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Tax Reform Has Delivered for Workers

Marcus Aurelius

Governor
Supporting Member
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tax-reform-has-delivered-for-workers-11577045463

It’s been two years since President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law. To the delight of supply-siders, the law contained significant marginal tax rate reductions for individuals and corporations. At the time there was lively debate concerning the likely economic impact of the bill, with opponents pointing to analyses that found little effect from the rate reductions. At the White House, where we worked at the time, we produced analyses that suggested economic growth would surge. On the second anniversary of the TCJA, the numbers are in, and our projections have been vindicated.

The view that the tax cuts would jump-start the economy was based on abundant economic literature examining how tax policy affects decision-making by businesses and individuals. On the corporate side, the tax cut reduced the cost of installing new plant and machinery by about 10%, suggesting that capital spending would jump by the same amount. This would increase the amount of capital per worker and drive up productivity and wages. President Trump emphasized the last point repeatedly, arguing that family incomes would increase by about $4,000 in three to five years, with blue-collar workers benefiting disproportionately.

This predicted increase in capital has materialized, and has translated into additional economic growth. In 2017 our calculations suggested gross domestic product growth would accelerate in response to higher capital spending, with the contribution of nonresidential fixed investment to real GDP growth rising to between 0.8% and 1% in 2018. The contribution of this type of investment to economic growth from the first quarter of 2018 to the fourth quarter of 2018 was right on target, at 0.8%. This wasn’t the existing trend. Capital spending was 4.5% higher in 2018 than pre-TCJA blue-chip forecasts, and this trend continued in 2019.

This extra capital improved productivity and wages and, as expected, did so especially for those in lower-paying jobs. The numbers are striking. Over the past year, nominal wages for the lowest 10% of American workers jumped 7%. The growth rate for those without a high-school diploma was 9%. The median worker benefited as well, but much less so, helping to begin closing the income inequality gap. And about that $4,000? Real disposable personal income per household has increased $6,000 since the tax cuts were passed.

On the individual side, we expected that lower marginal tax rates would encourage people to re-engage in the workforce after years of lower or stagnant participation rates. On this the literature is clear as well. When tax rates go up, younger workers don’t respond much, since they must consider the long-run benefit of giving up the future gains from having more experience. But older workers, whose future wages are less important because their careers have less run time, respond by exiting the workforce.

We saw this exact pattern when President Obama hiked marginal tax rates, with labor-force participation dropping 0.7% after the tax increase for workers 35 to 44, but dropping 1.5% for workers over 55. After passage of the TCJA, the opposite pattern emerged, with labor-force participation for those between 35 and 44 increasing 0.4%, and labor-force participation for those over 55 increasing 1.3%.

Those who say that the strong economy under President Trump is merely a continuation of past trends are in full-scale denial. Before Mr. Trump took office in January 2017, the Congressional Budget Office forecast the creation of only two million jobs by this point. The economy has in fact created seven million jobs since January 2017. At the same time, the Federal Reserve’s median forecast had the unemployment rate inching up toward 5%, almost 1.5 percentage points higher than the current 50-year low.

To be sure, there have been some headwinds over the past year with the Fed’s interest policy, the domestic political environment and trade-policy uncertainty pushing growth to below the 3% target in 2019. Nonetheless, the slowdown is world-wide, and the U.S. is the only Group of Seven country that will post growth above 2% this year.

All of this is a great victory for the American people—and for the latest economics literature. It is therefore disappointing to see Democratic presidential candidates, devoid of alternative explanations for the surging economy, calling for the reversal of the tax cuts while asserting that the TCJA benefited only the wealthy. The data clearly prove otherwise.

Supply-side economists have long argued that the best way to help lower-income Americans is to create a system in which they have more disposable income by cutting tax rates and creating incentives for more capital investment in American businesses and workers. The 2017 tax reform and the data that continue to come in demonstrate decisively that this approach works.
 

middleview

President
Supporting Member
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tax-reform-has-delivered-for-workers-11577045463

It’s been two years since President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law. To the delight of supply-siders, the law contained significant marginal tax rate reductions for individuals and corporations. At the time there was lively debate concerning the likely economic impact of the bill, with opponents pointing to analyses that found little effect from the rate reductions. At the White House, where we worked at the time, we produced analyses that suggested economic growth would surge. On the second anniversary of the TCJA, the numbers are in, and our projections have been vindicated.

The view that the tax cuts would jump-start the economy was based on abundant economic literature examining how tax policy affects decision-making by businesses and individuals. On the corporate side, the tax cut reduced the cost of installing new plant and machinery by about 10%, suggesting that capital spending would jump by the same amount. This would increase the amount of capital per worker and drive up productivity and wages. President Trump emphasized the last point repeatedly, arguing that family incomes would increase by about $4,000 in three to five years, with blue-collar workers benefiting disproportionately.

This predicted increase in capital has materialized, and has translated into additional economic growth. In 2017 our calculations suggested gross domestic product growth would accelerate in response to higher capital spending, with the contribution of nonresidential fixed investment to real GDP growth rising to between 0.8% and 1% in 2018. The contribution of this type of investment to economic growth from the first quarter of 2018 to the fourth quarter of 2018 was right on target, at 0.8%. This wasn’t the existing trend. Capital spending was 4.5% higher in 2018 than pre-TCJA blue-chip forecasts, and this trend continued in 2019.

