Letter: Can tax cuts harm the economy?

To the editor:

For most of my lifetime we’ve been told that tax cuts benefit the economy. This makes sense. If Americans pay less in taxes, they’ll have more money to spend on consumption, which we know is what drives the U.S. economy. But is that always the case?

What happens when most of the tax cuts benefit the rich? Do the rich spend more, and does that spending “trickle down” to the rest of the economy? This leans into a matter of debate. Certainly, if wealthy Americans have more money we should assume they’ll spend more money. But what do wealthy Americans buy? Islands? Crypto? A.I. focused private equity funds? Does a wealthy person buying an interest rate swap or a forward contract on crypto currency really translate into economic growth in Alexandria, Minnesota? Will the spendin