Attacks & Counters Flashcards
(35 cards)
Liberals say tax cuts lead to income inequality. What three forces is income inequality actually driven by?
It’s driven by deeper forces like
1. Globalization
2. Automation
3. Technology replacing middle-class jobs
What is globalization?
Big companies can pay workers in other countries less money, so they don’t hire as many people here
What is automation?
Robots and computers are doing jobs people used to do
What’s “technology replacing jobs”?
Apps and machines are replacing workers, like how you order food on a screen now instead of talking to a cashier
Why do globalization, automation, and technology replacing workers make income inequality worse?
The owners of the companies get richer, and workers fall behind
Are tax cuts what exploded the deficit?
No, it was spending
Why was it spending, and not tax cuts that exploded the deficit?
Because with or without the tax cuts, Congress started spending more. Tax cuts brought more revenue, but it didn’t matter. Congress was paying more than it had
What is “budget reconciliation”?
A special rule Congress has that lets them pass bills faster, without needing 60 votes in the senate
How does the government borrow money?
By selling “bonds”
(So who gives the government that money?
• People in the U.S. (like banks, companies, even regular people)
• Other countries, like China and Japan
• Big investment funds
So the government debt is kinda like a giant IOU it gives to anyone who wants to lend it money.)
Why were Trump’s tax cuts temporary?
Because any tax cut that adds to the debt after 10 years has to expire—unless 60 senators agree to make it permanent
If they say that the tax cuts lead to debt (exploded the deficit), you say:
The tax cuts didn’t cause all that debt. Congress kept spending too much
In what sense is it true that Trump’s tax cuts helped the rich the most? What about percentage gains?
True in raw dollars, but the percentage gains helped the poor the most.
Also, rich people pay most of the taxes—so any cut affects them more by default
In what way were the rich the most helped by Trump’s tax cuts? In what way were the poor most helped?
Rich - raw dollars
Poor - percentage gains
If in response to tax cuts, libs say “well the wages stagnated!”
Nope. Real wages (adjusted for inflation) rose—especially in 2019
“Sure, the government made more money—but not enough compared to how big the economy got. So it’s not keeping up, and that’s partly why the deficit grew”
But the economy growing is the real win. You don’t tax more just because the pie got bigger—especially if that bigger pie means more jobs, better wages, and more private investment
You can’t cut trillions in taxes and pretend that had no effect on the deficit. That’s just math
If Congress had frozen spending, the deficit would’ve dropped. They didn’t. That’s not a tax problem—it’s a spending problem
The rich got the biggest cuts and hoarded their money!
Actually, investment surged after the cuts
(business spending rose, wages increased, and unemployment hit record lows)
Respond with a question:
The tax cuts exploded the deficit!
So if someone gets a raise (U.S. government got tax revenue) but racks up debt by overspending, do you blame the raise—or the spending?
Answer with a question:
The rich got most of the benefits from the tax cuts!
So if I give $5 to a poor guy and $50 to a millionaire, who’s better off? The poor guy just got lunch—what did the millionaire get? A snack
Answer with a question:
The middle class tax cuts were temporary. The corporate tax cuts were permanent
Why didn’t Democrats vote to make your tax cut permanent? They had the chance
Answer with a question:
Still, wages didn’t go up after Trump’s tax cuts
Why do people keep saying this when the data shows the opposite? Who’s really spinning the narrative here?
Trump’s tax cuts didn’t lead to investment or job growth
Yes they did.
- Capital investment jumped in 2018
- Unemployment dropped to record lows
Okay automation and globalization, but the 2017 cuts accelerated income inequality by giving the top 1% nearly 20% of the total tax savings, while the bottom 60% got less than 14% combined.
- Raw dollars went to richest because they pay the most in taxes
- The largest relative tax relief went to the lower and middle classes, especially families under $100k
“Getting 5% back on $40,000 is nothing compared to 3% back on millions”
A 5% cut on $40k may be smaller in dollars, but it matters more to that earner. Giving a homeless person $5 could mean a lot more than giving Bill Gates $50
