Sen. Mitch McConnell has stated that there was plenty of time for review and discussion of their 2016 GOP tax bill that will add $1.5 trillion (that number looks like this, folks: $1,000,000,000,000 — a LOT of zeroes, with most of the benefit going to corporations and the wealthiest Americans with no expiration while what small tax relief the middle class and poor receive expires in 10 years).
We knew that wasn’t the case. Republicans are saying that what they’ve done is the same as what happened with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacase.) So, we decided to look into it.
The following article by Rebekah Entralgo was posted on the ThinkProgress website December 1, 2017:
Williams/CQ Roll Call
A key analysis of the Senate Republican tax plan released late Thursday afternoon threw a wrench into the GOP leadership’s rush to pass tax reform this week. In response, Republican lawmakers are choosing to simply ignore the report’s findings.
Just as the Senate was about to vote on Thursday on whether to advance their tax plan, the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation released a troubling report. The JCT report found that the $1.4 trillion dollar tax plan would generate around $400 billion dollars worth of growth, leaving the total net cost of the plan to be $1 trillion dollars — completely eviscerating any notion that the plan would pay for itself, a key White House talking point.
The following article by Michel Hiltzik was posted on the Los Angeles Times website November 30, 2017:
A painfully earnest Sen. Marco Rubio, right, explains to Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer of Politico why cutting taxes for the 1% is good, but preserving Social Security and Medicare benefits for the working class is bad. (Politico)
Advocates for seniors and the middle class have been warning for weeks that the Republican drive to cut taxes for the wealthy is the prelude to a larger attack on Social Security and Medicare.
In a videotaped interview with two Politicoreporters Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the quiet parts out loud. Asked by interviewers Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman how to address the federal deficit, he replied: “We have to do two things. We have to generate economic growth which generates revenue, while reducing spending. That will mean instituting structural changes to Social Security and Medicare for the future.” (A video of Rubio’s appearance is here, with his remarks on Social Security and Medicare beginning at the 21:45 mark.)
The only thing that’s new here is the explicit admission by a Republican officeholder that this is the GOP’s master plan to eviscerate the welfare and retirement of American workers. Budget analysts have seen it coming with all the subtlety of a freight train. As we reported earlier this month, the damage begins with the so-called Paygo law (for “pay as you go”), which requires Congress to offset any increase in the federal deficit with spending cuts. The law limits Medicare cuts to 4% of its budget per year, or $25 billion of its $625-billion budget. Because the tax cut proposals the Senate was preparing to vote on late Friday would expand the deficit by about $1.5 trillion over 10 years, it’s likely to trigger the cuts. Continue reading “Sen. Rubio tells a secret: After giving a tax cut to the rich, GOP will cut Social Security and Medicare”
The following article by Adam Cancryn and Sarah Ferris was posted on the Politico website November 30, 2017:
Medicare alone could see cuts of $25 billion a year. Credit: Alan Diaz/AP Photo
Republicans are on the verge of a massive tax overhaul that would hand President Donald Trump his first major legislative victory. But the $1.5 trillion tax package could trigger eye-popping cuts to a slew of federal programs, including Medicare.
Unless Congress acts swiftly to stop it, as much as $150 billion per year would be cut from initiatives ranging from farm subsidies to student loans to support services for crime victims. Medicare alone could see cuts of $25 billion a year. And the specter of those cuts has thrust Congress into a high-stakes game of political chicken. Continue reading “Tax bill could trigger historic spending cuts”
The following article by Dorothy Wickenden was posted on the New Yorker website November 30, 2017:
he Republican tax-reform bill, which relies on big tax cuts for corporations to stimulate economic growth, has much in common with Ronald Reagan’s “trickle-down economics,” but it would be more damaging to the middle class and to the economy. And, unlike Reaganomics, which passed with bipartisan support, Trumponomics cheats just about every voter except the super rich. John Cassidy joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how the plan would perpetuate the new Gilded Age and betray the central promises of Trump’s Presidential campaign.
The following is from the December 1, 2017 Progress Report email:
Last night, Senate Republican leaders were busy behind closed doors buying off votes to pass tax cuts for the wealthy paid for by tax hikes and program cuts for the middle class. Since neither the Senate or the House held a single hearing to study the bill’s impact—a bill that touches every American and significantly reorders our national economy—many Senators are still wondering exactly what’s in it. In fact, the final text has yet to see the light of day.
$25 billion of automatic cuts to Medicare would be triggered,
More than $1 trillion will be added to the national debt, falling far short than the estimated $2.5 trillion in new revenue that Treasury Secretary promised.
Unfortunately Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)—who expressed deep misgivings about the bill and the process—was one of the ones bought off. In exchange for her vote, Collins struck a deal with President Drumpf to pass bipartisan health care legislation that in fact would not undo the damage done by the ACA repeal-without-replace provision in the current tax bill and has no chance of passing the House!
