How the GOP Tax Scam Could “Change American Life”
This morning, the New York Times highlights the profound impact that the GOP tax scam will have on every aspect of American life. We know the bill will raise taxes on 82 million American families; we know that it gives enormous tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and corporations; and we know the bill will blow a $1.5 trillion dollar hole in the deficit. But there is so much more tucked inside this bill that Republicans are jamming through the Senate today. Take a look:
“The tax plan has been marketed by President Trump and Republican leaders as a straightforward if enormous rebate for the masses, a $1.5 trillion package of cuts to spur hiring and economic growth. But as the bill has been rushed through Congress with scant debate, its far broader ramifications have come into focus, revealing a catchall legislative creation that could reshape major areas of American life, from education to health care.”
“Some measures are barely connected to the realm of taxation, such as the lifting of a 1954 ban on political activism by churches and the conferring of a new legal right for fetuses in the House bill — both on the wish list of the evangelical right.”
“With a potentially far-reaching dimension, elements in both the House and Senate bills could constrain the ability of states and local governments to levy their own taxes, pressuring them to limit spending on health care, education, public transportation and social services. In their longstanding battle to shrink government, Republicans have found in the tax bill a vehicle to broaden the fight beyond Washington.”
“The result is a behemoth piece of legislation that could widen American economic inequality while diminishing the power of local communities to marshal relief for vulnerable people — especially in high-tax states like California and New York, which, not coincidentally, tend to vote Democratic.”
“‘There’s a Christmas-tree aspect to the bill,’ said C. Eugene Steuerle, a Treasury official during the Reagan administration and now a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. As an example, he cited the provisions in the House bill designed to appeal to the religious right.”
“Economists and tax experts are overwhelmingly skeptical that the bills in the House and Senate can generate meaningful job growth and economic expansion. Many view the legislation not as a product of genuine deliberation, but as a transfer of wealth to corporations and affluent individuals — both generous purveyors of campaign contributions. By 2027, people making $40,000 to $50,000 would pay a combined $5.3 billion more in taxes, while the group earning $1 million or more would get a $5.8 billion cut, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office.”
“‘When you put all these pieces together, what you’re left with is we are squandering a giant sum of money,’ said Edward D. Kleinbard, a former chief of staff at the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation who teaches law at the University of Southern California. “It’s not aimed at growth. It is not aimed at the middle class. It is at every turn carefully engineered to deliver a kiss to the donor class.”
“‘What they have here is a big tax cut for the rich paid for with random increases in taxes for various constituencies,” Mr. [Bruce] Bartlett said. “It’s ridiculous. And it’s telling that they are ramming this through without any debate. All of the empirical evidence goes against the tax cut.’”
“‘In our boardroom, the number-one thing we’re talking about is not taxes,’ said Jeremy Stoppelman, chief executive of Yelp, the online review platform. ‘Having a strong middle class out there spending money is what’s most important for our business.’”
“Some see in this tilt a reworking of basic principles that have prevailed in American life for generations.”
“‘This tax bill is a grand deception,’ said Arnold Hiatt, the former chief executive of Stride Rite, which makes children’s shoes. ‘It hurts the most vulnerable, and hurts health care and education, which are essential for a healthy economy.’”
“Some measures are barely connected to the realm of taxation, such as the lifting of a 1954 ban on political activism by churches and the conferring of a new legal right for fetuses in the House bill — both on the wish list of the evangelical right.”
“With a potentially far-reaching dimension, elements in both the House and Senate bills could constrain the ability of states and local governments to levy their own taxes, pressuring them to limit spending on health care, education, public transportation and social services. In their longstanding battle to shrink government, Republicans have found in the tax bill a vehicle to broaden the fight beyond Washington.”
“The result is a behemoth piece of legislation that could widen American economic inequality while diminishing the power of local communities to marshal relief for vulnerable people — especially in high-tax states like California and New York, which, not coincidentally, tend to vote Democratic.”
“‘There’s a Christmas-tree aspect to the bill,’ said C. Eugene Steuerle, a Treasury official during the Reagan administration and now a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. As an example, he cited the provisions in the House bill designed to appeal to the religious right.”
“Economists and tax experts are overwhelmingly skeptical that the bills in the House and Senate can generate meaningful job growth and economic expansion. Many view the legislation not as a product of genuine deliberation, but as a transfer of wealth to corporations and affluent individuals — both generous purveyors of campaign contributions. By 2027, people making $40,000 to $50,000 would pay a combined $5.3 billion more in taxes, while the group earning $1 million or more would get a $5.8 billion cut, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office.”
“‘When you put all these pieces together, what you’re left with is we are squandering a giant sum of money,’ said Edward D. Kleinbard, a former chief of staff at the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation who teaches law at the University of Southern California. “It’s not aimed at growth. It is not aimed at the middle class. It is at every turn carefully engineered to deliver a kiss to the donor class.”
“‘What they have here is a big tax cut for the rich paid for with random increases in taxes for various constituencies,” Mr. [Bruce] Bartlett said. “It’s ridiculous. And it’s telling that they are ramming this through without any debate. All of the empirical evidence goes against the tax cut.’”
“‘In our boardroom, the number-one thing we’re talking about is not taxes,’ said Jeremy Stoppelman, chief executive of Yelp, the online review platform. ‘Having a strong middle class out there spending money is what’s most important for our business.’”
“Some see in this tilt a reworking of basic principles that have prevailed in American life for generations.”
“‘This tax bill is a grand deception,’ said Arnold Hiatt, the former chief executive of Stride Rite, which makes children’s shoes. ‘It hurts the most vulnerable, and hurts health care and education, which are essential for a healthy economy.’”