A recent AP story about how people are starting to see a bit more money in their paychecks reveals the scam at the heart of the GOP tax overhaul. One woman notes that she is now earning an extra $1.50 per pay period. I assumed that must be a typo, until the article explained that this amounted to $78 more per year. A man whose paycheck boost covers two-thirds of his increased healthcare cost enthuses, “I have heard time and again that the middle class is getting crumbs, but I’ll take it!”
Actually, the middle class is getting screwed.
Unstated in the article, or in the massive GOP snow job touting this “reform,” is that the wealthiest individuals and corporations will pocket the lion’s share—not just in dollars, but in percentages. According to NPR and the Tax Policy Center, households making $1 million or more per year will get an average tax cut of $69, 660, or a 3.3 percent increase in income. Those making under $100,000 will average a tax cut of just under $1,000, a paltry 0.1-1.8 percent increase. The trivial amounts with which the Republicans are attempting to buy off ordinary Americans end in a few years, whereas slashed corporate tax rates on wealthy companies are permanent. There’s also no mention that tax cuts for the super-rich are funded by targeting blue states, healthcare, and many other programs Americans depend on. These include Social Security and Medicare, which House Speaker Paul Ryan has already vowed to go after next. His rationale? To curb the deficit, which he and his cronies have just enthusiastically exploded by massively cutting taxes for millionaires and billionaires.
Speaking of Paul Ryan, he evidently saw the same AP story I did. He didn’t think $1.50 was a typo, though, or cause for horror. Instead, he saw it as something to celebrate, tweeting about it as a success story. Ryan deleted the tweet after being roundly attacked for it.
He may try to cover his tracks, but Republicans can’t erase the truth. Their motto is, “Let them eat crumbs.”
We shouldn’t swallow it.
That $1.50 a week doesn’t begin to cover the rise in our insurance premiums. Paul Ryan is a weasel. I have been despondent since the election, but the Pollyanna in me KNOWS The Orange One and the rest will get their comeuppance some day, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Comeuppance at the mid-terms! Nothing Pollyanna-ish about it, just determination! There are SO many weasels to flush out. Thanks for writing!
Brava!…I promised myself that I would not let this happen – but I did. I stayed awake fuming seemingly all night because of Trump’s parade, his Stalinist approach. I spent the night summoning up Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. I spent the night chastising Trump in my mind, but knowing I have no outlet in which to vent and take the American Politic by the collar and shake it to its core.
I know just what you mean, Nancy! RFK and MLK–and even Stalin!–must be turning in their graves. I have found a good outlet by canvassing with Swing Left once a month in our nearest Republican-represented House district (you have to travel a bit in these deep blue parts–I imagine upstate New York is a bit redder). It helps a lot to be engaged. I try to really limit the real estate DJT occupies in my mind. I’m actually more disgusted with and alarmed by his congressional enablers, and changing Congress is the most effective remedy.
Anyway, who would have thunk any of this when we were sweet little girls at Vinson-Owen Elementary School? How could we be fuming, let alone suffering from insomnia (which menopause brought to us long before DJT). Thanks for writing, great to hear from you.