Amid the Hoohah Over Budget Scoring,  Better To Simply Kill the Tax and Spend Bill.

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The Democratic Party is now in a tizzy over something called CBO projections of spending revenues and the economy. CBO stands for Congressional Budget Office. It is ostensibly and statutorily nonpartisan. I have had numerous dealings with it down through the years — first as a budget deputy under President Reagan, most recently as director of the National Economic Council under President Trump, and lots of times in-between.

Let me say at the outset these are nice people. They are smart. They are well schooled. They have a lot of experience. I know many of them. I’m sure they’re patriots. But, but, but it behooves me to note that the CBO does not have a good forecasting track record.

Now you might say, “Who does?” That’s a fair question. Forecasting is a tough business. Nobody ever gets it all right. Or even all wrong. It’s just a question of economic models.

I’m an Art Laffer guy. That is, I believe lower tax rates produce higher tax revenues from stronger employment income and growth. Plus, less tax avoidance. This is called dynamic scoring. You cut taxes, and you’re going to get a much better economy with much higher revenues.

Raise tax rates, and you’re going to get a much worse economy with lower revenues. I and my supply-side colleagues have argued this for many decades. I believe we have a good forecasting track record on these broad points. The CBO, in its wisdom, basically does not agree.

It has incorporated a tiny bit of Laffer Curve dynamic scoring. Just a teensy weensy bit.

Now, the White House is attacking the CBO because the former believes $80 billion in more IRS spending for tens of thousands of new agents will generate $400 billion in new revenues because of all the tax cheats out there. The CBO says no. You’ll only generate $125 billion.

I’m tempted to say a pox on both their houses. The whole debate is a scam. The CBO intends to put out its revenue and spending estimates by close of business Friday. In all likelihood, It is going to disappoint the Democrats and their big government socialist plans by scoring higher spending and lower revenues. That’s my guess.

I also hear that Speaker Pelosi would like to have a House vote on the Build Back Better spending and taxing and regulating bonanza and — get this — Thursday night. That would be even before the CBO scorecard comes out.

In some ways, that’s hilarious. It’s real Laurel and Hardy, Keystone Cops stuff. Back in 2017, when we Trump persons were pushing major tax cuts across the board and the CBO did not agree with our dynamic scoring, our Democratic friends said the CBO was the gold standard of government budget accounting.

Now it appears that they are shorting gold and criticizing the CBO. Because they’re not going to get what they want. When democrats don’t get what they want, they tend to just throw the rules out the window. Okay. Want to know the truth (which is what I deal in)? I don’t really care.

For one thing the spending package is going to run between $4 trillion and $5 trillion. Not just $1.75 trillion. For another thing, the entitlement state is penalizing work and subsidizing non-work stay at home. Have no work requirements would sink the economy. And society. And families. And businesses.

For another thing, the vast regulations attached to all this spending would be like throwing buckets of sand in our economic gears. Plus, $550 billion in Green New Deal subsidies would destroy the fossil fuel industry, causing millions of job layoffs, significantly higher energy prices, and significantly lower energy supplies. Also killing the economy.

Finally, huge tax hikes hidden everywhere in this legislation would penalize success, reduce supply-side growth incentives, and further sink the economy. Spending would soar, revenues would fall, and we would have a nation of even more unhappy campers than we have right now.

My final point is that we are probably in an inflationary blowout period. In the fourth quarter ending December, you could have 8% growth and 8% inflation — virtually all caused by excessive federal spending and central bank money printing. With this kind of growing inflation threat, we shouldn’t be spending one more nickel — or cent or micron — of taxpayer money. We should be cutting taxes and increasing energy production.

Secretary Janet Yellen says the inflation might peter out by the second half of next year. Senator Manchin says we should have a spending pause until inflation comes down.

so I keep touting an economic romance. Mr. Manchin and Ms. Yellen should get together and agree on no new spending at least until the second half of next year.

I don’t care what the CBO estimates are. Or how many IRS agents scour the country looking for nonexistent tax cheats.

What I want is, save America. Congress can do it before the CBO scores come out or after the CBO scores come out. I don’t care. Just kill the bill.

________

From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox News.


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