Tag: GOP tax scam

How the tax package could blur the separation of church and politics

The following article by Susan Anderson, Profession of Accounting, Elon University, was posted on the Conversation website November 22, 2017:

Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, raised questions about the proposed changes to charity tax laws during a congressional hearing.

The tax package pending in Congress includes a provision that would leave churches and other nonprofits, which by law must be nonpartisan, suddenly free to engage in political speech.

This measure, currently only in the House version of the bill, could potentially change charitable life as we know it. Continue reading “How the tax package could blur the separation of church and politics”

To Regain Its Sanity, the Republican Party Must Give Up Voodoo Economics

The following article by Charles P. Pierce was posted on the Esquire website October 17, 2017:

This crazy might be the deepest rooted.

Credit: Getty

Professor Krugman seems miffed, via the NYT:

Modern conservatives have been lying about taxes pretty much from the beginning of their movement. Made-up sob stories about family farms broken up to pay inheritance taxes, magical claims about self-financing tax cuts, and so on go all the way back to the 1970s. But the selling of tax cuts under Trump has taken things to a whole new level, both in terms of the brazenness of the lies and their sheer number. Both the depth and the breadth of the dishonesty make it hard even for those of us who do this for a living to keep track.

You knew this was coming when the president* tweeted out how proud he was that his tax plan was praised by Arthur Laffer, the cocktail-napkin Kreskin of supply-side economics, the original sorcerer who concocted the spells that produced those magical tax cuts, and, finally, the guy who fed the Republican Party a bowl of the very tastiest monkeybrains. The prion disease’s first symptom was the adoption of what Poppy Bush called, correctly, the “voodoo economics” of Ronald Reagan’s first budget. The Republican Party bought into an economic theory that was just as detached from reality as anything Reagan ever said about trees and air pollution, or anything the current president* has said about anything. Continue reading “To Regain Its Sanity, the Republican Party Must Give Up Voodoo Economics”

It’s time to demolish the myth of trickle-down economics

The following article by Max Lawson was posted on the World Economic Forum website July 19, 2016:

The gap between rich and poor is reaching new extremes. Credit Suisse recently revealed that the richest 1% have now accumulated more wealth than the rest of the world put together.

This occurred a year earlier than Oxfam’s much publicized prediction ahead of last year’s World Economic Forum. Meanwhile, the wealth owned by the bottom half of humanity has fallen by a trillion dollars in the past five years. This is just the latest evidence that today we live in a world with levels of inequality we may not have seen for over a century.

Continue reading “It’s time to demolish the myth of trickle-down economics”

How Cutting Taxes Makes Life Worse for the Rich

The following article by Robert H. Frank was posted on the New York Times website November 17, 2017:

The Republican effort to cut federal taxes is still underway, and many crucial details are still unsettled. But little doubt remains that the effort has been heavily shaped by wealthy donors.

As Chris Collins, a Republican representative from New York put it: “My donors are basically saying, ‘Get it done or don’t ever call me again.’”

Many affluent people are likely to celebrate if an eventual deal in Washington grants them big tax breaks. Evidence suggests, however, that their jubilation would be short-lived — and followed by deep disappointment.

It is perfectly natural, of course, to believe that extra cash will help them buy the special things they want, such as more spacious homes or better performing cars. But that belief is a garden-variety cognitive error. Continue reading “How Cutting Taxes Makes Life Worse for the Rich”

Republicans push hard on GOP tax plan, but voters just aren’t that into it

The following article by Lisa Mascaro was posted on the Los Angeles Times website November 23, 2017:

 

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) applauds after House passage of the GOP tax plan in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

Republicans are investing enormous amounts of political capital and dollars to pump up support for the GOP tax overhaul in a risky, last-ditch legislative undertaking ahead of next year’s midterm election.

President Trump is promoting the bill as a Christmas present for the American people, and a group aligned with House Speaker Paul D. Ryanhas spent $20 million so far on ads and outreach in communities across the nation. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is set to fast-track the bill through the chamber next week.

Problem is, voters just don’t seem to be that interested. Continue reading “Republicans push hard on GOP tax plan, but voters just aren’t that into it”

Need more heart in this country

I strongly oppose the tax bill proposed by either the U.S. House or Senate without major modifications.

We need to protect and push forward with health care for every person in America.

We do not need more military, we do not need more tax breaks for the very wealthy, and we certainly do not need trillions more debt.

We need more heart in this country in caring for the most vulnerable.

My plan is to write Congressman Erik Paulsen about this regularly and hope he will listen to me — and all of his constituents.

Judith Potthoff, Chanhassen
Chaska Herald, November 24, 2017

Shifting wealth to the super rich

To the Editor:

The problem with politics today is that the truth is often hidden with half-truths.

Mr. Beaudette’s letter “Supply-side economics works” (Nov. 16) is a perfect example. He is correct that the federal tax revenues did increase dramatically during President Ronald Reagan’s years in office, and also during the term of President George H.W. Bush.

What he fails to mention is that national debt rose even faster during this period. Looking at the ratio of federal debt to the nation’s gross income, or gross domestic product (GDP), we see that it fell from 125 percent at the end of World War II to 30 percent by 1980. It rose during Reagan’s term, with the tax cuts, from 30 percent to 50 percent. Continue reading “Shifting wealth to the super rich”

Will a Corporate Tax Cut Lift Worker Pay? A Union Wants It in Writing

The following article by Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website November 23, 2017:

A demonstration last week that was organized by groups that included the Communications Workers of America. That union has urged companies to pledge to raise wages if a tax cut is enacted. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — At the heart of the Republican tax plan hurtling through Congress is an implicit promise that cutting corporate taxes will lift the middle class through higher wages and more jobs.

Speaker Paul D. Ryan, for example, said in a recent speech that “fixing the business side of our tax code is really all about helping families and workers,” adding that “cutting the corporate tax rate means more jobs here in the United States. It will foster increased competition, which will directly drive up wages for our workers.”

Yet few American companies have offered specific plans that support those promises. While many chief executives broadly praise Republicans’ efforts to cut taxes, few have detailed how they would deploy the savings from a corporate tax cut or put more money back in workers’ pockets. Continue reading “Will a Corporate Tax Cut Lift Worker Pay? A Union Wants It in Writing”

Cut Taxes or Die

The following article by Kenneth T. Walsh was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website November 24, 2017:

The Republican tax bill is about political survival, not policy.

Donald Trump meets with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are aiming for one main objective as they push for a bill to cut taxes: a political victory. This has become more important to them than ideology, equity or consistency, and as a result any final bill is likely to be a testament to their desire for survival rather than legislation that will stand the test of time.

“At the end of the day, when all else fails, Republicans are expected to be able to cut taxes,” says political scientist Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution, a former senior White House adviser to President Bill Clinton. “If they can’t do that, why do they exist? … This is do or die for them.” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a skeptic about the Senate bill, complains about the “awful, rushed process” and a “desperation to pass anything.” Continue reading “Cut Taxes or Die”