Letter: Newhouse tax vote driving up our debt

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the recent tax reform of which Rep. Dan Newhouse is so proud will balloon the national debt. This is real money that has to be paid back, perhaps by trying to sell bonds to the Chinese. Indeed, Bloomberg reports that the annual budget deficit will surpass $1 trillion two years before scheduled in 2020. With a $5.5 trillion tax cut, debt as a proportion of GDP would rise from 80 percent in 2017 to 111 percent in 2027.

The Republicans claim that these tax cuts pay for themselves by increasing economic growth is uncertain and unproven. Targeted spending on infrastructure or R&D can indeed produce growth over time. But nowhere has it been demonstrated that just giving more money to rich people produces growth.

In fact, concerns have been raised that funding these tax cuts will require cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Why would anybody be proud of that?

Candidate Christine Brown understands that sound fiscal policy is based on realistic, clear-headed thinking, not just nice-sounding but fundamentally flawed ideas. We need to correct this poorly-constructed tax policy and the sooner the better. We can start by electing Christine Brown for Congress in November.