Editors at National Review Online probe congressional negotiations over extending tax cuts.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to postpone a scheduled Wednesday vote on a plan that will serve as a vehicle for legislation to extend President Trump’s tax cuts before they expire at the end of the year. Hours of arm-twisting could not convince a contingent of House Republicans, concerned about mounting debt, to go along with a Senate-passed resolution with a low floor for spending cuts. They are right to resist.
The federal debt held by the public is expected to reach 100 percent of the economy this year, the highest level since World War II, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and it’s on track to surpass that all-time record four years from now. Every year after that, it is projected to set a new record, reaching 156 percent of gross domestic product within 30 years. Massive and growing debt will stifle economic growth, trigger sustained inflation, shift more government spending to paying interest and away from other priorities, and make significantly higher taxes unavoidable.
By taking reforms to Social Security and Medicare off the table, President Trump has made it highly unlikely that we will see any significant deficit reduction in his administration, even taking into account DOGE cuts. But the least Republicans can do is not make things worse. Unfortunately, the Senate-passed budget resolution risks just that.
The current resolution being debated … is really just the starting pistol for a tax debate that is likely to take months. Trump has vowed to extend the tax cuts from his first term as well as add additional provisions (including ending taxation on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits). The tax changes are expected to add trillions of dollars to deficits, the exact number depending on the mix of policies agreed upon. For that reason, it’s crucial that any effort to cut taxes is accompanied by significant offsetting spending cuts
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Author: Mitch Kokai
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