McConnell blames entitlements, not Republican tax cuts for the wealthy, for the deficit increase

We have to defeat Republicans so they can’t cut entitlement programs.

The striking thing is that nearly everyone in the party—from Mitch McConnell to Susan Collins, Paul Ryan to Jim Jordan—bought into the idea that the tax cuts would pay for themselves even as every credible analysis (including conservative think tank studies) said they wouldn’t. https://t.co/bNUF4qlvIm

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 16, 2018

McConnell, 'disturbed' that tax cuts didn't pay for themselves, says we have to cut 'entitlements' https://t.co/ypgRP7t4Sk

— Daily Kos (@dailykos) October 16, 2018

This is the @GOP playbook on Medicare & Social Security – 1) cut taxes to benefit the wealthiest of Americans 2) watch the deficit sharply rise 3) call for drastic cuts to Social Security & Medicare to make up the difference. https://t.co/eJrlJ3MWxM

— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) October 16, 2018

McConnell tells Bloomberg News the rising deficit under Trump (now $779b) is "disturbing" and argued the problem is Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — which he lamented are "difficult, if not impossible" to cut "when you have unified government."

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 16, 2018

As @TheBudgetGuy shows, the deficit and debt are exploding because of the GOP tax cuts. Keep remembering that when everyone who voted for this reckless and misguided bill tries to claim they are fiscal conservatives. They are the opposite. https://t.co/CikfAAhh0h

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) October 16, 2018

Speaker Ryan defended GOP tax cut against forecasters' predictions of higher deficits by insisting, "we're right there in the sweet spot w/economic growth that gives us more revenue"

predictions were right. Ryan was wronghttps://t.co/Z2Sto6Z4O8

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) October 16, 2018

Wondering why McConnell would call for cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid 3 weeks before an election?

To please the billionaire donors who own him. https://t.co/2Lw8MZchXF

— SocialSecurityWorks (@SSWorks) October 16, 2018

update

Senate GOP Leader McConnell reassured skeptics by declaring "we fully anticipate this tax proposal in the end to be revenue neutral for the government, if not a revenue generator"

they anticipated in error https://t.co/Z2Sto6Z4O8

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) October 16, 2018

The deficit is up to $779 billion

Trump/Congressional Republicans will blame social programs for the increase instead of their massive tax cuts. They will try to reduce spending on programs like Social Security and Medicare. It would be better to eliminate many of the tax cuts that only benefitted rich people.

It's official: The US deficit hit $779 billion in Trump's 2nd year, the highest since 2012 (in dollar or % of GDP terms)

Deficit in FY 2017: $665 bn
2016: $585 bn
2015: $439 bn
2014: $485 bn
2013: $680 bn
2012: $1.1 trillion
2011: $1.3 trillionhttps://t.co/Yxo6xqsF84 #debt

— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) October 15, 2018

The cumulative budget deficit grew in fiscal year 2018 https://t.co/lSTFvYkncm via @pgpfoundation

— Peterson Foundation (@pgpfoundation) October 15, 2018

Even on the most basic things, you can count on this administration to lie — an everyone treats it as normal https://t.co/XXELVD4Bdj pic.twitter.com/AdpqbamvDN

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) October 15, 2018

last October: GOP Sen Corker says "If we're adding one penny to the deficit, I’m not going to be for it. greatest threat to our nation"

he was for it

this October: Treasury Dept reports 2018 deficit of $779-B, 17% larger than 2017 and higher than any point in Obama's 2nd term

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) October 15, 2018

You may recall that many Republicans said their tax cuts would "pay for themselves" through increased growth/revenues. In the first nine months, they are not — by any measure. https://t.co/N8H8Gjr3a5

— Jim Tankersley (@jimtankersley) October 15, 2018

This is your monthly reminder that in a booming economy the deficit-to-GDP ratio should not be this high. https://t.co/etGmrZsOYJ

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) October 15, 2018

It's unusual to see deficits rising in this manner outside of a recession pic.twitter.com/u8pikMkj66

— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) October 15, 2018

Per the Treasury Department, revenues and spending were both lower as a share of GDP in FY 2018, but revenues fell more, making the deficit-increase worse pic.twitter.com/iIHc9vmaJY

— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) October 15, 2018

Remember, Kudlow recently said the administration will probably try to make cuts to Medicare & Social Security next year.

