dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

The impossible magic math of Trump’s budget proposal, explained

By Philip Bump

May 23, 2017

Imagine that you’re in charge of a business — say, a high-end event space near Palm Beach, Fla.

Now imagine that you have an idea for an advertising campaign that you’re confident will bring in money. You pitch your proposal to the board of directors: Spend $100,000 on the ad campaign, and we’ll reap $250,000.

Let’s say that the chief executive then asks you for the bottom line on your proposal. Which is the honest response?

The company will gain $250,000.

The company will net $150,000, once you exclude the $100,000 spent on the advertising.

If you answered (2), you’re correct. If you answered (1), you may have a bright future awaiting you in the administration of Donald Trump.

The analogy above was offered to me by Jason Furman, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama. His goal was to explain the math at the heart of the Trump administration’s first budget, math that in the estimation of a number of outside observers falls prey to precisely the misrepresentation in that example. 🤣

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/05/23/the-impossible-magic-math-of-trumps-budget-proposal-explained/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.657e9880cf4e