December 29, 2017 – Well, congratulations Republicans. You have now passed a tax cut (scam) bill that mainly benefits your wealthy donors. As Republican congressman Chris Collins said “my donors are basically saying get it done or don’t ever call me again.” According to the Tax Policy Center, the top 0.1% will now get a tax cut of $179,000. The average person making between $25,000 and $48,000 will get a temporary tax cut of $310. Trump’s family is expected to save about $1 billion – that’s $1 BILLION– in taxes. And this is a good thing because as Republican Chuck Grassley said those lazy (poor) people will just spend money ”on booze, women, or movies.” According to Oil Change International (OIC), the companies that will benefit the most are the big fossil fuel companies. Did you know that in the US, the fossil fuel industry gets over $20 BILLION in tax subsidies every year? According to OIC, “in the 2015-20016 election cycle, oil and gas companies spent $354 in campaign contributions and lobbying and received $29.4 BILLION in subsidies–an 8,200% return on their investment.” Boy did they get their money’s worth! Thank goodness for Citizens United so big companies can bribe our elected officials legally. And it’s a good thing that climate change is a “hoax” so the US can pull out of the Paris Climate Change Accord and burn all the fossil fuel we want.
Oh yes, the other good thing about this tax scam is companies will now hire more people and wages will go up – classic trickle down economics or as Bush Senior called it “voodoo economics”. This doesn’t happen. According to the non partisan Congressional Research Service Report, there is no correlation between tax cuts for the rich and job and wage growth. Check out what happened in Kansas. Wages in the US have been stagnant since the 1980’s- the Reagan revolution. According to the Economic Policy Institute, since 1979 annual pay increase for the top 1% has grown 138% while the bottom 90% has grown 15%. CEO salaries have soared. In 1970 the CEO to worker salary ratio was about 25:1 – now it is over 300:1. Yale University just completed a survey of the top CEO’s in this country. “86% do not plan to make large immediate capital investment.” History shows that when you give corporation tax cuts, they give their CEO’s salary increases, they do buy backs of their stocks so their stock value will go up, then they pay dividends to their already wealthy clients. Where does any of this activity help the working class?? There is nothing in this tax scam bill that prevents companies from moving overseas or hiding their assets in other countries like the Cayman Islands. And don’t forget this bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will add about $1.5 TRILLION to the federal deficit. But don’t worry the “tax cuts will pay for themselves” and if they don’t the Republican’s can (as they are already planning to do) always privatize (cut) Social Security (like Bush Junior tried to do), cut the Medicare budget some more (the bill already cuts Medicare by 4%) and gut any other vulnerable safety net program.
And lest we forget the best thing about this bill – it does away with the health insurance mandate, which the Congressional Budget Office predicts will result in about 13 million people being without health insurance and thus affordable health care. And insurance premiums for the rest of us will go up about 10%. But this is OK because “I don’t want my money going to those lazy people.” Or as people during a 2011 Tea Party rally clapped and cheered “let them die.”
Isn’t it great that Republicans are sticking to their Christian family values of caring for the sick, the poor, and those less fortunate; plus being fiscally responsible by not renewing the CHIPS (Children’s Heath Program) because there is no money in the Federal budget to pay for it.
You go Republicans. OR maybe people will wake up and realize the Republican Party does not represent the average American.
Nancy Eubanks lives in Rough&Ready and is a member of the Nevada County Democratic Party.