Having blown a hole in the deficit with tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, Trump and Republicans will demand deep cuts. Watch your wallets. https://t.co/tLVA3HboIg

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) October 15, 2018

The big-time GOP deficit hawks who were quiet as Trump pushed the national debt past $21 trillion are an interesting side-note to this madness. https://t.co/YnZeSGKvId

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) October 15, 2018

4 Republican policies led to a $779 billion deficit in 2018:

– Bush Tax Cuts: $488 B
– Trump Tax Cuts: $164 B
– Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: $127 B
– Defense increases since 9/11: $156 B

Without tax cuts for the wealthy and endless wars we would've had a $156 billion SURPLUS.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 15, 2018

Trump tax cut has reduced revenues

The Trump tax cut — mainly for corporations and the wealthy — has cut revenues by >1% of GDP. That's significantly more than the cost of the Affordable Care Act, which has insured 20 million people 2/ pic.twitter.com/yGYy2ypi5F

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) October 14, 2018

The cost of climate change

Climate change has already cost the government $350 billion — here’s how much it will cost you https://t.co/HUnhoXB9s0

— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) October 14, 2018

Trump lied about repatriation

The amount of cash that's flowed back to the U.S. after Trump's massive tax law overhaul is just 3.5% of what he predicted https://t.co/PjE8ay3kPE

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 17, 2018

As long as the US tax rate is higher than the tax rate in foreign jurisdictions where multinationals hold their un-repatriated profits, there is still a tax advantage in delaying repatriation. Cf. https://t.co/ANIPhugYi4. TCJA didn’t change that fact https://t.co/JQig0BXx2x

— Daniel Hemel (@DanielJHemel) September 16, 2018

Republicans hindered efforts to end the recession

This is an outstanding column which explains how Republicans hindered efforts to end the recession.

The last paragraph: “So if you want to understand why the great slump that began in 2008 went on so long, blighting so many American lives, the answer is politics. Specifically, policy failed because cynical, bad-faith Republicans were willing to sacrifice millions of jobs rather than let anything good happen to the economy while a Democrat sat in the White House.”

Why we didn't get the recovery we should have https://t.co/iBgGrg6QMJ

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) September 14, 2018

Most voters aren’t feeling the benefits of economic growth

Watch out, GOP: The economy is roaring, but most Americans aren't feeling it https://t.co/YdCPneCnFI

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 13, 2018

Trump lied when he said the GDP was higher than the unemployment rate for the first time in 100 years

You'd be shocked, shocked, shocked to learn that this tweet by @realDonaldTrump is totally false! There are many periods just since WWII that the GDP has been higher than the unemployment rate. pic.twitter.com/XAdr5HTtcY

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) September 10, 2018

This has happened 64 times in the past 70 years.

👉🏻 https://t.co/stTx47H8Zi https://t.co/76gBJsiAW2

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) September 10, 2018

Why does Trump insist on lying when the truth is good enough? https://t.co/yIkYEBbkkL

— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) September 10, 2018

Not only did Obama never say this, but Obama topped 5% in one quarter, so who has the bigger magic wand? https://t.co/RALoEcQquj

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) September 10, 2018

A White House adviser had to correct it and he didn’t know where Trump got his number. Trump could just take credit for the facts but he has to lie about it to make is seem even bigger. He lied about Obama too. That’s pathetic.

Sad!

Worker incomes grew more slowly in counties Trump flipped

Where Trump flipped counties, worker incomes grow more slowly https://t.co/5GcqV9VdaI

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) September 7, 2018

The article states:

“In the 220 counties that flipped from voting for Democratic candidate Barack Obama in 2012 to Republican candidate Donald Trump in 2016, the average worker earned about $46,000 in the 12 months through March, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier. That compared with a 2.6 percent increase to around $56,000 for the country as a whole, according to a Reuters analysis of Labor Department data. “

Trump’s made up economic garbage

This is based on nothing.

The 4.2 GDP growth won’t last but Trump will blame someone else for that.

If Democrats had won in 2016, "instead of having 4.2 up, I believe, honestly, you'd have 4.2 down," Pres. Trump claims. https://t.co/iFxuMLbZmF pic.twitter.com/6kGxXJ0346

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 7, 2018