Democrats' Reckless Tax and Spend Contradictions

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Democrats are knotted in a tangle of contradictory arguments about their reckless tax and spending spree. 
• They plan to “transform” America’s economy and society with this one law, but have only provided for short-term implementation of their progressive spending priorities to make them look less expensive on paper.   
• They cannot admit that they have no intention of actually allowing any programs to sunset without running into their promises that their plans will cost “zero” and that middle-class Americans won’t face tax hikes. 

Democrats are knotted in a tangle of contradictory arguments about their reckless tax and spending spree. Their plans are so big and so ill-conceived, that every claim they make is contradicted by their next one. At every turn, it is clear that their big promises are really dead ends.

Democrats Can’t Win their Own Game

Democrats want to raise taxes by $1.5 trillion in their reckless tax and spending spree, but even that massive tax hike does not come close to covering the $4.9 trillion cost of their plans. To mask the deficit on paper, they have resorted to the gimmick of making their massive new welfare entitlements expire in a few years. They claim their plans will be “transformational,” but it’s hard to see how they could have much of a sustained effect at all with programs set to expire. They also insist that another round of front-loaded spending will not exacerbate the inflation crisis of their own making.

To make these fantastical economic transformation promises with any credibility, Democrats have to admit that they have no intention of allowing any programs to sunset. This undermines another commitment – that their plans will cost “zero.” This assertion was always indefensible, and the Congressional Budget Office recently confirmed that, without the policy cliffs, their legislation would increase the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years – a far cry from zero.

When cornered with the true cost of their scheme, President Biden adamantly declared that Democrats will pay “for every single program” that is extended, “whether that’s for a day or a decade.” That means Democrats are pledging to impose another $3 trillion in tax hikes on job creators and families, without telling Americans how they plan to do it. Over time, Democrats have put forward numerous potential tax increases to fund their reckless spending, and all of them would violate the president’s pledge to avoid middle class tax hikes. They cannot come up with revenue to match their out-of-control spending without taking from Americans’ wallets, and they know it.

To sell their reckless tax and spending spree, Democrats keep making big promises while denying the necessary tradeoffs. It’s dishonest policymaking, and it’s a game they cannot win.