Tax cuts and pandemic relief measures enacted during the Trump administration added $8.4 trillion to the national debt over the 10-year budget window, according to a study released Wednesday by a top budget watchdog group.
Discretionary spending increases from 2018 and 2019 added $2.1 trillion, Trump’s signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act added $1.9 trillion and the 2020 bipartisan CARES Act for pandemic relief added another $1.9 trillion, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a Washington think tank, found in a study released earlier this month.
“Of the $8.4 trillion President Trump added to the debt, $3.6 trillion came from COVID relief laws and executive orders, $2.5 trillion from tax cut laws, and $2.3 trillion from spending increases, with the remaining executive orders having costs and savings that largely offset each other,” budget experts with the CRFB wrote in a summary of the report.
The only significant deficit reduction enacted by the Trump administration noted in the report was due to tariffs levied on a variety of imported goods, which are calculated to have brought in $445 billion over 10 years.
For the record, government debt isn’t bad. What is bad, is how that debt is used. If you use it to fund productivity boosting infrastructure projects, then it pays for itself. If you use it to invest in successful companies in return for shares then it pays for itself… unlike when Tesla got a $400 million gov. loan and gave nothing in return - which meant tax payers had to take the hit when Solyndra (which got money from the same scheme) bankrupted itself into the toilet, tax payers took all the risk and got shafted both when a company failed and when one succeeded.
The Norwegian government, for example, owns 30% of the domestic stock market. One of many strategies the US government should probably be looking to if they want a healthier way to invest in companies.
Using debt to back tax cuts on the other hand, like Trump did according to this article, is an awful strategy.
Tax payers took no risk, taking risk implies having an option. Tax payers were forcibly handed the debt burden with no vote. American citizens are the ones who pay the price of the failures of the wealthy. American workers who keep our society functioning are robbed on a daily basis, we should have never taxed income.
I’d say adding 8.4 trillion to the debt is pretty freaking awful. That’s 24% of today’s national debt.
You clearly either didn’t read or didn’t understand the comment you’re replying to.
Let me dumb it down for you some more
A government incurring debt isn’t inherently bad. That’s a (hypocritical) conservative talking point.
A government incurring debt to pay for tax cuts for the rich like Trump did is extremely bad and stupid.
A government incurring debt isn’t inherently bad, but I have a hard time imagining a sustainable and effective way to rake up an 8.4 trillion debt in four years.
In a word: infrastructure. In two words for accuracy: PUBLIC infrastructure.
I’m all for massive public infrastructure spending, but I’d rather tax billionaires and corporations than incur trillions in debt.
Of course, I’d still rather be in debt for infrastructure spending than for tax cuts.
Taxes don’t fund spending tho. Taxing billionaires should be about just taking money away from them.
Taxes actually have two purposes, guaranteeing money circulates and is legitimate, and removing money from the economy. That’s it basically. With the caveat that local taxes do fund spending many times, like for school budgets etc.
But all federal spending is completely decoupled from taxes. The government just “prints” the money. They actually digitally credit certain accounts with the money, but it’s the same shit.
Like if the government passes a budget of 1 billion for infrastructure, they will literally just change some numbers in “key strategic accounts”, like big banks, government agencies, ministries etc. That money doesn’t come from anywhere, it’s literally created out of thin air.
And if all that new money is absorbed by productive forces, there is 0 inflation. Only if the money is absorbed by unproductive forces that inflation happens. Like the money just going to rich people’s pockets, there will be inflation. Cause they will just buy more and more assets, without any new assets being created by the “new money”. And well, more demand for the same amount of goods is inflation.
Taxes don’t fund spending tho
What kinda nonsense claim is that?? Of COURSE they do!
Taxes (…) removing money from the economy.
More absolute nonsense. Taxes are paying your part to live in a civilized society. Public programs, which are PART of the overall economy, are an example of what taxes do.
all federal spending is completely decoupled from taxes.
Of the dozens of times you were dropped on your head as a child, how many would you say were intentional?
That money doesn’t come from anywhere, it’s literally created out of thin air.
Like 99% of all money
And if all that new money is absorbed by productive forces, there is 0 inflation. Only if the money is absorbed by unproductive forces that inflation happens
That’s not how money, absorption, production or inflation works
more demand for the same amount of goods is inflation.
That’s not it either. The majority of inflation is greedflation.
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Trump is literally saying he wants to be a dictator and has the right to shoot anyone he wants.
Biden is freeing people who were arrested for pot.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/06/politics/marijuana-decriminalization-white-house-joe-biden/index.html
Stop pretending both sides are the same.
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Those 100s of options had three years since the last election to mount candidates. I’m a well informed voter and I can’t name any of them. You can pretend that there are options besides the GOP and the Dems, but you’d only be fooling yourself.
Trump is poison and Biden is the only other option. Deal with it.
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I wish I had the privilege of being rich enough to not care about medical bills, or to be able to move if my state enacts terrible laws.
Those of us who have to work daily and live in the real world know that half a loaf is a lot better than being kicked in the teeth by Trump.
Back in the day, Frederick Douglas worked for candidate who couldn’t promise to free the slaves. I guess you consider him to be a sellout.
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Speaking as a non-American who is forced to deal with your shit, the morally correct thing to do is to keep that fascist asshole out of power. Hold your nose if you have to, but vote for Biden. Have some fucking perspective. You are unbelievable.
