April, 26 2017, 02:45pm EDT
The Trump, Mnuchin and Cohn Tax Plan: Goldman Sachs Populism At Its Worst
Statement of Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
WASHINGTON
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn appeared at a White House press briefing today to outline President Donald Trump's tax plan.
Public Citizen president Robert Weissman said:
Welcome to Goldman Sachs populism! Surprise! The Goldman Sachs tax plan will slash taxes on giant corporations and the corporate elite. With the elimination of the alternative minimum and estate taxes, it not so incidentally appears to confer huge benefits on President Trump himself - though of course we can't know for sure so as long as Trump's tax returns remain secret.
American corporations are reporting record profits. They are dodging taxes at outrageous levels. There is zero rationale for cutting corporate taxes and zero reason to think that lower taxes will generate more investment.
It will take quite a while to parse all of the lies and misstatements in today's tax presentation from the White House. All the fantasies about dynamic scoring and imaginary boosts to investment can't change the widely understood reality that the economy cannot sustain tax cuts on corporations of this magnitude.
Trickle-down economics hasn't worked before, and it won't work now.
By turning his back on Trump's campaign promises to tackle unpatriotic inverting companies, the Goldman Sachs proposal instead opens the door for a mass corporate exodus.
Gary Cohn says he won't bet against this president, but it's transparently obvious that this plan - or, really a gesture toward a plan - is dead on arrival.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
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