The American economy is now at 3.1 percent GDP growth, but it'll probably tick downward slightly because of the three hurricanes that hit during the third quarter of the year, Office of Budget and Management Director Mick Mulvaney said Friday.
"That's at this point typical," Mulvaney told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program. "What's also typical is you will see a corresponding uptick in the fourth quarter, the quarter after the hurricane."
But even more importantly, Mulvaney said, jobs are paying better and there are more opportunities, and the three percent growth has come earlier than expected.
"We are seeing that 3 percent growth we have talked about since the [Trump] administration started," Mulvaney said. "In all fairness, we are seeing it much earlier than we expected. Did I not project in the budget that we would see 3 percent growth until I believe 2019? So it's actually happening faster than we expected."
Mulvaney also discussed President Donald Trump's tax plans, saying they focus on the middle class.
"Folks in the middle class will pay less and it will be easier for them to pay," Mulvaney said. "I don't think nearly enough folks have been talking about the fact that almost 90 percent of households — not businesses — ordinary folks pay somebody else to do their taxes. They won't have to do that anymore. You will pay less and be easier to pay and won't have to pay somebody else to do it for you.
"That's number one. Number two is we really are focusing hard on corporate tax rate as we try to give companies incentives to invest in America again."
Mulvaney said the new plan also helps equalize the tax structure nationwide.
"If you and I make the same amount of money, we live in the same value house, we drive the same value car and our kids go to the same schools, shouldn't we pay the exact same to support the federal government?" he said. "Shouldn't your tax burden be exactly the same? The answer is yes. If you live in a low-tax state, you actually pay higher taxes to the federal government than the exact same personal does in California or New York. That's not fair."
However, there are Democrats already opposing the plans, Mulvaney said.
"I have had a conversation with some and asked them could you ever support deductions to the corporate tax rate? And they say no, and that's the end of the discussion," he said. "So many of them are so heavily invested in this talking point anything that is good for the economy must be a give away to the rich, so they never consider voting yes."
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