December 22, 2017, was a date which will live in infamy. I’m quoting FDR’s famous speech to a joint session of Congress on December 8th, 1941, the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, which led to the US entry into World War II.
But December 22 will live in infamy for an entirely different reason. It’s because that is the day Donald Trump attacked the uniquely American and deeply egalitarian notion that the US tax system should be progressive, and that tax revenues should be used to redistribute wealth where it’s needed most. Trump’s $1.5 trillion dollar tax cut, which was rammed through both houses on Congress on almost entirely partisan lines, was signed into law by the President.
To say the bill is an abomination and a stab at the heart of social progress is an understatement, akin to saying that nuclear weapons are bad. Because this bill is not just bad, it’s awful.
Most people know the particulars by now. Within a decade, 83% of the benefits of the tax cut will go to the top 1% of Americans. And fully 60% of the benefits will go to the top 1/10th of 1% of American earners, which is people who make at least $5.1 million per year. That’s right, folks, people making over $5 million will get a huge tax cut. Because we all know they really need more money to get by.
And by 2027, 53% of Americans would pay more in taxes than they do now.
Furthermore, 13 million Americans would lose the health insurance they gained under Obamacare. And there’s just no way that any sane person with a heartbeat can think that taking people’s health insurance away is a good thing. So that they can, what, die sooner? No thanks.
In addition, as has been widely publicized, the corporate tax rate will be lowered from 35% to 21%. Which Trump and his criminal Congressional compatriots will spur economic growth and job creation. But many major corporations have already admitted publicly that they will use the revenues for stock buybacks, which increase the price of shares and enrich top executives and other major shareholders. They also plan on more mergers and acquisitions, as well as investments in automation. [The Intercept documented this well in a December 19th article].
So, one must ask, how in the hell are stock buybacks, mergers and acquisitions and more automation going to help struggling American workers? The answer is, they won’t.
And Americans aren’t buying it either. The latest polls show that fully 55% of Americans oppose the bill. Does Trump care what the American people think? No, he doesn’t.
The saddest part is that we’ve seen this movie before. We saw it with Reagan’s massive tax cut in the 1980s, and again with George W. Bush’s tax cut in the 2000’s. It’s a giveaway to the rich and especially the ultra-rich, and an absolute disaster for the middle class and the poor. And unfortunately, the movie always ends with recession, soaring inequality, and massive budget deficits.
What an outrage that Trump and his criminal compatriots in Congress have rammed this bill down Americans’ throats.
I dissent.
