Should-Read: Paul Krugman: Everybody Hates the Trump Tax Plan

Should-Read: Paul Krugman: Everybody Hates the Trump Tax Plan: “Gary Cohn, Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser, met with a group of top executives… asked to raise their hands if lower taxes would lead them to raise capital expenditures…

…only a handful did. “Why aren’t the other hands up?” asked Cohn, plaintively. The answer is that C.E.O.s, living in the real world of business, not the imaginary world of right-wing ideologues, know that tax rates aren’t that important a factor in investment decisions. So they realize that even a huge tax cut wouldn’t lead to much more spending. And with that realization, the rationale for this tax plan, such as it is, falls apart, leaving nothing but a scheme to make the rich—especially those who rake in investment income rather than working for a living—richer at everyone else’s expense….

Their claim is that cutting taxes on corporate profits would lead to an explosion in private investment and faster economic growth…. About that economic growth: Foreign investors would be earning profits and taking them home. So much—probably most—of any growth we would get from cutting corporate taxes would accrue to the benefit of foreigners, not Americans. But don’t worry too much about this stuff. Most serious economic analyses agree with those C.E.O.s who disappointed Gary Cohn….

Why are Republicans even trying to do this? It’s bad policy and bad politics, and the politics will get worse as voters learn more about the facts. Well, last week one G.O.P. congressman, Chris Collins of New York, gave the game away: “My donors are basically saying get it done or don’t ever call me again.” So we’re talking about government of the people, not by the people, but by wealthy donors, for wealthy donors. Everyone else hates this plan—and they should.