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‘Starve the beast’? The $40tn cost of Republicans’ false promises to cut spending

From The Guardian · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Context piece
  • The article argues that Republican fiscal policies, particularly tax cuts since Ronald Reagan, have significantly contributed to the US's $40 trillion national debt.
  • It criticizes the "starve the beast" strategy, suggesting its goal was to empower Republicans rather than fix government finances.
  • The piece claims that Trump's policies, including tariffs and the "department of government efficiency," exacerbated the debt without generating promised revenue or growth.

The staggering $40 trillion U.S. government debt is directly linked to a long-standing Republican strategy, "starve the beast," which prioritizes tax cuts over fiscal responsibility, according to The Guardian. This approach, which gained momentum under Ronald Reagan, aimed to deprive the government of revenue, thereby limiting its ability to spend.

we’re in the worst economic mess since the Great Depression.

— Ronald ReaganIn his address to the nation on February 5, 1981, shortly after taking office.

Reagan, in a 1981 address, argued that "extravagance" required reducing the government's "allowance." This philosophy has since guided Republican administrations to repeatedly slash income and estate taxes, and create broad deductions, often without the promised economic growth to offset the revenue loss. The article contends that the ultimate goal was not fiscal health but cementing Republican political power.

Instead of paying for themselves, these tax cuts have historically led to increased borrowing to maintain spending levels. This has frequently left subsequent Democratic administrations to manage the resulting budgetary challenges. Bruce Bartlett, a former Republican policy adviser, explained the strategy as a method to "tie the hands of Democratic presidents."

There were always those who told us that taxes couldn’t be cut until spending was reduced. Well, you know, we can lecture our children about extravagance until we run out of voice and breath. Or we can cure their extravagance by simply reducing their allowance.

— Ronald ReaganExplaining his approach to fiscal policy in his 1981 address.

The article also criticizes Donald Trump's governance, attributing the national debt's rise under his tenure partly to his policies. Tariffs, promoted as revenue sources, were invalidated by the Supreme Court, forcing refunds. Elon Musk's "department of government efficiency" (Doge) is cited as having cut federal programs without impacting the deficit. Furthermore, inflation following Trump's actions reportedly increased the cost of servicing government debt, pushing the federal debt significantly higher during his term.

It’s all part of Republican plan going on for quite a long time to tie the hands of Democratic presidents.

— Bruce BartlettFormer Republican policy adviser, explaining the long-term strategy behind tax cuts.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Guardian. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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