meanwhile, workers’ wages have decreased.

Big banks are the biggest beneficiaries of  the Trump tax law.

  • Bank of America earned a second-quarter profit of $6.78 billion, a 33 percent jump from a year earlier.
  • JPMorgan Chase earned a second-quarter profit of $8.32 billion, an 18 percent jump from a year earlier.
  • Citigroup earned a second-quarter profit of $4.49 billion, a 16 percent jump from a year earlier.

Continue reading “Trump Tax Law Gives Big Banks Enormous Second-Quarter”

A Sweet New Century for America’s Most Privileged

The following article by Sam Pizzigati was posted on the Inequality.org website July 12, 2018:

America’s elected leaders haven’t ignored inequality since 2000. They’ve made it spectacularly worse.

Mitch McConnel, Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Mike Pence celebrating GOP tax cut for the rich bill. Credit: Official White House Photo

The United States ended the 20th century on a roll — for the rich. Between 1973 and 2000, the nation’s most prosperous 1 percent tripled their incomes, after taking inflation into account.

The even more prosperous top tenth of that 1 percent did quite a bit better. Their incomes more than quintupledbetween 1973 and 2000, rising an amazing 414.6 percent.

And what about Americans of less exalted means, those stuck in the nation’s bottom 90 percent? Between 1973 and 2000, their incomes rose all of . . . 2.6 percent. Continue reading “A Sweet New Century for America’s Most Privileged”

The Trump Economy

Trump and the Republican Party sold Americans out. This is Trump’s scheme – to keep America great for the rich and powerful, while making it harder for everyone else to succeed.

Trump fuels corporate greed and will always empower wealthy special interests. Trump’s most consistent policy is to help CEOs and rich corporations while hurting workers and families. Look at all he’s done so far:

  • TRUMP TAX: Trump and Republicans passed a tax bill that gives massive new tax breaks to big corporations and more than 80% of the benefits to the top 1% by the end of the decade. CEOs have used these massive giveaways to further enrich themselves, but not to benefit their workers.

Trump and GOP Still Trying to Sell Their Tax Cut for the Rich as Good for Everyone Else

Credit: Getty/NurPhoto, Bastiaan Slabbers

Trump and the Republican Party sold Americans out. This is Trump’s scheme – to keep America great for the rich and powerful, while making it harder for everyone else to succeed.

Trump fuels corporate greed and will always empower wealthy special interests. Trump’s most consistent policy is to help CEOs and rich corporations while hurting workers and families. Look at all he’s done so far:

  • TRUMP TAX: Trump and Republicans passed a tax bill that gives massive new tax breaks to big corporations and more than 80% of the benefits to the top 1% by the end of the decade. CEOs have used these massive giveaways to further enrich themselves, but not to benefit their workers.

Continue reading “Trump and GOP Still Trying to Sell Their Tax Cut for the Rich as Good for Everyone Else”

Trade war could wipe out gains of GOP tax law, former top Trump economic adviser say

The following article by Jeff Stein was posted on the Washington Post website June 14, 2018:

“It may be revenue positive, it may be revenue negative,” former National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said of the tax reform law. (Washington Post Live)

An escalating trade war could wipe out the benefits of the Republican tax law passed last fall, President Trump’s former top economic adviser said Thursday.

Gary Cohn, who served as Trump’s director of the National Economic Council but left amid a rift over the president’s trade policies, said that retaliatory tariffs between countries could drive up inflation and prompt American consumers to take on more debt, possibly pushing the country into another economic downturn. Continue reading “Trade war could wipe out gains of GOP tax law, former top Trump economic adviser say”

Workers’ wages fall after passage of GOP tax cuts

The following article by Ryan Koronowski was posted on the ThinkProgress website June 13, 2018:

Credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP, Getty Images

The federal government just admitted that workers are earning lower wages since the passage of the GOP tax cuts.

When President Donald Trump was pushing Congress to pass his tax plan last year, which focused on lowering corporate rates and the income taxes of high earners, he pulled out a handy statistic: according to the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, the average family would make $4,000 more under the new plan. Continue reading “Workers’ wages fall after passage of GOP tax cuts”

Republicans’ laser focus on tax reform sparks backlash from midterm voters

The following article by Addy Baird was posted on the ThinkProgress website June 7, 2018:

The issue Republicans see as central to their success is a major part of what activists say drives them to fight against the GOP.

Pres. Trump listens to US Rep. Renacci (L). Credit: Nicholas Kamm, AFP, Getty Images

CLEVELAND, OHIO — When Katie Jones realized Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) was going to be the Republican Senate nominee in her state, she said she felt “sick.”

Jones has been a community activist in Medina County, Ohio since 2011, mainly fighting a proposed pipeline in her community. That same year, Renacci “unfortunately,” as Jones put it, took office as her representative. Continue reading “Republicans’ laser focus on tax reform sparks backlash from midterm voters”

Forget about broad-based pay hikes, executives say

The following article by Steve LeVine was posted on the Axios website May 27, 2018:

Credit: Woodcock88 via Morguefile.com

Very few Americans have enjoyed steadily rising pay beyond inflation over the last couple of decades, a shift from prior years in which the working and middle classes enjoyed broad-based wage gains as the economy expanded.

Why it matters: Now, executives of big U.S. companies suggest that the days of most people getting a pay raise are over, and that they also plan to reduce their work forces further. Continue reading “Forget about broad-based pay hikes, executives say”

Jelly Bellies and big spending: Inside the GOP struggle to sell voters on its tax law

The following article by Erica Werner was posted on the Washington Post website May 10, 2018:

House Speaker Ryan, right, listens to House Majority Leader McCarthy, left. Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Republican leaders and campaign officials are scrambling to do more to sell voters on their signature legislative achievement — a $1.5 trillion tax cut — amid poor polling numbers, rank-and-file members who lack a consistent message and a president who refuses to focus on the issue.

President Trump, when given the chance to tout his party’s tax law, has repeatedly gone off topic, including on Saturday when he traveled to Cleveland for a tax roundtable. While other speakers sang the law’s praises, Trump mixed in remarks on China, North Korea, Syria, immigration, the mayor of Oakland, Calif., Congress’s budget deal, his own poll numbers and the media’s coverage of his presidency. Continue reading “Jelly Bellies and big spending: Inside the GOP struggle to sell voters on its tax law”