The current tax reform debate makes one wonder if Democrats have been imbibing a new drink in The Swamp. It’s called “Stupid on the Rocks,” and it’s likely being served at the Old Ebbitt Grill during Happy Hour in Washington to anyone with a “D” after their name and before their state affiliation. 
This is the only logical explanation for the left’s inability to understand even the most rudimentary elements of the current tax reform legislation that passed the Senate and is likely to become law in relatively short order. How is it that Democrats are unable to connect the dots between tax cuts for businesses and the obvious benefit this will have on workers? When the corporate sector is robust more people are hired. We’re talking more jobs here people. This is Econ 101. More jobs mean more money in the pockets of employees. Surely the Democrats must have some of the working class still amongst them? Perhaps it’s best not to go there.
Don’t Democrats Own Businesses too?
Next question: Is every business – large and small – owned by Republicans in America? Don’t Democrats own businesses too? Moreover, don’t Republicans hire Democrats and vice versa? Is there some sort of political litmus test that prohibits Democrats from ever being hired by small businesses and corporations? Unions have long been a staunch democratic voting bloc. Don’t unions work for at least some corporations? Or are they all public unions these days? The Teamsters come to mind, and they are 1.4 million strong. The Teamsters have to work for somebody. And if the companies they work for hire more people, don’t they benefit?
Dems Cry Deficit
When did the Democrats decide to make the deficit one of their talking points? The deficit has never been a hot-button issue for the democratic party. Truth be known, Republicans give the debt lip service but are just as culpable as their friends across the aisle for the country being in arrears of $20,564,167,371,736.70 (as of this writing). Democratic and Republican presidents have done their fair share of spilling red ink. If you want to get down into the weeds, deficit spending in the U.S. goes as far back as Alexander Hamilton. The Fed owing money is not recent or new.
But this week we were treated to the shrill democratic voices of Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) lachrymose about the deficit. “Make no mistake,” said Pelosi, “After Republicans’ tax plan blows a multi-trillion-dollar hole in the deficit they will sharpen their knives for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and vital job-creating investments for middle class families across America. ” Where was this hue and cry when Mr. Obama doubled the national debt in just eight years? And if the GOP touched the third-rail of entitlements they’d be skinned alive. This is just Pelosi bloviating after one too many.
Indeed, Democrats must be bending the elbow with the folks over at the Congressional Budget Office. They estimate that tax reform will raise the deficit $1.7 trillion. However, this is a dicey speculation at best. Head on over the track and your odds would be better than betting that the CBO numbers are accurate. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board agrees:
“… CBO has typically underestimated the growth and revenue feedback from tax cuts. A classic example is the 2003 cut in the tax rate on capital gains. Dan Clifton of Strategas Research notes that in January 2004, eight months after the tax cut passed, CBO predicted $215 billion in capital-gains revenue through 2007. The actual figure? $377 billion.”
It could be said the CBO is throwing darts at pie charts — but all of a sudden, the Democrats have decided to join the game. (Darts, by the way, pair nicely with a glass of “Stupid on the Rocks.”) President Trump is banking on economic growth of 3% to counter the debt projections and if history tells us anything about tax cuts, it is that economic growth can and does occur when the tax burden is eased.
Dems Dirty Little Secret
Could there, perchance, be another reason the Democrats are crying foul over tax reform? Look no further than the elimination of state and local tax deductions. If the folks in these heavily taxed blue states can’t write off these tax bills as deductions, they might want to move to another state with lower taxes.
In The Hill, author Liz Peek points out, “The 10 states that ladle the biggest tax burdens on their residents are (in order) New York, Hawaii, Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Illinois, and California. Every single one of those states voted for Hillary Clinton.” These folks who are paying a big chunk of their hard-earned cash to state and local coffers may want to shuffle off – but it won’t be to Buffalo.
So now we get down to the fact of the matter. The democratic response to this tax reform legislation has little to do with the middle class or the deficit and everything to do with politics. The Democrats may be getting drunk on Stupid, but thank heavens the rest of us are smart enough to see through their mindless dissent.
Perhaps its time for Pelosi, Schumer, and Associates to get their rear-ends off the bar stool and sober up.
