Gary Cohn Says $1,000 Tax Cut Can Let Americans ‘Buy A New Car’
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.
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
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
