The following article by Herman Wong was posted on the Washington Post website December 19, 2017:
In a speech on the House floor on Dec. 19, Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) invoked Dr. Seuss’s Grinch to criticize the GOP tax bill. (C-SPAN)
Democrats have assailed the Republican tax plan as a “scam” that represents “class warfare.” On Tuesday, one Democratic representative came up with a more lyrical attack against what will be the most significant overhaul of the tax codesince 1986.
On the House floor, Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) shared a retelling of the classic Dr. Seuss Christmas tale, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” in which the Grinch is now Trump and the loot is middle-class tax cuts. The full video of Cicilline’s performance is embedded above.
Trump has pushed Congress to send him a tax plan by Christmas and is expected to sign the measure at a ceremony shortly after it clears Congress.
In his performance, the Democrat takes jabs at the president, describing him as wearing “ties [that] were two inches too long” and possessing a “heart (or his hands) [that] were two sizes too small.”
Then the Grinch said, “I MUST stop these middle-class tax cuts! But HOW?”
Then came the cuts.
“These deductions,” he grinned, “are the first things to go!”
Personal Exemptions! Home Equity Interest! State and Local Taxes Too!
“I’ll take almost every deduction away from you!”
Then he slunk to the tax brackets — the corporate tax cuts were HUGE!
Why, that Grinch even took the Arctic Wildlife Refuge…
“And NOW!” grinned the Grinch, with his sacks in a net.
“I’ll stack the deficit with one trillion in debt!”
As The Post’s Heather Long reported, Trump and the Republicans have hailed the $1.5 trillion legislation as a big tax cut for workers and businesses, but it makes the country’s debt problem worse.
The core of the plan is a massive and permanent cut to the corporate tax rate, The Post’s Damian Paletta reported, which Cicilline’s story touched on in rhyme.
“I’m here because corporate taxes are far too high”
“So I’m taking most of your deductions away,”
“To help corporations… and you get to pay!”
“See my dear child, there’s no reason to frown,”
“We’ll make them more wealthy, but it will all trickle down.”
[Analysis: The GOP tax plan has a nasty surprise for upper-middle-class parents with kids in college]
For the Democratic congressman, there is no happy ending to this Christmas tale.
“This Christmas, families will get just coal in their stocking,
Thanks to President Trump, the final result will be shocking.”
Calling the president a Grinch is not without precedent.
Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana labeled Obama “the Grinch who taxed Christmas” for what turned out not to be a tax but a fee on Christmas trees requested by the National Christmas Tree Association.
The likely passage of the GOP tax plan would be Republicans’ first major legislative victory since taking control of government in January.
View the post here.