Tag: GOP tax cut for the rich

The following article by Eric Levitz was posted on the New York Magazine website December 18, 2017:

Earlier this month, Bob Corker believed that the Republican tax bill was unconscionably reckless. The Tennessee senator had spent a decade decrying the “rapidly growing national debt” as the “greatest threat to our nation” — and months vowing to vote against any tax-cut legislation that added “one penny” to that sum. So, when he learned that the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” would add over $1 trillion to the deficit, Corker decided to take a lonely stand against it.

Two weeks later, Republican leaders in the House and Senate unveiled their final, consensus tax-cut legislation. The bill was nearly identical to the one Corker had voted against, except that it added even more money to the deficit — and included a special tax break for real-estate investors that would increase Bob Corker’s personal income by up to $1.2 million a year. Continue reading “The GOP Tax Bill Was Manifestly Corrupt Long Before the ‘Corker Kickback’”

The following article by David Weigel was posted on the Washington Post website December 18, 2017:

Protesters gathered at the Russell Senate Building on Capitol Hill on Dec. 18 to protest the GOP tax bill, and several were arrested. (Twitter/Mariam Ehrari via Storyful)

The mission on Monday afternoon was the same as it had been since June: Show up in the halls of Congress, and get arrested. More than a hundred protesters crowded into the meeting and dining rooms of the Capitol Skyline Hotel to get trained before the final burst of civil disobedience against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. They chanted “When we fight, we win,” but the meaning of “winning” was slightly tweaked.

“When we fight, we win; when we drag this out, we win,” said Paul Davis, the national advocacy coordinator at the left-leaning Housing Works. “They thought that they would pass this thing before Thanksgiving, and it’s halfway to Christmas!” Continue reading “Protesters storm Congress to fight tax bill, as cameras point elsewhere”

The following article by Jeff Stein was posted on the Washington Post website December 19, 2017:

The House of Representatives passed Republicans’ sweeping tax overhaul on Tuesday, sending the plan to the Senate and setting the stage for the bill to be signed by President Trump as early as this week.

“This is about expanding opportunity to people who are striving to make the most of their lives,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said before the vote Tuesday. “We know in this country that we’re not reaching our potential. And we know one of the greatest things we can do to do that is to pass this tax reform bill” Continue reading “GOP tax bill passes House, Senate to vote late Tuesday”

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website December 18, 2017:

Politicians continued to debate the merits of the Republican tax overhaul on Dec. 17. The House could vote on the bill as soon as Dec. 20. (Patrick Martin/The Washington Post)

THE BIG IDEA: The narrative of President Trump’s first year will shift this week when he signs into law the biggest overhaul of the tax code in three decades. The donor class is enthusiastic, and final passage should help reverse months of anemic fundraising at entities like the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

It is a much-needed win for Trump and the GOP, who would have looked ineffective if he couldn’t get this done, but it may still turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory. Here are several ways that this bill could backfire: Continue reading “Trump risks losing what’s left of his populist street cred with GOP tax bill”