There’s been a whole lot of agita from the right-hand side about the “reconciliation bill” — the Big Beautiful Bill — that passed the House a few days ago. A lot of it is based on the CBO scoring the bill as costing $4 trillion dollars in revenue. …
[Steven Miller:] I see some self-described libertarians siding with lefty bureaucrats at CBO who claim the Big Beautiful Bill will “explode the debt.” This is based entirely on CBO claiming that extending the current tax rates (not raising them) will “cost” the government $4 trillion in revenue.
Since when have libertarians argued that NOT raising taxes “costs” the government money? Private money yet to be earned does not “belong” to the government. This is a Democrat-collectivist argument and I’m shocked to see libertarians deploying it.
Under this ludicrous theory, one could raise taxes to 90% on everyone and declare the deficit solved.
BBB cuts taxes, cuts spending, reforms welfare and ends mass migration.
On the last point, anyone serious about limited government and improving America’s financial health would understand that ending mass migration is the prerequisite for every other problem we wish to solve.
Of course, true libertarians don’t believe in borders at all…
I see some self-described libertarians siding with lefty bureaucrats at CBO who claim the Big Beautiful Bill will “explode the debt.” This is based entirely on CBO claiming that extending the current tax rates (not raising them) will “cost” the government $4 trillion in revenue.…
[The Hill:] “The agency estimated the proposed tax cuts in the plan — which seek to lock in expiring provisions in Trump signature 2017 tax law, along with a host of other add-ons — would decrease revenues by more than $3.6 trillion over that time frame.“
…as Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) explained:
[Smith:] “Extending the Trump tax cuts for workers, families, farmers, and small businesses is a crucial part of a larger pro-growth agenda that the American people are demanding. Most importantly, Congress has a responsibility to ensure that these tax cuts are extended and that those we represent can keep more money in their pockets after a disastrous four years of the Biden-Harris Administration that added $10 trillion in new spending and fueled a more than 20 percent spike in prices.
“Democrats successfully leveraged CBO’s bias towards more government spending when passing their $2 trillion so-called stimulus, and then again when they passed their inflationary spending bill, using fake payfors that led to skyrocketing costs and the ability to claim policies like giving the IRS an $80 billion pay raise didn’t add to the deficit. Unfortunately, CBO is simply not equipped to calculate the costs of the totality of all pro-growth policies that President Trump has pledged, including regulatory reform, which would address over $3 trillion in costs.
“CBO will always predict a dark future when Republicans propose tax relief – but the reality is never so dire. CBO’s own fiscal year 2024 numbers reveal that corporate receipts came in at $529 billion, exceeding CBO’s $421 billion prediction made after the passage of the 2017 Trump tax cuts.
“No one in their right mind believes that allowing the Trump tax cuts to expire – resulting in a $4 trillion tax increase – would have anything but a negative impact on the economy. Republicans will extend these tax cuts and keep our promise to the American people to make America’s economy strong again.“
[Emphasis added]
Words like “lies” and “bias” are too kind for this crap anymore. The obvious collusion of the CBO with the White House to produce the twisted, illogical analyses needed to ram Obamacare down our throats should forever be the big stain on their blue dress that cannot be ignored whenever those three letters are dropped into a news cycle. To slightly correct the good professor above: The CBO is the eagerly, willing whore of the Parties of Government.
But, unfortunately, there is never a shortage of fools inside “our” perimeter who choose to dance with that whore. As with Obamacare, expect the worst of those Parties of Government (“When history calls, history calls.“). As I said last month, if the fools get their way, maybe some longer term good can be squeezed from those lemons:
I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that hopes the “one big, beautiful bill” fails to emerge from Congress in spectacularly embarrassing fashion…and President Trump decides to waste no more time on this ridiculous party of establishment fools and faux-principled losers. Three and a half years of going scorched earth against both corrupt parties by an antifragile Proud Executive who simply does not give a F*ck anymore about the stupid political games those of the fully-corrupted system want to play with his time in office would be well worth the wild ride.
the philo t. custis institute 