A couple weeks ago President Trump began promising middle class Americans they would receive a 10 percent tax cut before election day, which is Tuesday. It was just another of Trump's shoot-from-the-hip promises that he knew he could not fulfill.
Congress is not even in session, and setting new tax rates is NOT something he can simply decree.
Finally, on Wednesday, he and the top GOP tax writer admitted as much, promising to make that tax cut happen right after the new Congress convenes in January. Of course, that's just another carrot Trump is dangling for his supporters so they will back Republican candidates for Congress.
The average voter has no idea how Congress works, and Trump, cynical as he is, he is counting on that. He said they were "putting in a resolution sometime in the next week or week and a half..." to implement such a cut.
A little civics lesson: Tax cuts are not done by "resolution." It takes legislation that is approved by both the House and Senate and signed by the President. A "resolution" merely states one's intention to do something and is meaningless.
And once again, there is no consideration for the deficit, which is ballooning beyond imagination as a result of his big business and rich people's tax cut enacted earlier this year. However, that doesn't matter to the once budget-conscious GOP. They simply are using it and the false promise of yet another reduction to buy votes on Tuesday.
In a joint statement, Trump and House Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady (R-TX) declared: "We are committed to delivering an additional 10% tax cut to middle-class workers across the country. And we intend to take swift action on this legislation at the start of the 116th Congress."
Trump's promise had sent Congressional leaders into a frenzy as they tried to determine what was up. Reporters, analysts and lawmakers alike knew there could be no such plan and zero chance Congress could pass a bill in time
"There is no plan," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. "There was never a plan."
And so, it was just another Trump exaggeration, false promise and lie.
Yet, his loyal followers don't care. They like the pittance they already received. They credit Trump, only, with the continuing improvement in the economy that was launched under President Obama. And they have no idea what the impact of his massive tariffs will be on their own livelihoods.
They also ignore the fact that if Republicans continue to control Congress next year that the pressure to slash Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid will be intense. Why? To pay for the tax cut. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has so stated.
All that matters to Trump's supporters is that they like what he says. Even if it is a lie. Period.