The White House has sort of unveiled its “tax reform” plan, releasing a nine-page outline that describes what it wants out of tax legislation. Initial criticism from left-of-center writers asserts that the plan finances tax cuts for wealthy Americans by increasing the federal deficit. But what are the Republicans who will be in charge of selling the plan saying?
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan says the plan is great and a “game changer.” So far, so good!
Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is excited about it and is promoting it via the hashtag/phrase “Keep Yo’ Money” (#KeepYoMoney) which may or may not catch on with the kids. (It won’t.)
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, who helped write the plan, says he “can’t guarantee” that it will not raise taxes on some middle-class families. Hmm.
Axios reports that President Trump himself has said in private that he thinks the plan’s call to raise bottom tax rate from 10 to 12 percent may be a political mistake. Hmm!
Republican North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker admits that many of his colleagues don’t care about the plan’s potential to vastly increase the federal deficit because Obama isn’t president anymore. “[The deficit] is a great talking point when you have an administration that’s Democrat-led. It’s a little different now that Republicans have both houses and the administration,” he told the New York Times.
And Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch says he’s concerned that the legislation eventually derived from the White House’s outline will be the kind of “piece of crap” that he’s gotten “used to around here” (he really said that!), presumably referring to the hastily constructed and highly unpopular Affordable Care Act repeal bills that have failed recently.
So … mixed reviews???
