what is the difference between trump's tax cut and the one bush did that put the economy into the crapper?
There's a lot actually. The economy was already in the crapper when Dubya took office (dot com bust). Bush's tax cuts were designed as short term financial relief for all tax brackets (it had an original expiration date that was extended). It was a true temporary cut instead of a systemic restructuring of the tax code. It mostly benefited the rich, as 2x more households filed as millionaires from 2001 to 2006. It was the largest single contributor to the deficit @ $1.8T from 2002 - 2009. It added $1.6T to our debt. It brought the AMT out of obscurity. It kicked the can down the road and Bush, being the big govt Neo-con that he was, added crap ton to the overall debt by way of bloated government (creation of DHS etc.) and an entirely unnecessary war.
The economy at the end of Bush's term was not bad because of his tax cuts, it was bad because of the housing market crash. Once the dot com bubble burst, most everyone left the stormy market for a calmer bay (housing). The Dems sealed the deal with making sure everyone got a house. Everyone in DC was complicit and an accessory to the crime.
Conversely, Trump was handed a relatively stable, but not a growing economy. Last year's tax receipts were at an all time high, but wages are going nowhere. Trump's plan is a lot more about the tax code for both personal and business and its permanent. Its meant to greatly simplify the overall code while spurring business investment.
I'm still processing the implications, but here's the basics:
Business Tax from 35% to 15% (it would be a miracle if he gets 15%)
From seven personal tax brackets down to 3. 10%, 25% and 35%
Doubling the standard deduction, but elimination of all deductions other than Mortgage Interest and Charity
10% income bracket couples would pay no tax on their first $24k
Elimination of the AMT and Death Tax
On the surface, I love all of it. It would give a break to the top earners (of course), but it totally restructures how the second and third brackets manage their taxes. I'd go from 29% down to 25%, so that's cool. It would put a LOT of CPA's and Tax Lawyers out of business. One or two page filing. Top earners would game the system and become instant employees of their own businesses overnight (that's both good and bad thing).
I'm most excited about the the 15% business tax. Trillions of Corporate tax dollars are being held offshore (MS, Apple, Google, Amazon to name a few). Ireland doesn't like this plan at all. We are the world's largest consumer of retail goods. If he can get 15%, we'll have the largest jobs and economy growth seen since the Industrial Revolution. Every company in the world would set up shop in the USA almost overnight. Alibaba v. Amazon? Foxconn in Ohio? MS Ireland closing up shop? Yes please. We would have more choice and our dollar would go much, much further.
My guess is he'll negotiate to 20 - 22.5% and call it a win (if he can even get that). Still, even 20% would spur a BIGLY amount of growth. We shall see I guess...
PS: Paul Ryan will fvck it up.
Right about Ryan. He was born a fvck up and a butt licker and a vampire. This tax plan is just a re-hash of trickle down economics. It NEVER works. It just widens the gap between the middle class and the top 3%. If you think for one minute that corporate America is going to pass the tax savings along to the consumer think again. Did the airlines pass the enormous fuel savings down the line to the consumer? No, they just paid the top management more and charged more fees. When the oil companies were having record profits did they pass the savings on to the consumer? Nope, but their top management reaped in huge bonuses and perks. Remember, Donald Chump has everything to gain from his tax plan personally as well as his suspect businesses. This "president" has lied and failed to come through on all of his bullsh!t promises and it will just continue. I would list all of his 100 day failures but it could overwhelm this website and cause it to crash.