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Trump’s Budget Seeks Cuts to Taxes, Safety-Net Programs
U.S. president Trump's 2017 budget is an effort to reshape spending priorities by the Republican party. Apart from Medicare and Social Security all other entitlement programs from the days of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society are subject to cuts. Deep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, including introducing work requirements. The philosophy behind it is that compassion will now be measured not by how large these programs are but by how much the government can get people "off these programs and back in charge of their lives," according to Budget Director Mulvaney. The cuts are $616 billion to Medicaid and Children's Health programs, $193 billion in cuts to Food Stamps, $143 billion in student loans, $72 billion in disability programs. The overhaul of the Affordable Health Care Act is part of this change. The reallocation would put more money into infrastructure for $200 billion, and in tax cuts, $19 billion in a parental leave program and $29 billion for veterans programs, plus added spending on the military.
William Hoagland of the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Republican who worked on budget issues says it will be politically difficult as the cuts to lower income groups come with tax cuts for small businesses and higher income individuals.
Beyond the policy priorities there is an area where both Republicans and Democrats are skeptical of the budget. This is how it impacts the U.S. debt. Under Congressional Budget Office estimates the U.S. debt as a percentage of GDP which rose to about 75% after the Great Recession starting in 2008, is projected to grow to about 85%. In sharp contrast the Trump administration estimates of the Office of Management and Budget are for it to drop to 65% based on rosier estimates of 2% inflation, 3% growth for the decade ahead. Experts say this is unlikely once the Fed raises interest rates and the unemployment rate currently at 4.4% leads to rising inflation, undercutting growth which has remained below 2% for a long period. These concerns are also voiced by Hilsenrath in the WSJ based on the experience of other countries such a Britain that cut corporate taxes without seeing an uptick in economic growth.
Trump's economic plan and how it increases the U.S. deficit by $5.3 trillion
09/22/2016
The sharp contrast between the Trump economic plan which is very unusual for a Republican candidate in that it substantially increases the U.S. debt by $5.3 trillion, and the Clinton economic plan which only modestly increases the deficit by $200 billion. The impact is about one fourth increase of the national debt of $19 trillion under Trump and only 1% under Clinton's economic plan, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
Grouped Articles
New Clinton, Trump budget numbers
POLITICO 09/22/2016
Donald Trump’s Plans Would Add $5.3 Trillion to the National Debt
Fortune 09/22/2016
Clinton Seeks Big Jump in Estate Tax
WSJ 09/22/2016
Donald Trump’s Tax Pitch Could Miss Trade’s Strike Zone
WSJ 10/05/2016
Donald Trump’s Tax Plan Would Boost Economy in Short Run but Not Long Term, Analysis Finds
WSJ 10/17/2016
Donald Trump’s Economic Plan, Up Close, Doesn’t Add Up
WSJ 10/18/2016
Trump's first budget plan in 2017- cuts in entitlement spending and social programs
03/17/2017
Grouped Articles
Trump Takes a Gamble in Cutting Programs His Base Relies On
The New York Times 03/16/2017
What Trump’s Budget Could Mean for the Affected Agencies
The New York Times 03/17/2017
Trump Budget Likely to See Major Rewrite in Congress
WSJ 03/17/2017
Tillerson Says Tougher Sanctions, Military Strike Among North Korea Options
WSJ 03/17/2017
US healthcare bill: Blow for Trump as House vote delayed - BBC News
BBC News 03/23/2017
Trump’s Budget Seeks Cuts to Taxes, Safety-Net Programs
WSJ 05/23/2017
The tax plan and tax cuts proposed by president Trump in April 2017- shift to 15% corporate tax rate to spur growth, and lowering individual taxes
04/26/2017
Grouped Articles
Trump Plans to Seek Tax Rate of 15% on Owner-Operated Companies
WSJ 04/25/2017
Trump Unveils Broad Tax-Cut Plan
WSJ 04/26/2017
Republicans’ Fiscal Discipline Wilts in Face of Trump’s Tax Plan
