Whatever else you might say about Donald Trump, give him this much: He understands that America’s taxes are, as Jimmy McMillan said about New York rent, “too damn high.”
It’s killing the economy. And jobs.
In Monday’s speech laying out his economic vision, the billionaire businessman called for “the biggest tax revolution since the Reagan tax reform.”
He vowed to slash income taxes wholesale, cut the nation’s top corporate tax rate (now among the highest in the world among industrialized nations) by more than half, and end the death tax, to boot. He’d also simplify the tax code. (Hallelujah!)
More details to come, he promised, and it’ll be interesting to see how he pays for it all. But Trump’s impulse to roll back taxes to jump-start the economy is hopeful news.
Indeed, it’s something both Democrats and Republicans can support — or should, anyway.
Why? Consider: Conservatives believe taxes throttle growth, because they weaken the incentive to invest. Why put your money (and your back) into a risky endeavor if the government’s going to come and seize a big chunk of any profits you make? No investment means no jobs.
Liberals, of course, love taxes. And Hillary Clinton is staking much of her candidacy on a vow to raise them, at least on wealthier folks.
But liberals also think deficits stir demand and boost the economy; they just like to create those deficits with spending rather than tax cuts. President Obama, recall, raised taxes — but jacked up spending more, doubling the debt.
So even if Trump can’t pay for his tax cuts by trimming outlays (or with more revenue from a juiced-up economy), liberals should be fine with any deficits that result.
Truth is, the less government interferes with the economy, the better. So let’s hope Trump resists any urge to binge.
Still, it’s refreshing to see at least one candidate emerge as a tax hawk. America’s been trapped in an economic hole for eight years. We need something to pull us out.