An economic ruse

Stephen Moore’s recent column is titled, “It’s official: Trump’s tax cuts paid for themselves” (Jan. 24). No, they didn’t.

Moore’s rhetorical slight is to infer causation from spurious correlation. The tax cuts decreased tax revenue over what it would have been. Other things increased revenue: inflation, tax bracket creep, COVID stimulus and grant programs, growth unrelated to tax cuts, etc. Rather than statistically decompose the tax revenue change into these separate contributors, Moore simply attributed the entire increase to the tax cut.

Why this ruse? He knows better. I suggest Moore’s “real job” is being a paid advocate for Koch Industries and similarly minded billionaires. His entire career including currently held positions is with foundations funded by them. Perhaps his job is to mold beliefs to align with their interests, and their interest is to not pay taxes. Perhaps writing newspaper columns is simply an aspect of this “real job.”

The Joint Committee on Taxation and Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2017 that the tax cuts would increase deficits by $1.7 trillion and publicly held debt to 97 percent of GDP by 2027. With the unanticipated pandemic, debt already has reached 97 percent. Many tax provisions in the 2017 legislation expire in 2025. The CBO estimates making these provisions permanent will increase deficits by an additional $3 trillion through 2032.

It will take a combination of tax increases and spending cuts to politically address our nation’s serious fiscal situation. Moore’s voodoo economics of further tax decreases will not work.