re: Correction
Letting people keep money they already have earned is not "pork." Nor is it "spending," or a "government cost."
Tax cuts let people spend and invest as they see fit. Government spending is about politicians putting the money where they see fit.
The former is usually done with profit and new wealth in mind. The latter is usually done in the service of politics.
It's easy to provide "paychecks for Americans" by using taxpayer money to hire a thousand people to dig holes and another thousand to fill them.
At some point, taxpayer money has to come from real created wealth. The payroll and income taxes paid by the hole diggers isn't going to equal their salaries.