This extra capital improved productivity and wages and, as expected, did so especially for those in lower-paying jobs. The numbers are striking. Over the past year, nominal wages for the lowest 10% of American workers jumped 7%. The growth rate for those without a high-school diploma was 9%. The median worker benefited as well, but much less so, helping to begin closing the income inequality gap. And about that $4,000? Real disposable personal income per household has increased $6,000 since the tax cuts were passed.

On the individual side, we expected that lower marginal tax rates would encourage people to re-engage in the workforce after years of lower or stagnant participation rates. On this the literature is clear as well. When tax rates go up, younger workers don’t respond much, since they must consider the long-run benefit of giving up the future gains from having more experience. But older workers, whose future wages are less important because their careers have less run time, respond by exiting the workforce.

We saw this exact pattern when President Obama hiked marginal tax rates, with labor-force participation dropping 0.7% after the tax increase for workers 35 to 44, but dropping 1.5% for workers over 55. After passage of the TCJA, the opposite pattern emerged, with labor-force participation for those between 35 and 44 increasing 0.4%, and labor-force participation for those over 55 increasing 1.3%.

Those who say that the strong economy under President Trump is merely a continuation of past trends are in full-scale denial. Before Mr. Trump took office in January 2017, the Congressional Budget Office forecast the creation of only two million jobs by this point. The economy has in fact created seven million jobs since January 2017. At the same time, the Federal Reserve’s median forecast had the unemployment rate inching up toward 5%, almost 1.5 percentage points higher than the current 50-year low.

To be sure, there have been some headwinds over the past year with the Fed’s interest policy, the domestic political environment and trade-policy uncertainty pushing growth to below the 3% target in 2019. Nonetheless, the slowdown is world-wide, and the U.S. is the only Group of Seven country that will post growth above 2% this year.

All of this is a great victory for the American people—and for the latest economics literature. It is therefore disappointing to see Democratic presidential candidates, devoid of alternative explanations for the surging economy, calling for the reversal of the tax cuts while asserting that the TCJA benefited only the wealthy. The data clearly prove otherwise.

Supply-side economists have long argued that the best way to help lower-income Americans is to create a system in which they have more disposable income by cutting tax rates and creating incentives for more capital investment in American businesses and workers. The 2017 tax reform and the data that continue to come in demonstrate decisively that this approach works.
 

4/15

Mayor
Kinda sad that no one I know has benefited from the tax changes. That covers several states from east to west on the continent. But the deficit will kill any profit even from the stock market.
 

Dawg

President
Supporting Member
Kinda sad that no one I know has benefited from the tax changes. That covers several states from east to west on the continent. But the deficit will kill any profit even from the stock market.

I'm sure all 3 will agree with you
 

Dawg

President
Supporting Member
Bush handed Obama a recession.

How many jobs were lost in December 2008...was it 750,000. How many were gained in december 2016?
Just as Slick handed Bush a Recession, last 2 years of Bush dem/libs controlled the check book, see what we got!
 

middleview

President
Supporting Member
Just as Slick handed Bush a Recession, last 2 years of Bush dem/libs controlled the check book, see what we got!
You forget who controlled congress from 1997 to 2007.

The Bush recession started in the summer of 2007. Dems took congress in January 2007. What legislation had they passed that caused the crash?
 

Dawg

President
Supporting Member
You forget who controlled congress from 1997 to 2007.

The Bush recession started in the summer of 2007. Dems took congress in January 2007. What legislation had they passed that caused the crash?
Dem/Libs held majority last 2 years of Bush and first 2 years of Obama and you showed the chart of first 3 years of Obama with deficit higher than first 3 years of Trump...…...

remember now
 

middleview

President
Supporting Member
Dem/Libs held majority last 2 years of Bush and first 2 years of Obama and you showed the chart of first 3 years of Obama with deficit higher than first 3 years of Trump...…...

remember now
Recession, caused by the republican congress and White House gave Obama the worst economy since 1929. Revenue was down due to bankruptcies and unemployment. Spending was up to try to stabilize the mess.

Trump got a growing economy and low unemployment.
 

Dawg

President
Supporting Member
I've already driven a stake through the heart of that lie from hell.
Topic is tax reform for workers and evidently it's helped workers, last Saturday the most money spent on shopping made History, most money spend in One Day...…...
 

middleview

President
Supporting Member
Topic is tax reform for workers and evidently it's helped workers, last Saturday the most money spent on shopping made History, most money spend in One Day...…...
full circle...Deficit spending! Trump said he'd pay off the debt.
 

middleview

President
Supporting Member
Haven't all POTUS said same for past 50 years
When Reagan took office in 1981 the debt was $990b....by the time Clinton took office in 1993 the Debt was $4 trillion. When George W. took office the debt was $5.6t and he ran it up to $11 trillion.

Did you ever hear Obama say he'd pay off the national debt? Did Clinton ever say that?
I don't think so.
 
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