NYT’s Friedman: Pair GOP tax cuts with taxes on sugar and bullets

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argued Tuesday that corporate tax cuts passed in December should also include “a tax on carbon, sugar, bullets, [and] a small financial transaction tax” to avoid increasing the deficit “by another trillion dollars” during an interview on MSNBC. 

“Here’s how I see it. I think our economy was steadily improving from 2008,” Friedman said on “Morning Joe” during a discussion on the economy. “I think Trump inherited a strong economy, and then I think he poured gas on it with this corporate tax cut.” 

“I happen to be in favor of corporate tax cuts, but I would have paired it with a tax on carbon, sugar, bullets, a small financial transaction tax — so we cut corporate taxes over here to unleash our corporate power, but didn’t increase our deficit by another trillion dollars,” the three-time Pulitzer Prize winner continued. “As interest rates start to creep up, that rising deficit and the interest on it is going to cost more and more. 

“And the financial experts I talked to say, ‘Boy, watch out for 2019, 2020 when these bills start to hit,'” Friedman said. 

A Wednesday CNBC poll showed that less than one-third of working adults — 32 percent — said they had more take-home pay due to the new law signed by President Trump in December. 

Republicans have put the tax-cut law at the center of its campaign message for November’s midterm elections.