House Republicans unveil 2018 budget with tax reform instructions

[Doug the Dem]

Source: Reuters

July 18, 2017 / 5:07 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives took a first step toward tax reform on Tuesday, with the release of a fiscal 2018 budget plan that would allow a tax reform package to pass the U.S. Congress without support from Democrats.

The $4 trillion blueprint, which must be approved by both the House and Senate, would also set the stage for a Republican-only repeal of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law and $203 billion in savings from mandatory federal programs including food stamps over the next decade.

The plan aims to move the U.S. fiscal position from a $472 billion deficit in 2018 to a $9 billion budget surplus in 2027. The change is based in part on a committee forecast of 2.6 percent annual U.S. economic growth that assumes future changes in tax, healthcare and financial laws, as well as deregulation.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has forecast economic growth of 1.9 percent from 2017 to 2027.

Covering the year beginning Oct. 1, the budget plan represents the latest Republican attempt to show they can govern since the party took control of both the White House and Congress in January. But the cloud of party infighting already hangs over those prospects.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-budget-idUSKBN1A30RD

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"...$472 billion deficit in 2018 to a $9 billion budget surplus in 2027."

In related news, I had a threeway with Nicole Kidman and Cindy Crawford last night.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Are they still double-counting the trillion or so dollars they did in the first plan?

[Va Lefty]

2. "In related news, I had a threeway with Nicole Kidman and Cindy Crawford last night."

[Lochloosa]

5. Bastard!

[bitterross]

3. Sadly, their base will believe them

Their base will continue to believe them no matter what. They will continue to vote for them despite the fact the exact same type of policies implemented in the past have had negative effects.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Economic growth will be significantly lower than their projections

But of course I follow economist John Hussman on most prognostications

[joshdawg]

6. LOL!

"the budget plan represents the latest Republican attempt to show they can govern..."

republicans can govern when the earth stops rotating.

[SunSeeker]

7. Tax cuts on the rich slows growth.

Ask anyone who was sentient during the Dubya administration.

[CousinIT]

8. Gap Between Trump, CBO Predictions on Economic Growth the Largest on Record

President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget is predicated on the assumption that the economy will expand at 2.9 percent per year, on average, over the 2018-2027 decade — 1.1 percentage points per year more than the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assumes. THIS LARGE A GAP BETWEEN AN ADMINISTRATION’S GROWTH FORECAST AND CBO’S IS UNPRECEDENTED. This large a gap between an administration’s growth forecast and CBO’s is unprecedented, CBPP analysis finds (see Figure 1). Because of its rosy growth forecast, the Trump budget projects cumulative deficits over the next decade that are roughly $3 trillion less than they would be using CBO’s forecast.[1] Unrealistic growth projections not only make deficit-increasing tax cuts appear more affordable than they actually are, but could also add to pressure for cuts in programs for low- and middle-income families if the promised growth fails to materialize.

?

https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/gap-between-trump-cbo-predictions-on-economic-growth-the-largest-on-record

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. So that would be a 7% difference in GDP forecasts after 10 years

Federal revenue is $3.3 trillion/year at the moment. So if that stayed at the same proportion of GDP, under the realistic CBO forecast it will be $231 bn less. So half of this claimed change in the deficit is just made up.