TAKEAWAY: Whatever happens with today’s vote, the fight is far from over. The increasingly fickle House has to pass the Senate version or the bill heads to a conference committee to resolve differences, and the Senate and House will vote again on a new version.
But for now, go to TrumpTaxToolkit.org to make sure this bill goes down today!
ACTION OF THE DAY
#TrumpTaxScam. You know what to do. Take action and call your Senators using TrumpTaxToolkit.org!
WHAT’S TRENDING
Flynn is #4. General Michael Flynn—Drumpf’s former National Security Advisory and top campaign advisor—is now the fourth top Drumpf campaign official to be charged in connection with the Russia investigation so far. Flynn is charged with lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian Ambassador. ABC is also reporting that Flynn plans to testify that Drumpf directed him to make contact with the Russians during the campaign. First and foremost, THIS IS COLLUSION. Directing Flynn to make contact with the Russians during the campaign is massive. It destroys Drumpf’s lies about having nothing to do with Russia. Follow The Moscow Project on Twitter for the latest.
Shady Judges. This week, the Senate confirmed Greg Katsas—another troubling judicial nominee from the Drumpf Administration. Katsas was appointed to a lifetime seat on the second most powerful court in the Country – the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Katsas provided Drumpf legal advice on his most controversial executive actions.
No More Blue Slips. On Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, violated a century-old senate tradition to pack the courts with even more of Drumpf’s extreme judicial nominees. Grassley scheduled a hearing for a nominee over the objection of the Senator who represents the people where the judge would serve – called a “blue slip” objection.
#DreamActNow. The clock is ticking for Congress to pass a Dream Act before the end of this year, that would protect nearly 800,000 DACA recipients from being at risk of detention and deportation. Thousands of dreamers are already losing their DACA status – each day that Congress fails to act, an average of 122 dreamers lose their protections. Tell Congress to stop playing politics with young people’s lives, and call your member today DreamActToolkit.org.
Drumpf’s Continued Attack on Public Lands and Native Americans. On Monday Drumpf is heading to Utah where he is expected to announce what will be the largest elimination of protected areas in U.S. history. In his repeal of protections for more than two million acres of public lands, Drumpf will reportedly cut Bears Ears National Monument by more than 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by more than half. These actions will put tens of thousands of Native American sacred sites at risk. Tell the Administration that this is a monumental mistake by joining the rally this Saturday in Salt Lake City.
The following article by Will Drabold was posted on the Mic website November 30, 2017:
Protest signs are seen in front of the office of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as protesters urge him and others in the U.S. Senate to vote against the $1.5 trillion tax cut. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The relentless push by members of the Republican party to gut the Affordable Care Act as part of the GOP tax plan has become deeply emotional among demonstrators in the halls of Congress.
Fearful they will lose Medicaid coverage, citizens who use wheelchairs stormed Senate offices and hearings on Tuesday. Some were arrested and carried away, screaming. Children with pre-existing conditions lobbied politicians, as did people who worried they’d lose coverage for maternity care or birth control.
Those tactics from the health care fight have carried over to tax reform, where organizers say activism has been super-charged by Republicans moving to gut the ACA as part of their tax plan. Initially, they expected it would be difficult to match the energy around tax reform. But the number of people taking action to oppose the Senate tax plan, in particular, has matched or exceeded health care activism, organizers said. Continue reading “From phone campaigns to screaming street protests, Republicans are “under siege” over their tax plan”
The following article by Alex Tausanovitch and Liz Kennedy was posted on the Center for American Progress website November 30, 2017:
Applewhite Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, economic adviser Gary Cohn, and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) speak at a news conference in Washington, November 9, 2017. Credit: AP/J. Scott
A Congress that fairly represented the American public would not be racing to finalize a tax bill that gives hundreds of millions of dollars to corporations and the wealthy.1 By 2027, almost half of the benefits included in the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives—and well over half in the U.S. Senate version—would accrue to the top 1 percent of the population.2 The immense cost of these cuts would eventually result in higher taxes for tens of millions of Americans and at least $1.4 trillion added to the budget deficit, threatening programs such as Medicare and Medicaid as well as other middle-class priorities such as infrastructure and education.3
More than a quarter of Minnesotans will see their taxes go up under the House plan, by nearly $1,000 on average.
Workers and small businesses:
These wills would create new incentives for businesses to move production offshore and increase the trade deficit, hurting Minnesota workers and small businesses.
Rural and distressed communities across Minnesota:
Sen. Mitch McConnell has stated that there was plenty of time for review and discussion of their 2016 GOP tax bill that will add $1.5 trillion (that number looks like this, folks: $1,000,000,000,000 — a LOT of zeroes, with most of the benefit going to corporations and the wealthiest Americans with no expiration while what small tax relief the middle class and poor receive expires in 10 years).
