Like all good cons it looked at first like it was working. Folks saw more in their paychecks and thought “well it’s going on the country’s credit card but at least I got mine!”

Then came tax time and the usually fat refunds were a fraction of what they’d been.  Turns out it was just that withholding was adjusted so folks would see more in their paychecks but with little net gain.

Some industries depend on those annual juicy refunds to fuel sales: large appliances, cars, big luxury items like boats, etc.  Folks didn’t have that big chunk they were used to those industries suffered.

And as is pretty well known now, it turned the lion’s share of actual tax cuts went to the top 1% who really didn’t need it anyhow.  They just funnel more money into investments instead of spending it growing the economy.

Well, played, GOP, well played.

For you real tax wonks, there’s lots more nuance to the con.