Ronald Reagan promoted the trickle-down theory that says, if tax breaks are given to the super-rich and wealthy corporations, they will use the money to raise workers' wages or for new hires. That didn't happen. The money went to executive compensation, stockholders' dividends, and tax havens. It took money out of circulation and exacerbated inequality which is a major threat to a democracy. The GOP Tax law repeats Reagan's effort and will no doubt have the same result. Both times basic economics were ignored. Corporations will never pay more than they need to for help and will not hire people they don't need.
If they wanted to help the middle class they would have written it into the law that the new funds had to go to workers' salaries or new hires. They didn't do that because this tax plan was never intended to help the middle class. It was intended to benefit the GOP donors who promoted it and probably wrote it. The standard deduction is temporarily doubled but exemptions for dependents are gone. The benefits to the wealthy are permanent. Even the huge deficit created by this tax plan benefits the wealthy because the government borrows from the wealthy and pays them back with interest.
As a candidate Trump promised to get rid of the "carried interest" loophole. If he did there would be funds to make college free for students. He didn't. Instead he lessened or got rid of the "alternative minimum tax" and the estate tax which benefit the rich only. In 2005, Trump had to show his tax returns which indicated that he had to pay $31million in AMT even though he was able to eradicate most or all of his tax liability.
You can bet that when the GOP deficit hawks wake up to the expense of carrying this huge national debt, they will be looking to cut Social Security and Medicare on which the middle class depends. Trump and the GOP are out to repay the super-rich donors who finance their campaigns. Nothing could be clearer.
Malita Brown, Wilbraham