Gary Cohn Image by Getty Images

By Aiden Pink September 29, 2017

In a press conference Thursday promoting President Trump’s tax reform push, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn — a former president of the Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs — seemed to say that a new car costs only $1,000.

“If we allow a family to keep another $1,000 of their income, what does that mean?” he asked. “They can renovate their kitchen. They can buy a new car. They can take a family vacation. They can increase their lifestyle.”

Cohn made his estimate assuming an average income of $100,000 per year — but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual income is $74,000.

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Cohn had considered quitting the White House due to his disappointment with Trump’s response to the Charlottesville, Virginia. white supremacist rally, but Thursday he admitted that he stayed because he was excited by the “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to pursue tax reform.

“Why am I here? I am here just for this reason,” Cohn replied. “Think about the opportunity that I’m involved in with President Trump and being able to rewrite the tax code — something hasn’t been done in 31 years.

“The amount of impact that we can have on the U.S. economy and on U.S. citizens and changing the forward outlook of the United States — this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I would never miss this.”

He also said that he would stay at the White House after the tax reform push to pursue “many more once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

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