The corporate tax cuts are a stunning success that deserve a second act.
President Trump and the Republican Congress should now push for further cuts. Cutting the corporate tax cut to 5 percent, for example, would mean one of the very lowest rates in the world, but at a level that maintained the principle of capitalist responsibility to the citizenry.
Still, the rationale behind such a cut is quite obvious: It’s the statistics, stupid.
- Unemployment at 3.9 percent
- Economic growth at 4.1 percent rate last quarter
- Inflation stable
- Youth unemployment at 9.2 percent, a 50-year low
- Minority employment at very low levels
- Hundreds of billions in repatriated wealth coming home from abroad
- Record investment by the crown jewels of our economy; the technology, complex manufacturing, and medical research industries
I could go on, but the most important factor here is that it is workers and consumers who benefit most from this. We benefit from the new jobs and the new and better goods, but also from the investments that will lay the long-term foundations for future growth. The importance of private investment cannot be discounted. Guided by the push and pull of the market economy rather than the whims of government bureaucrats, private investment is more effective in boosting productivity. And productivity is a critical driver of long-term economic growth.
Yes, there is more to be done. Our education system remains too inefficient and expensive, our healthcare system provides excellent care but at exorbitant costs and in incredibly inefficient ways. And yes, too many Americans lack the skills to enter good jobs or career fields (minimum wage laws are the worst enemy of these individuals). These things demand our attention.
Still, conservatives should have no hesitation in making the case for conservative reform. The individual tax cuts were arguably a mistake in blowing up the deficit, but corporate tax reform is delivering positive results. Let’s double down on the winnings!
