Examining America’s Economic Future: Jonathan Williams on the Hugh Hewitt Show

Last Friday, ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams joined Hugh Hewitt on his radio show to assess the ongoing battle to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as well as its critical role in America’s economic trajectory.

For years, Williams has been a vocal advocate for policies he believes will fuel economic growth.

“The TCJA, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, was something that put America’s economy on rocket fuel, and really took us to the next level and brought all those jobs back, brought that capital back to the United States for repatriation,” said Williams.

Those tax cuts were not just a political win but an economic necessity. Now, with key provisions set to expire, he sees their extension as “essential,” warning that failure to act “would be facing a multi-trillion-dollar tax increase.”

The House recently passed a budget resolution under Speaker Johnson’s leadership—a feat Williams called “incredible” given the razor-thin margin.

“There’s obviously things that maybe even you and I would like to see better from a fiscal perspective,” he admitted to Hewitt, “but you know what? They got the vehicle done, and now they’re setting up the stage for what this essential battle is going to be to preserve those Trump tax cuts.”

“Heck, you maybe even go a little bit further and get that business tax rate down to 15% like the President has been talking about,” Williams added.

The Senate, however, remains the critical bottleneck. With a one-vote GOP majority, time is of the essence. Williams emphasized the influence of ALEC’s network, noting, “We have an ALEC letter that more than 400 state legislators have signed to say, ‘permanently extend these tax cuts for the future of our economic growth as a country.’”

He suggested the Senate could refine the House plan by addressing contentious issues like the state and local tax (SALT) deduction—a “huge pay-for” in the original bill that remains a sticking point, particularly with New York’s congressional delegation.

Williams explained how critical it is for the economy to get it right.

“We’re teetering on, potentially some very bad things economically, with inflation being still persistent with our national debt the way that it is,” he warned. “We need strong growth.”

However, Williams dismissed pessimistic forecasts.

“Some of the bean counters here in Washington say that we’re not even going to hit 2% GDP growth over the long term,” he explained. “We need to take that model and throw it to the side and say we’re going to demand 3% GDP growth, at least in this country.”

The recipe? “Pro-growth policies, deregulation,” and, crucially, the TCJA’s renewal.

For Williams, the tax debate is about more than numbers—it’s about vision. He pointed to ALEC’s state-level insights, where “49 out of the 50 states have a balanced budget amendment. They have to do it every single year.” If states can find fiscal discipline, he implied, so can Washington—perhaps through spending cuts rather than tax offsets.

ALEC members want Congress to go big.

“Extend the Trump tax cuts and also get as much as more as you can,” Williams said. “ALEC members would like to see us go further, to get down to maybe 15% on the business tax rate and continue to drive growth economically in the United States.”

The clock is ticking. Whether lawmakers heed Williams’s call—or ALEC’s 400-strong chorus of state legislators—could define the nation’s fiscal future.