This is how Republicans deliver domestic disaster - By Jennifer Rubin

[DonViejo]

By Jennifer Rubin

Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective.

Republicans are in serious danger of overreaching on domestic policy. Donald Trump won on a populist message of helping the middle- and working-class voters who had not made an easy transition to the 21st-century economy. If Republicans deviate too sharply from that — give handouts to the rich or claw back health-care benefits — they risk an electoral revolt in 2018.

Republicans are kidding themselves if they think they are going to deliver a massive tax cut for the rich that adds several trillion dollars to the debt. Former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers writes that Trump’s plan would “massively favor the top 1 percent of income earners, threaten explosive growth in federal debt, complicate the tax code and do little if anything to spur growth.” Summers continues:

A core principle agreed to by all in 1986 was that tax reform would not reduce the tax burden on high-income taxpayers. Reagan achieved this objective while reducing top marginal rates because he raised capital-gains rates, scaled back investment incentives, increased corporate tax collections, curtailed shelters, and left estate and gift taxes alone. Unfortunately, neither the Trump plan, nor the one put forward by House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), provides for nearly enough base-broadening to finance all the high-end tax-cutting they include.

In his “60 Minutes” interview, Ryan kept insisting all voters care about is “growth.” He missed the message of 2016: The trickle-down Reagan agenda of the 1980s is a political loser. That’s why Trump’s treasury pick, Steven Mnuchin, keeps promising no net tax cut for the rich. They had better stick to that, although it is hard to see how that is possible given what Ryan has articulated:

-snip-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/12/05/domestic-disaster/?utm_term=.ae4a17064443&wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Old Larry should know,

he and Rubin crafted these Tax breaks only to latter fine their idea come back to screw up our Nation big time. But,what the heck,the fix is in and we Slobs will eat Cake.

[gratuitous]

2. Oh Jen, far too late to try to redeem your soul now

Besides, your hero Dick Cheney famously remarked that "deficits don't matter, Reagan proved that." Your core readership couldn't give two shits about the deficit. So long as wealthy people keep more of their money, whatever happens to the federal budget doesn't matter.

You're one of the elves who laid the groundwork for this political disaster that will cruelly damage millions and cause thousands of premature deaths from totally preventable causes. Luxuriate in the bloodbath you have helped bring about.

[underpants]

3. I stopped at "populist message"

Thanks for the background on the writer.

[gratuitous]

6. Truly, truly appalling

Folks like Jennifer Rubin, Megyn Kelly, and David Brooks are now just mystified how the body politic urped up the President Elect, when they have devoted years of their careers to bringing a Donald Trump forward as a viable candidate. I'm disinclined to grant them any quarter until they have made a public mea culpa that acknowledges their role, regret for having done it, and a plan to atone for their transgression. Short of that? Crocodile tears are all I see.

[RussBLib]

4. hey, the rubes are very gullible

I'm sure that Trumpy could come up with some bullshit explanation to quell the beasts. Just blame it on the Democrats. Seems to work every time.

[KatyMan]

5. "reduce the tax burden on high-income taxpayers"

Yes, taxes are a "burden" to people like Trump or Adelson, etc. A real burden.