And I'm guessing you don't want to talk about the positive impact that Trump's massive deregulation in 2017 had on the 2017 numbers? Those moves saved businesses billions of dollars in red tape and helped spur the economic upturn. So how about we compare FY 2016, i.e., before any of Trump's policies were in effect, to FY 2018 and FY 2019, hey? Revenue was higher in FY 2018 than in FY 2016, and revenue is officially estimated to be higher this FY than FY 2018, which means it will be even higher than FY 2016.
I would be happy to talk about them if you can put some hard, cold numbers to them. I do not deal in anecdotes .
But, let's take the calendar year numbers for CY 2018 and compare them to CY 2016, before any of Trump's policies were in effect and while Obama was still in office, shall we?
CY 2018 -- $3.33 trillion
CY 2016 -- $3.24 trillion
So in the first full calendar year of the Trump tax cuts, CY 2018, revenue was $90 billion more than it was in CY 2016.
Yes, but the entire change came in 2017, not from the tax cuts. The tax cuts reduced income year to year between CY17 and CY18...this is a fact you cannot deny.
Oh, boy. Okay, let's consider some facts:
One, per the Treasury Department, federal revenue for FY 2019, based on receipts so far, will be $3.44 trillion, which logically suggests that revenue for CY 2019 will be a bit higher.
Two, tax cuts take time to have an effect, which should go without saying.
Three, the government estimates that federal revenue will be $3.645 trillion in FY 2020, a substantial increase from FY 2017's revenue of $3.32 trillion, an increase of $336 billion in fact.
Four, okay, so CY 2018's revenue was $13 billion less than CY 2017's revenue, but look what we got in CY 2018: a huge increase in manufacturing jobs, the first sizable hike in average wages in years, the lowest U-6 rate in years, over 2 million new jobs, etc., etc. Plus, American companies were suddenly able to keep 40% more of their profits, and middle-income Americans, those in the second and third tax brackets, saw their annual take-home pay increase by $960 to $4,800 per year, thanks to the Trump tax cuts. I'd say that was definitely worth a temporary drop, a drop of only $13 billion, in calendar year revenue, especially given the fact that all indications are that CY 2019 and 2020 revenue are going to be higher than CY 2018 revenue, and higher than CY 2017 revenue.
Five, I again point out that any analysis of 2017's numbers should take into account Trump's substantial deregulation measures, such as his executive orders to markedly defang the costs of Obamacare (1/20/17), to speed the approval process for infrastructure projects (1/24/17), to require federal agencies to cut two regulations for every new one they propose (1/30/17), and, perhaps most important, to order the Treasury Department to review all financial regulations. So even though Trump's tax cuts were not in effect in 2017, his regulatory policies were.
Six, that's why a fairer, more objective comparison, is to compare CY 2016 revenue with CY 2018 revenue. As mentioned, CY 2018 revenue was $90 billion higher than CY 2016 revenue.