by Frank Thomas
As I've documented thoroughly in past papers, combining significant across-the-board tax cuts - where +- 80% of the cuts goes to corporations and the top 5% - combined with Huge infrastructure investments, other needed social investments (e.g., pre-college school system) while simultaneously expanding already Huge Defense spending - inevitably results in massive deficits and debt expansions.
Bringing the +$2 trillion in U.S. profits stored abroad will not stop the flood of deficits and federal debt accumulation. Furthermore, all evidence shows that past funding of such social investments through public-private partnerships (PPPs) have also been extremely costly for tax payers but not the investors - due mainly to exceptionally high interest costs and and a melange of consumer user fees. Also, past data shows substantial tax cuts in combination with high spending don't spur GDP growth sufficiently to come anywhere near covering lost tax revenues. (Google: California Free Press - "Trump's Stand For The 'Forgotten' Blue Collar & Middle Class, " by Frank Thomas, Nov. 16, 2016) (... where I briefly discuss tax revenue/GDP growth net loss reality).
As far as Trump's healthcare plan is concerned, it will be a failure as was Obamacare destined to be for a host of reasons. The main reasons being there are still hundreds of non-standard plans by use of deductible, copay, coinsurance "gimmicks" in many variations from many, many insurers whose sole goal is to maximize profits by playing also with the "gimmicks" of benefit coverage percentages, premiums based on age, incomes, location, etc., etc. The resulting complex, huge proliferation of variable health insurance policies in every state throughout the country leads inevitably to very poor actuarial-risk insurance portfolios which in turn causes insurers to resort more and more to "gimmicks" noted above (and then some), which in turn make the effective cost of health insurance effectively very high and mostly non-affordable for millions of middle class and all lower class Americans. (Google: California Free Press - "Excellent Dutch Basic Healtcare System for All," by Frank Thomas, May 12, 2017).
