The end of 2017, Donald Trump signed into law the Republican "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act."
Basically, it is a tax bill that hands $1.5 trillion in permanent tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy like Trump and his ilk.
It was supposed to stimulate an economy that didn't need stimulating, put more money into everyone's pockets (especially those who don't need it), and create jobs.
Whenever conversations drift toward the Democrats' plan to provide free tuition at state colleges and universities and Medicare for all, someone is bound to ask, "How are we going to pay for it?"
That question, though, never seemed to be relevant when Republicans concocted the plan for this massive giveaway to their billionaire donors.
So, how are we going to pay for it?
Turns out, the Treasury Department will have to borrow $1 trillion again, the highest level of borrowing in six years--the second year in a row--to pay for the government's ensuing budget deficit.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts economic growth this year will fall to 2.3 percent, down from last year's 3.1 percent.
The shutdown didn't help either.
According to Reuters:
"The U.S. economy lost at least $6 billion during the partial shutdown of the federal government due to lost productivity from furloughed workers and economic activity lost to outside business, S&P Global Ratings said on Friday."
A projected downturn in this year's fourth-quarter federal government purchases will also affect economic growth.
This year, as the tax cuts' stimulative effects weaken and the federal budget deficit climbs to nearly $900 billion, the CBO estimates the economy will slow to 2.3 percent from last year's 3.1 percent.
And about those jobs...
That, too, was a ruse.
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