The New York Times 04/28/2017
Corporate Tax Cut as Growth Elixir? Foreign Experience Suggests Caution
WSJ 05/01/2017
Trump’s Budget Seeks Cuts to Taxes, Safety-Net Programs
WSJ 05/23/2017
Trump's $4.1tr budget takes hatchet to safety net - BBC News
BBC News 05/23/2017
Spending cuts under the Trump administration- reducing budget entitlement spending and social programs, and increasing defense spending
03/17/2017
Grouped Articles
Trump Takes a Gamble in Cutting Programs His Base Relies On
The New York Times 03/16/2017
What Trump’s Budget Could Mean for the Affected Agencies
The New York Times 03/17/2017
Trump Budget Likely to See Major Rewrite in Congress
WSJ 03/17/2017
House Vote to Repeal Affordable Care Act Is Postponed, Despite Trump’s Effort
The New York Times 03/23/2017
Trump’s Budget Seeks Cuts to Taxes, Safety-Net Programs
WSJ 05/23/2017
Donald Trump’s Balanced Budget Goal Rests on Questionable Math
WSJ 05/23/2017
Sharp differences between Democratic and Republican parties in the the U.S. presidential election debates of 2015
11/16/2015
Sharp differences emerge between the two parties on the minimum wage, taxes, spending and foreign policy. For domestic policy there are now stark differences between the 2 parties not seen for many years when both parties stayed closer to the centre. One has to go back to the Reagan election to see such differences. This also reflects the issue of a shrinking middle class, and a white working class that is falling behind in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Republican candidates except for John Kasich oppose increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour set in 2009. The Democratic candidates O'Malley and Sanders support setting it at $15, and Hillary Clinton supports it at $12, as advised by economist Alan Krueger. Krueger sees no significant job losses at $12 an hour. Also to be factored in is the time period this goes into effect which may span some years. On taxes Democratic candidates support taxing the wealthy, especially the top 1%, Clinton favoring taxing wealthy above $250,000 in incomes. This would pay for free tution under the Sanders plan, or an alternative plan by Clinton with similiar outcomes. The Democratic candidates are focussed on a middle class and white working class that they see as falling behind. The Republicans focus on cutting taxes to create jobs. On foreign policy Sanders is against foreign intervention, Clinton supports limited engagement differing from Obama's very cautious policy. Republican candidates such as Jeb Bush call for intervention in Syria-Iraq, Trump not favoring intervention. Other issues setting the two parties apart is the approach to immigration and Obama health care program. Donald Trump has the most strident views on immigration calling for large deportations, and Hillary Clinton calling for giving a pathway to legal status for illegal immigrants. In the debates Democratic candidates repeatedly emphasize that immigration from Mexico is now practically nill following the sharp U.S. recession. Mainstream media on the Republican side see risks in the strident po
Grouped Articles
Parties’ Divide on the Economy Widens
Wall Street Journal 11/16/2015
Sanders: Unlike Clinton, I won’t seek ‘reckless adventures abroad’ - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/19/2015
A political bomb is about to blow up in the Democrats’ faces - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/25/2015
New York Times 01/29/2016
Finding Common Political Ground on Poverty
New York Times 02/02/2016
Donald Trump Notches More Wins, but Ted Cruz’s Victories Promise Long Race
Wall Street Journal 03/02/2016
The Trump 2017 Budget with $2.1 trillion counted twice and rosy estimates- accounting error, shifting priorities and economic-political risks
05/23/2017
Linked Articles
Donald Trump’s Balanced Budget Goal Rests on Questionable Math
WSJ 05/23/2017
Trump’s Budget Seeks Cuts to Taxes, Safety-Net Programs
WSJ 05/23/2017
U.S. president Trump's 2017 budget and cracks in the safety net, rising debt
05/25/2017
Linked Articles
Trump’s Budget Seeks Cuts to Taxes, Safety-Net Programs
WSJ 05/23/2017
Washington Post 05/23/2017
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