Silence from fiscal conservatives as Trump piles up federal deficit

To The Daily Sun,

In times of war, financial calamity, or natural disasters, deficit spending is the right thing to do.

First things first. One of the main complaints from conservatives about spending is that liberals don’t know how to turn off the Keynesian spigot when tough times pass. The tough times passed under the Obama administration and wild spending and revenue cutting continues. Do you remember when conservatives went on daily jeremiads about how immoral deficit spending and increasing the national debt was? Certain Sun writers bemoaned the terrible burdens we will leave our kids and grandkids. Just Google “Don Ewing Obama debt deficits” or Tony Boutin or Russ Wiles or Marc Abear. Mr. Wiles wrote in his 9-24-2010 letter, “Mama Grizzlies have sprung into action upon hearing that their cubs are going to be saddled with staggering debt that will afford them less opportunity to enjoy the kind of lifestyle that their parents and grandparents have been enjoying.” And now there is silence from these alleged fiscal conservatives as Trump piles up our federal deficit and national debt thinking we’ll just grow our way out. They all have fallen for trickle-down fables again and have completely forgotten their ‘principles’ because it is not a Democrat in the White House.

The federal deficit jumped 17% to $779 Billion for the fiscal year that just ended on September 30. That is the highest in 6 years. It is expected to top a trillion dollars in the fiscal year 2019 which started October 1 because of the tax cut. The $1.5 trillion tax cut is expected to add hundreds of billions to the National Debt. Government revenue is down. Corporate tax collections fell by 31% which has forced the government to borrow money which increases the national debt. Now Mitch McConnel wants to go after Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid so we can afford those tax cuts for corporations, the wealthy, and of course, more military spending.

According to Politifact, economist Gary Burtless of the Brookings Institute agreed with their own findings: “job growth since December 2017 does not look exceptional compared with job growth throughout the current economic expansion.” Corporations didn’t pass much of their new savings on to workers but bought back stock, which increases its value, making the shareholders the big winners. Goldman Sachs has estimated S&P 500 firms will return $1.2 trillion to shareholders in 2018. According to the Tax Policy Center, if you make $20K, you’ll save $50 a year or three-tenths of one percent! Wow! If you make $30K, you’ll save $180! $40K? You’ll save a whopping $360 or half a paycheck! Half a million to a million? You’d save $21,240 or a 4.6 percent savings. The multi-millionaire will save an average of $69,660. Those making $500K to a million get a tax break that is over 15 times the rate of those making $20K. Unknown to conservatives, it’s a strong middle class with buying power that sustains a strong economy.

Remember that the three worst stock market crashes were under GOP presidents who believed tax cuts for corporations and the rich would make us more prosperous. It never has. And now we are having stock market shocks under Trump. Consider the March shock when Trump caused the stock market to fall 1150 points. That wiped out 4.7%, or about $1.4 trillion, of the invested capital of workers, retirees, businesses and investors. As MoneyMorning.com noted last week, “The Dow’s sudden 5% plunge over the last week has investors on edge about whether this is the start of a 2018 stock market crash.” Money Morning also notes “trouble has been brewing on the horizon. A growing trade war with China is threatening economic growth, the Fed is hiking interest rates, and stock valuations are near record levels. The S&P 500’s CAPE ratio is higher than before the 1929 stock market crash and the 2008 financial crisis.” And be aware that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 worsened the Great Depression. Trade wars never work.

Vote Democrat! Drain the Superfund site!

James Veverka

Tilton