The Atlantic

How Much Do Tax Cuts Really Matter?

The economic records of former presidents hold a lesson for Donald Trump.
Source: Pavel Golovkin / AP

The annual Census Bureau report on income and poverty released last week closes the book on former President Barack Obama’s economic record. But it opens the door to questioning the claim from President Trump and congressional Republicans that cutting taxes and federal regulations is the key to accelerating economic growth.

With the Census measures from 2016 now public, it’s possible to compare the economic records of the past four two-term presidents. Over their respective eight years, Bill Clinton and Obama each raised taxes on the affluent and generally increased federal regulation of

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic4 min read
Hayao Miyazaki’s Anti-war Fantasia
Once, in a windowless conference room, I got into an argument with a minor Japanese-government official about Hayao Miyazaki. This was in 2017, three years after the director had announced his latest retirement from filmmaking. His final project was
The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies
The Atlantic4 min read
KitchenAid Did It Right 87 Years Ago
My KitchenAid stand mixer is older than I am. My dad bought the white-enameled machine 35 years ago, during a brief first marriage. The bits of batter crusted into its cracks could be from the pasta I made yesterday or from the bread he made then. I

Related Books & Audiobooks