It's a fair point. A tax cut NOW may necessitate a tax increase in the future but that tax increase will almost certainly be levied on the wealthy.
The goal of course is to reduce spending, or drown the government in deficits and debt so far that we can't do things like expand ACA or other benefits. That will be the call from the GOP the second a Democrat wins the WH, months before he or she is sworn in - deficits are awful, sorry poors and olds, you'll have to take fewer benefits. We all KNOW the GOP will cut off their right arm before voting for tax increases.
I know it's a well worn lw cliche that tax cuts are just a pay back to rich supporters but that doesn't pass the logic test.
Politicians do things becuse they are motivated by self interest- that is getting elected .
The assumption on tax cuts is that it engenders economic growth. If a GOP pol didn't belive that, hey would not be acting in their self interest as a tax cut that ONLY benefits a very small minority would not get them elected.
Sure, tax cuts increase growth a bit, and especially in the short term when they're financed with deficits (and they always are), which are also in the short term expansionary. The "tell" about the GOP position being fraudulent is lower taxes come with the downside (or upside!) of lower government spending, but none of the tax cuts in recent history have been offset with spending cuts. So you get the benefits of lower taxes, Keynesian stimulus from huge increases in deficit spending, and none of the downsides of making tough choices. So there's no immediate downside, and donors are happy, voters are happy. The Obama stimulus was $750 billion or so over 3 years, at the depths of the Great Recession, and the GOP tax cuts will almost get there - $600 billion or so in stimulus in the first 3 years. The difference is that stimulus is at full employment at the end of a decade-long expansion.
Again, priorities for the GOP will change overnight when Democrats take power. Then we'll start hearing again about hyper inflation, etc. And of course lowering deficits with spending cuts or tax increases is in the short term at least contractionary, which is of course good politics for the GOP. Hang the contractionary policies around the Democrats' necks, and run on that. It's really great politics, to be honest. And it works because Republicans voters don't care about deficits, and never have.
And as far as the "well worn lw cliche" it's possible of course that GOP positions on taxes just happen to perfectly align with the often expressed preferences of their biggest donors! It's just a happy, joyous coinkydink! Or they are doing what donors pay them to do, which is lower their taxes. I'll go with the latter...
Take their position on estate taxes. They're certainly not committed to getting them zeroed out to improve growth, there's no evidence heirs are particularly good with inherited money, but to make their seriously wealthy, as in private jet wealthy, donors happy. It's the surest way to guarantee an American aristocracy by eliminating estate taxes, and keeping step up in basis rules, which is what the GOP position has been on estate taxes.
