Austan Goolsbee, a former economic adviser for President Obama, believes the GOP tax reform plan should be called, "How to Get Away With Murder."
Like most liberals, Goolsbee is outraged that the bill cuts taxes for the rich and big corporations, leaving little benefits for the middle class. No wonder it has a 29 percent approval rating, he said during a debate with economic policy analyst Stephen Moore on CNN Friday.
Republicans are trying to get it passed before anyone has the chance to look at the details, Goolsbee claimed.
Moore pushed back at the Democrat's assessment. If you earn $50,000 to $100,000, you stand to benefit from the Republican plan - from three items in particular. One, the plan doubles the standard deduction. Two, it increase the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. Three, it lowers rates.
Goolsbee called that a cover up. What Moore didn't mention, he noted, is that all those supposed benefits expire.
"I don't understand" how one can look at the past several years and think the solution is to cut taxes for the rich, Goolsbee added, again noting the 29 percent approval.
Goolsbee goes into more detail on Twitter, explaining to his followers why he believes the bill is a "tax scam."
I'm an actual economist, and I promise you: Trump's tax plan is a scam.-- @Austan_Goolsbee pic.twitter.com/LMySuUi36c
— ATTN: (@attn) December 14, 2017
President Trump defended the reform effort Friday outside of the White House.
"It will be the biggest tax cut in the history of our country," he said.
He expects the bill to pass early next week.