LETTER: Donald Trump’s tax reform didn’t deliver

Tax games

Your point regarding Kamala Harris misstatements on taxes has merit (Monday editorial). Her talking points confuse refunds with taxes paid.

The bigger factual issue is the tax cut’s lack of promised results. Since its enactment, it has both increased the deficit to record levels and has not had any meaningful impact on employment or job creation.

The tax cut was supposed to pay for itself and spur investment and job growth in the United States. So far, it has not accomplished either. Our deficits have grown larger due to the reduction of tax receipts because sustained 3 percent economic growth has not occurred and is not projected to occur. And job growth has not increased, as corporations have spent their lower taxes on stock buybacks (all-time record buybacks in 2018) and increased dividends, not new facilities and job expansion.

In fact, based on Bureau of Labor data, the average monthly job growth for Donald Trump’s 29 months in office (191,600 average new jobs per month) has been lower than Obama’s (208,800 average new jobs per month) job growth during the last five years of his presidency.

Trickle-down tax cuts have again failed to produce as promised. Maybe it is time to consider trickle-up tax cuts. People living from paycheck to paycheck spend their tax cuts across the entire economy because they have to live. This, in turn, increases consumption and economic output.

Tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy have never produced as promised. Maybe trying something different is an idea worth researching.