Tony Carrk: Trump and Congressional Republicans’ Tax Bill Betrays the American People
By Tony Carrk
Rarely is the disconnect between Washington lawmakers and the rest of the country more apparent than in the current debate over taxes and the budget. At a time when the President’s chaotic policies are sowing the seeds of a recession, plummeting consumer confidence, and everyday costs are rising, he and congressional Republicans are decidedly not focused on the needs of the American people – instead, focusing on cutting taxes for the wealthy and their billionaire donors.
Adding insult to injury, to pay for their handout to the wealthy, they plan to take an ax to the programs you and I rely on every day for our healthcare, education, and groceries. Medicaid, a program that provides health care to tens of millions of Americans and pays for long-term care for 7 million seniors, could see $880 billion in cuts to its programs alone. On top of that, SNAP, a pillar that puts food on the table for millions of families, could see significant cuts.
Put simply: what we stand to lose, these congressional Republicans stand to gain.
Through the Estate Tax and the Pass-Through Deduction provisions alone—two benefits that are overwhelmingly enjoyed by the rich—Accountable.US’s CashinCongress.org tool found that more than 70% of Republican members advocating for this bill’s passage stand to financially gain. A staggering number on its own that is even more jarring when put next to the $880 billion in proposed cuts they offer to offset this bill – which will likely come from Medicaid.
But it’s not just your healthcare that will be gutted in this tax scam: Congressional Republicans are going to make it more costly for the most vulnerable in our country to afford groceries. According to our database, 270,000 households in five of the lowest-income Republican congressional districts could lose SNAP benefits – all so that their representatives in Congress can potentially save millions. As one example, while millions rely on SNAP to feed their families, 18% and 28% of House and Senate Republicans respectively have amassed enough wealth to be subject to the previous estate tax threshold of $7 million. In contrast, less than 1% of American descendants can say the same.
The numbers here don’t lie: Congressional Republicans’ support for these tax cuts benefits the very few and raises costs for the rest of us on everything from healthcare, education, to groceries.
If you take Congressional Republicans and Trump at their word, it makes no sense that they’d double down on such an expensive, failed policy. Our tax system is broken, so why aren’t they asking big corporations to pay more? Keep in mind, some of the biggest corporations already pay at a lower tax rate than middle-class families. Apple, for example, paid a tax rate of just 14.2% in that first year—a lower rate than the 14.9% the average American family paid.
But the answer is obvious: their campaign promises to lower costs were just that — a promise, and a broken one at that. They are taking their cues from the special interests and billionaires that are calling the shots in Trump’s Washington.
Their tax and budget scheme is a scam that robs the American public – and at a time when Americans need their elected officials to step up and help their constituents the most. Betraying that promise is an abdication of leadership on the part of Congressional Republicans that demands accountability.
Tony Carrk is the Executive Director for Accountable.US. Tony has two decades of experience in public affairs as a skilled researcher and director for issue advocacy and political campaigns.
