Trump Tags Larry Kudlow To 'Fix' His Tax Plan
It's clear Donald Trump sees "TV Celebrity" as a job qualification for his team.
The above video from September of 2008 gives you a small idea of the leanings of CNBC's Larry Kudlow. He makes pro-Wall Street look like a nomination to sainthood.
According to this viral article in Politico, Kudlow and Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation (of course) have been tapped to "fix" Donald Trump's Tax Plan.
I get a sense that the necessary qualifications for team Trump membership are (a) has TV presence, especially in the New York market and (b) sucks up to the Donald.
Kudlow definitely meets both qualifications. Media Matters:
When...John Harwood pointed out that economists have called the plan unrealistic, Trump replied: "Then you have to get rid of Larry Kudlow, who sits on your panel, who is a great guy, who came out the other day and said, 'I love Trump's tax plan.'"
Kudlow affirmed his support for Trump's tax plan following the [Oct 29 GOP] debate, stating: "I've endorsed Donald's 15 percent corporate tax rate many times. ... He's spot on. And I'm honored that he mentioned me. Honored." The CNBC contributor has tweeted that Trump is a "first-rate person. I could vote for him."
During a February 8 New Hampshire town hall, Trump rebutted criticism from Jeb Bush by citing Kudlow: "I just talked to Larry Kudlow, the great economist, and he was saying Trump has the best tax plan, I'm doing the biggest tax cut."
But what's wrong with the plan? Well, it adds approximately $10 Billion Trillion (thanks to the commenter who corrected me) to the deficit. Kudlow and Moore have suggested increasing the number of people (poors) who pay taxes and "tweaking" the rate for top earners.
Here's the tweak: in Trump's original plan, the top marginal tax rate would go from 39.6% down to 25%. Kudlow and Moore only cut it to 28%. Think of the savings!
I'm still flabbergasted by Larry Kudlow article I read this morning. Basically GOP big money guys are fine with Trump if they get tax cuts
— Jesse LaGreca (@JesseLaGreca) May 7, 2016
You know how big Trump's Tax Cuts for Billionaires plan is? So big, that it's too big for Grover Norquist types! Politico reports, emphasis added:
By one measure, Trump’s proposed tax cut was four times the size of George W. Bush’s 2001 tax cuts.
Ryan Ellis, former tax policy director for Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, said such a proposal “drags down the entire effort at conservative tax reform to a circus level.”
When a Grover Norquist disciple thinks your tax cuts are circus level, what are the rest of us to think?