In December 2017, Donald Trump and his Congressional Republican allies passed the so-called “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”  At the time, they claimed that this bill would not increase the federal deficit, would create millions of new jobs and would pay for itself through sharply increased economic growth. Two years later, the data are clear — every one of the Republican claims was a lie.

For fiscal year 2018, the U.S. federal deficit increased by 17 percent. For 2019, the increase was 26 percent, which pushed the deficit to $984 billion. The response from Trump and the Congressional Republicans who caused this dramatic increase in the federal deficit has been a resounding silence.

Did the massive tax cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals create millions of jobs? No, they did not. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that during the four years prior to the Republican tax cut law, the economy added an average of 213,000 jobs each month. In the two years since passage of that law, average job creation has declined by around 11,000 per month.

Has there been sharply increased economic growth? No, there has not. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that during the four years prior to the tax cut law, real gross domestic product, the most common measure of economic growth, increased at an average annual rate of 2.4 percent. In the two years since the law was passed, annual GDP has averaged around 2.5 percent. In the most recent quarter, real economic growth slowed to 2.1 percent.

The primary beneficiaries of the Republican tax cuts have been corporate executives and other wealthy individuals. The theory that tax cuts for the rich “trickle down” to the middle class has once again been debunked. When the rich receive tax cuts, the only consequence is that they pay fewer taxes. As a result, deficits increase and the rich get richer.

Congressional Republicans, including Congressman Fred Upton, have been fiscally irresponsible. They passed a law that has dramatically increased the federal deficit while primarily benefiting the wealthiest individuals.

Please keep these facts in mind when you cast your vote this coming November.

Larry Feldman

Lakeside