A $4.5 Trillion Tax Increase, or Not?
We are now at the Congressional Budget Office panic stage of the budget debate, as Democrats and the press pretend to care about the federal deficit and debt. The trigger was Wednesday's release of CBO's budget 'score' of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which puts a dollar sign on its many provisions.
Congress's budget gnomes estimate that the House bill would add $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years. This includes what CBO says are some $5.3 trillion in tax cuts, offset by some $2.9 trillion in tax increases and spending reductions. The report kicked off the usual wailing and gnashing of teeth whenever Republicans propose to reduce taxes, though not when Democrats are adding to the debt via spending.
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