The White House sent out a series of news reports Wednesday showing companies boosting pay, giving bonuses, and creating new jobs.
Starbuck’s, Disney, Verizon — all but one of the success stories was attributed to the tax cuts President Trump signed into law before the end of 2017 (Whirlpool was purportedly responding to his tariff hike instead).
Republicans believe it is important to their midterm election prospects, to say nothing of Trump’s re-election, to tout the tax cuts. They need to show how it increased take-home pay, accelerated economic growth, and helped businesses create new jobs.
Polling before the tax reform package’s passage suggested the public was skeptical they would pay less, and many feared they would pay more. While those numbers have improved since the tax cut was enacted, the perception still exists that the legislation was weighted too heavily in favor of corporations.
Whether the public sees the tax cuts as a success or not has longer term implications for the GOP than 2018 or even Trump’s presumed bid for a second term. The past two decades have not been kind to the Republicans’ image as the party of growth and the tax issue has lost at least some of its force with the electorate.
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04.29.2025