Letter: Herrera Beutler is wrong

This is in response to Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler’s Dec. 24 op-ed: “Tax bill will help all in S.W. Washington.” She is wrong.

I’m a retired economist who understands more about how our economy functions than most. But don’t take it from me. Try to find an unowned economist who supports what she says and you’ll become frustrated. Not a single Nobel Prize winner.

First, one-third of all corporate shares are owned by people overseas so the corporate tax cuts will send one-third of that money out of our country. In 10 years, 83 percent of the personal tax give-away goes to a very small part of the population, those who own most of the corporate shares getting big tax handouts. They won’t spend their windfall.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other leading Republicans have stated that Medicare and Medicaid cuts are on their agenda.

Finally, the Great Infrastructure effort will be paid with what? Deficit spending, reductions in other spending, or tax increases?

There’s no free lunch so here’s a proposal: If the economy isn’t growing at 3.9 percent in September, as promised, Herrera Beutler should apologize and retire. If it is, I promise to pay my taxes and never criticize her again.