Tax-Cut Delay, and Delay

We started worrying in early February when House Speaker Paul Ryan put tax cuts on the back burner. We’re more worried now that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has admitted Congress won’t get the job done before it goes on recess in August.

How many deadlines will they miss? A few more, and the delays may add up to failure.

Yes, President Trump can do a lot without Congress on fronts such as deregulation — but the main payoff there is long-term. The US economy needs a push now.

And Trump needs to put more wins on the board — not just for his own political sake, but to boost confidence that he’ll succeed in his broader “jobs, jobs, jobs” program.

So far, economic optimism is based on the expectation that Trump and the GOP Congress will make a difference, sooner or later. But optimism can turn to pessimism in the blink of an eye — and the ObamaCare-repeal debacle has sown doubt about Republicans’ ability to deliver any change in the face of all-out Democratic resistance.

In Wednesday’s New York Times, Larry Kudlow, Steve Moore, Steve Forbes and Arthur Laffer echoed points made in these pages by Betsy McCaughey several weeks ago: At this point, the best bet is to do corporate-tax reform now. Put off the more complicated battles (including the confusing “border adjustment tax”) for later.

Go for a “half a loaf ” that will start delivering concrete results fast, rather than shooting for the moon.

Maybe Trump and his braintrust have a better plan. So far, though, the administration seems to be letting GOP leaders in Congress set the priorities, despite their mixed record.

We have great respect for Ryan and Sen. Mitch McConnell, but historically it’s taken White House leadership to deliver real tax reform — and, anyway, they’re not the guys the American people elected to set the agenda.

The voters chose the guy who promised to deliver jobs, and nobody thought that meant “sometime in 2018.”