Donald Trump was asked this week, “Do you believe in raising taxes on the wealthy?” He replied, “I do. I do—including myself. I do.”
Yet Trump’s own tax plan would cut the highest marginal federal income-tax rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent. Based on scoring by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, Trump’s plan would raise after-tax incomes for the top 1 percent by 27 percent—more than for any other income group. His plan would also increase the national debt by more than $10 trillion (again, according to the Tax Foundation, even after taking into account the increased economic growth the plan would spur). To put that into perspective, that’s more than the national debt has risen so far under Obama. (It has risen $8.6 trillion under this most profligate of presidents.)
How does this tax plan square with Trump’s newly professed support for “raising taxes on the wealthy”?
This is similar to Trump’s rampant inconsistency on Obamacare. Trump says he’s for repealing Obamacare, but he’s not for cutting Medicaid—which, thanks to the efforts of those like John Kasich, accounts for most of Obamacare’s coverage increases. Likewise, Trump opposes repealing Obamacare’s preexisting-conditions mandate, which is perhaps the main reason why Obamacare is sending premiums through the roof.
In other words, Trump wants to (quote, unquote) “repeal Obamacare” while mostly keeping its government-centric coverage expansion and government-driven price spikes. How does that constitute repeal?
Americans deserve a better tax plan and a better Obamacare alternative—and a candidate who knows what he’s proposing.
