Helpful Number Crunching
As you’ve likely seen, the now-ubiquitous Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is now floating a 60% to 70% marginal income tax rate on income over $10 million a year. I think this is a great proposal whether or not it ever goes anywhere or whether this particular price point makes sense simply because it opens up the tax policy conversation in ways it’s been closed for a few decades. It is simply crazy that the progressivity of the tax code currently tops out at $500,000 a year incomes.
-Josh Marshall
This is how incrementalism works: By staking out an extreme but rational position and repeating it so it sounds familiar. How do you think Republicans sold the ultimate bullshit line, “We can cut tax rates and it will increase tax revenue!”
Just BTW, even Arthur Laffer never sold his BS with that promise. He simply said that at a certain point raising taxes becomes self-defeating. That point was reached in the Reagan administration if not earlier, but they keep insisting the formula works, failing to realize that when the inputs change, the outputs change as well.
https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/trump-tax-cuts-federal-revenues-deficits/
Keep clapping. The Tinkerbell of tax cut magic can live if you believe in it strong enough, keep cutting, and keep clapping hard enough.
Meanwhile, in the real world…
The sugar rush, house-of-cards-economy that your editorial was so in love with in October of 2018 isn’t looking so sexy in January of 2019.
And anyway, your editorial included a period without the tax cuts in place to fudge the numbers. If you look at figures after the cuts took effect, you’ll see that revenue is down, year over year.
But like I said. Keep clapping. I’m sure Paris Hilton appreciates all your hard work on her behalf.
I presented data, you have bullshit. But keep shoveling it.
How is the economy not looking sexy? Unemployment as low as it has been in 50 years. Wages finally going up. Growth 2.5 – 3% even after the great Obama informed us peons that 2% was the new normal. Manufacturing growth as strong as it has been in decades. Gas prices down and staying down despite a booming economy.
Even mouthbreathers such as yourself are doing better.
Not necessarily, remember. Not necessarily.
Lol.
Your editorial is “data.” That’s a good one.
Speculative analysis with numbers!
It’s cool when the real nuts of an brief article from Investors Business Daily kicks off with the two word sentence “Not necessarily.”
And the last sentence is a question.
Big help, dude. Thanks, a lot.
Gist of the article xyz posted. If you assume that anything good that’s happened in the economy…
1.) Is a results of corporate tax give-aways
2.) Couldn’t have possibly been better in an alternative scenario (counter-factual)
then the tax cuts “worked”.
Friends, we’re likely doomed. Too many rubes.
She hasn’t been savaged for this proposal by fretful Dems who think trickle-down only needs another try to start paying off. It feels like a turning point.
The gist of the article is that tax revenue from individuals supposedly rose a tiny bit to a new high — while corporate tax revenue fell 31%. The increase in the deficit was because of the “spendthrifts in Congress” — who of course are the same people who passed the tax cut.
Xyz, for those who don’t frequent Blue Delaware, has been leaving his spoor all over that site for years.
Troll bans work.