Speaking with ABC News’ “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos, Miran hedged on what deals are in the works.
Miran on past tax cuts Stephanopoulos: You say this is all going to turbocharge growth.
Revenue as a share of GDP was 17.1% last year, the same as it was before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
So, you got this huge surge in growth as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Summers on claims of economic growth Stephanopoulos: Part of the president’s argument is that economic growth sparked by the bill will alleviate the dangers that you talk about here.
Stephen Miran, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, warned that as President Donald Trump’s deadline to reach trade agreements draws near, tariffs may be postponed for certain nations that are negotiating with the US in good faith.
Miran cautioned about upcoming deals in an interview with George Stephanopoulos, anchor of ABC News’ “This Week” program.
The president’s deadline for the agreements on tariffs is drawing near. To date, you have only witnessed three deals. Stephanopoulos questioned, “What can we anticipate next?”.
I continue to have hope that several deals will be reached later this week. That is partly due to the fact that all of the negotiations go through a number of stages that culminate at the deadline, Miran stated.
In response to questions about whether Trump would extend the deadline if these other agreements fall through, Miran said it might be feasible.
“Well, I would expect that nations that are making the necessary concessions and engaging in sincere negotiations will get a roll, you know, sort of get the date rolled,” he said. “The deal is just not there yet because it needs more time because of that.”.
Miran said he has heard positive things about discussions with Europe and India, but he would not elaborate when asked which countries could see that date changed.
“I anticipate that several nations that are currently making those concessions may have their dates rolled. I would anticipate higher tariffs for the nations that aren’t negotiating in good faith and aren’t making concessions,” Miran stated. But once more, the president will make a decision later this week and in the days that follow regarding whether or not the nations are making the necessary efforts to gain access to the American market as they have become used to. “.”.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers joined Stephanopolous as well, but he objected to the possible economic gains from Trump’s tariffs.
“It is likely to generate some revenue at the expense of increased inflation for American consumers and decreased competitiveness for American producers,” stated Summers. Therefore, this [budget] bill will result in higher prices, less competition, and not really that much revenue compared to what is being given to the very wealthy. “”.
Here are some additional highlights from the interviews with Miran and Summers.
Miran on Trump’s megabill and CBO estimates.
Stephanopoulos: What makes the CBO’s prediction that the Medicaid cuts will cause a little over 11 million people to lose their health insurance coverage unsound?
Miran: Well, since they’ve made mistakes before. CBO estimated that approximately 5 million people would lose their insurance by 2019 as a result of Republicans’ repeal of the individual mandate penalty during the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act during the president’s first term. And you know what? There was absolutely no change in the number. That was a very small portion of it. Thus, they have previously been mistaken. And look, if we didn’t pass the bill, the largest tax act in history would have caused a massive recession, which would have eliminated insurance for 8 to 9 million people. Expanding the economy, finding people employment, and obtaining insurance through their employers are the best ways to ensure that people have insurance. The best way to get people insured is always to improve the economy and create jobs.
Miran on previous tax reductions.
You claim that all of this will accelerate growth, Stephanopoulos. We have seen some experience with this back in 1981, during the administration of Ronald Reagan. His tax cuts were enormous. When the growth failed to materialize, they were forced to raise taxes for a number of years. Worried that it might occur once more?
Miran: Well, as I mentioned earlier, history is on our side. Growth skyrocketed during the president’s first term, and there was no discernible, or even significant, long-term drop in revenue. Last year’s revenue as a percentage of GDP was 17.1%, which was the same as it was prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, you experienced a significant increase in growth. No discernible long-term drop in revenue occurred. As a percentage of GDP, corporate revenue even increased from 1 percent to 1 percent. And the growth was good. And this time, we anticipate the same outcome.
safety net cuts during the summer.
Stephanopoulos: You and former President Robert Rubin, who was Treasury secretary, described this bill as “dangerous” and stated that it “posed a huge risk to the economy” in the New York Times this week. What dangers exist?
Summers: George, to begin with, what your people have been saying is the largest ever cut to the safety net in the United States. The Yale Budget Lab predicts that 100,000 people will perish over a ten-year period. That is equivalent to the 2,000 days of death that occurred in Texas this past weekend. Never in my seventy years have I felt more ashamed for my nation on July Fourth. Every middle-class family in our nation faces the risk of increased inflation, increased risk that the Fed will have to raise interest rates and run the risk of recession, and increased stagflation as a result of this bill. These factors include higher interest rates, reduced electricity subsidies, decreased housing availability, and hospitals having to care for these patients and passing the costs on to everyone else. And to the top tenth of a percent of our population, for what? A million dollars spread over ten years. I don’t think that’s the most important use of federal funds at the moment. Our president and Congress are committing a disgraceful act that will cause our nation to regress.
Summers on economic growth claims.
Stephanopoulos: The president’s claim that the bill’s acceleration of economic growth will mitigate the risks you discuss here is part of his argument. Next up is the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, whose council released a report this week estimating that growth, increased tax revenue, and debt repayment savings would reduce the deficit by $11 trillion. How would you react to that?
