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Lawrence Summers: The Trump administration's tax plan is an atrocity

Related Topics: Lawrence Summers

It is absurd to suggest that reductions from current levels will call forth some renaissance of hard work.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks during the news briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The Trump administration’s tax plan is not a plan. It is a melange of ideas put forth without precision or arithmetic. It is not clear enough to permit the kind of careful quantitative analysis of its expected budget costs, economic effects and distributional implications that precedes such legislation in a serious country.

It is clear enough, however, to demonstrate that the claims of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Council of Economic Advisers Chair Kevin Hassett are some combination of ignorant, disingenuous and dishonest.