The GOP’s megabill would balloon the country’s debt : NPR
A variety of forecastists says that the tax reduction and the Senate spending bill this week would add thousands of dollars to federal debt over the next decade. The bill extends many of the 2017 tax reductions while reducing expenses on Medicaid and food coupons.
Derek White / Getty Images from North America
hide
tilting legend
Derek White / Getty Images from North America
The massive tax and expense reduction bill adopted by the Senate this week is expected to add billions of dollars during the next decade to an already heavy federal debt.
The precise level of the additional red ink depends on the forecasts. The Yale Budget Lab says that it would add 3 dollars of dollars over the next 10 years, while the Congressal Budget Office (CBO) estimates that it would add 3.4 billions of dollars. Meanwhile, the responsible federal budget committee puts the total to 4 billions of dollars or more.
But bean meters all agree: the measure, if adopted, would push even more unbalanced government finances. The bill is now returning home, which had adopted a somewhat different version earlier this year.
“The blatant level of contempt that we have just seen for the budgetary condition and the budgetary process of our country is a failure of responsible governance,” said Maya Macguineas, president of the committee for a responsible federal budget. “These are the same legislators who for years deplored the massive debt of the country, voting to put 4 additional billions on the credit card.”
Lower fixed, little stimulation to growth
The bill would extend the tax reductions in the first Trump administration and add additional tax reductions, reducing government income. The measure also increases public expenditure on defense and application of immigration. Although this leads to discounts for expenses for Medicaid and food assistance, these cuts compensate only a fraction of the total cost of the invoice.
At the same time, the measure should do little to stimulate economic growth. CBO has not yet estimated the economic effects of the Senate bill. But an earlier version of the house has proven to provide only modest economic gains, which were overshadowed by the cost of higher interest payments.
Most of the savings in tax reductions in the House bill had to move to the richest taxpayers, while people at the bottom of the income scale would be less well -based, because any tax economy would be prevailing on lost government benefits.
On average, people earning less than $ 55,000 per year are net losers in the bedroom bill, according to CBO forecasts. Middle income taxpayers would save between $ 500 and $ 1,000 a year, while the highest 10% would see gains of around $ 12,000.
