Democrats just aren't going to help Republicans blow a hole in the deficit with tax cuts that amount to a huge boon for billionaires and corporations, and both the White House and GOP leaders know it. The AP writes:
A senior administration official said Thursday the White House plans to push its tax overhaul without any support from congressional Democrats. [...] On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he planned to pass a tax overhaul without Democratic support, but only if it didn't add to long-term deficits.
Good luck with that. If the tax bill looks anything like the notes Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin scribbled down on a beverage napkin earlier this week, the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says federal revenue will take a $5.5 trillion nosedive over 10 years and explode the deficit.
Besides the debt/deficit disaster it will inflict, the giant corporate tax bonanza that serves of the centerpiece of Trump's "plan" repels voters, writes Politico.
“It just doesn’t sell,” said one former longtime Republican tax aide. “Most [Republican lawmakers] come from rural districts. They don’t have big corporate headquarters in their districts, and their constituents don’t care if GE gets a 25 percent rate.”
“If anything, there could be a backlash,” he said.
That's exactly what a recent Pew Research poll found.
8 in 10 Americans are frustrated that corporations and rich people don't cough up their fair share in taxes right now.
Who does favor corporate tax cuts? Corporate CEOs.
Fix the Debt exists for one reason: to argue for less U.S. government debt. [...] HuffPost asked every single member of Fix the Debt’s CEO council for a response to the president’s tax outline, and as of press time, not a single one of the executives denounced it.
As you might expect, Democrats were quick to criticize Trump’s tax effort.
"This scheme is a massive tax giveaway to millionaires, billionaires and big corporations at the expense of middle-class families," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
So McConnell's right—you can bet your bottom dollar Senate Democrats aren't going to sign on to that political loser. That means any tax cut the GOP manages to get without 60 votes will have to sunset in 10 years, unless it’s deficit neutral—try explaining that one to Trump.