Note from Norm: Make America’s Economy A Plus
Tax Reform plus economic growth plus job creation equals a stronger, more prosperous and secure America.
It’s a formula for success that has been proven before and one that, in an era in which more nations are entering the global marketplace and economy, demands action by Congress.
The American Action Network released today a list of 40 leading conservative tax policy organizations calling on Congress to pass tax reform by the end of this year.
In releasing the report AAN Executive Director Corry Bliss made it clear that the time is now for swift action by Congress.
“Middle-class families across America deserve tax relief, and Congress is working hard to make it happen…The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the House represents a critical step forward in the legislative process, laying out a tax code that is simpler, fairer, and more competitive. We look forward to the Senate building on this momentum in the coming days to deliver pro-growth tax reform for American families by the end of the year. Today’s letter provides members of Congress with a clear message: the time for action on tax reform is now, and we support your efforts to make it a reality.”
Opponents of current efforts to pass tax reform come in a couple of different camps.
There are those who don’t believe it goes far enough.
And, there are those who don’t believe it is the right approach at all.
The former, more often than not, won’t be satisfied with any plan that has any real chance of passage.
The latter want to make their opposition more about what deductions will be impacted rather than what incentives are going to be passed in a tax bill that will provide for a pro-growth economy.
As Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of the American Action Forum states, “…the real promise of tax reform for the middle class is the pro-growth incentives. Those incentives – embedded in the corporate and pass-through entity reforms – are intended to shift tax-based incentives to favor innovating, investing, hiring, and paying better in the United States.”
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act isn’t an academic inside the beltway debate, either.
It has real-life consequences for real-life Americans.
The Tax Foundation has released an updated report which shows the state-by-state impact of tax reform for average Americans.
In its report the Tax Foundation finds “…the plan would significantly lower marginal tax rates and the cost of capital, which would lead to 3.5 percent higher GDP over the long term, 2.7 percent higher wages, and an additional 890,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee had this to say about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
“By nearly doubling the standard deduction, lowering tax rates, and doubling the child tax credit, we have made good on our promise to deliver a bill that will improve the lives of average Americans who have been hit by nearly a decade of sluggish economic growth. Bringing our outdated tax structure into the 21st century will help level the playing field for businesses – both small and large – and ensure we can keep more jobs and more investment here at home.
“This is an initiative that focuses on building a better economy for American workers and a better future for generations to come. With this bill, we act to strengthen the middle class, reward hard-working taxpayers, and get our economy back on track. While we’ve cleared a major hurdle tonight, there is still much work to be done and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this across the finish line.”
America is at an economic crossroads.
We can continue to follow the lead of Democrats and the Obama Administration and their economic policies which stunted economic growth and opportunity or we can remove the barriers and impediments to America embarking upon a new era of sustained growth.
Those impediments are a tax code that is both oppressive and repressive – overly complex – and disincentives investment in our own American economy.
Americans deserve an economy that has more jobs – jobs that pay better – and give them the opportunity to once again show the world the immense power of American innovation, productivity and ingenuity.
The old economic math of Democrats — higher taxes, more government spending and greater regulation – – has flunked the American economic text.
It’s time for a new math formula that creates lower taxes, greater investment and less reliance on the public sector to prop up our economy.
It’s time to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and give America opportunity to achieve an A-plus in economic opportunity for all Americans.
