My problem is the rosy predictions on revenue growth never match the reality of the revenue lost.
I can't defend every rosy prediction, but if you look at actual revenue levels in the wake of tax cuts, they almost always increased. Sometimes there will be one year when they don't, but they do generally go up. So is every rosy prediction right? No, but they're closer to reality than claims that the tax cuts are huge deficit drivers.
Where things go wrong is the political and budgetary machinations necessary to deliver tax cuts (when Republicans are in charge) and to protect them (when Democrats are in charge). This is how it usually goes.
GOP - We need to cut taxes.
Democrats - No chance in hell. Have you seen the deficit? We can't afford them, and we'll do whatever we can to stop them. We'll filibuster, hold up must-pass legislation, etc.
GOP - Well, we don't really want your votes, because we want the issue. However, what's it going to take to keep you from going to war to stop them?
Democrats - Well, if there's enough money for tax cuts, then there should also be enough for a lot of new spending on health, education, welfare, and infrastructure we want.
GOP - We can't afford all that. Look at the deficit.
Democrats - Then no deal.
GOP - If you'll let us have 90 percent of the tax cuts and some new spending on the Pentagon and some infrastructure spending on stuff that's more red state-friendly, we'll let you have 80 percent of your new spending.
Democrats - OK. We still won't vote for the tax cuts and blame them when the deficit explodes from all this new spending, but we'll acquiesce to them.
When Democrats are in power pushing to get rid of the tax cuts, largely the same dynamic takes place. You'll notice what happens. Both parties claim to care about the deficit, but when it's time to make a deal, the deficit is of no real priority at all. They're both bullshiters.
Think about the Trump tax cuts. When they passed, what also happened? The budget caps under the sequester were busted, and the Pentagon got a significant additional boost. Something similar happened with the Bush tax cuts. A real deficit hawk may still have pushed for some tax relief, but he would have subordinated the tax relief to hold down the deficit.
What made John Kasich effective is that he knew how to exploit the different factions on the Democratic side and was willing to play ball himself. He worked with Blue Dogs (meaning the old school Charlie Stenholm-types) who were real deficit hawks and detested the whole game, and as an Ohioan he was used to playing ball with farmer/labor-friendly fiscal and social moderates like Tim Penny or Jim Trafficant. Furthermore, though he was a tax cutter, he was less rigid about giving it all to the top earners or making the cuts as big.
So when he ran the Budget Committee, he'd take a harder line on spending in practice and in rhetoric. He'd appeal to the Blue Dogs by taking a harder line on spending, and he'd make the tax cuts smaller and a bit more family oriented (more oriented toward child tax credits with smaller cuts in the top bracket and capital gains rates), which appealed to ag and labor-oriented Democrats. The result was smaller but still meaningful tax relief but less spending and ultimately a balanced budget. The Senate had guys like this too - Pete Domenici, Bill Roth, and Bob Packwood would make similar deals with guys like Kent Conrad, Byron Dorgan, and Harry Reid (back before he joined the leadership). And for all their obvious faults, Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole, and Bill Clinton were willing to accept this framework.
I don't know if that kind of dealmaking is possible anymore, but it worked when it was tried.