Donald Trump’s tax plan will raise the national debt by $45 trillion over the course of the next 20 years, claimed Gene Sperling, a former economic adviser to Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, in a call organized by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
“This is the most risky restless and regressive tax proposal ever put forward by a major presidential candidate,” Sperling told reporters during a press call hosted by Hillary for America on Monday.
He added, “We still think facts and numbers matter, and should in this campaign.”
The Democratic economist argueded that over the next 10 years, Trump’s tax plan would not only cost an estimated $10 trillion, but also add $11 trillion to the national debt. Over 20 years, Trump’s tax plan would add $45 billion to the debt, he said.
Trump has wavered in recent TV interviews on whether the wealthy would pay more than envisioned in his current tax proposal. Trump had said the rich need to pay more soon after kicking off his primary campaign, before proposing his big tax cut.
As Clinton prepares for a general election battle against Trump, her campaign has been targeting one of the billionaire’s policy proposals every week.
Hillary for America senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan contrasted Clinton’s plan with Trump’s on the call, explaining that Trump’s plan is “squarely on the side of the wealthy and corporations” and not of the middle class. He also claimed that the amount of money wealthy people could save due to Trump’s tax cuts would be enough to “make Social Security solvent for 75 years.”
“Mr. Trump’s economic plan did not receive the scrutiny it deserves, and we will hold him up to that,” Sullivan added.
