Americans
Hate the Tax Bill Because It Wasn’t Written for Them
It’s
odd that Washington Republicans are so loudly crowing about their passage of
the Trump-McConnell-Ryan tax law. Odd because the people outside of Washington
hate that law.
Yes,
hate.
With a public approval rating of only 30 percent, the GOP’s trillion-dollar giveaway to multinational corporations and multimillionaires turns out to be Congress’ second-most disliked domestic law in the past quarter-century.
With a public approval rating of only 30 percent, the GOP’s trillion-dollar giveaway to multinational corporations and multimillionaires turns out to be Congress’ second-most disliked domestic law in the past quarter-century.
Second
only to the multiple attempts by Trump, McConnell, and Ryan last year to take
away the healthcare coverage of 23 million Americans — a move so mingy that 77
percent of the public opposed it.
Why
do these doofuses keep trying to shove such wildly unpopular measures down
people’s throats?
Because, as columnist Michael Tomasky succinctly explained for the New York Times, “They are serving their megarich donors and the most extreme elements of their base.”
Because, as columnist Michael Tomasky succinctly explained for the New York Times, “They are serving their megarich donors and the most extreme elements of their base.”
Yes.
In today’s rigged political system, the special interests of a tiny minority
trump the will of the great majority.
Since the GOP’s tax bill drastically reduced corporate taxes and increased many of ours, a few corporations are trying to dodge public fury by pulling a trickle-down trick on us.
They’re awarding a tiny portion of their bonanza to workers — not as pay raises, but as one-time “bonus” payments. Bank of America, for example, is doling out $145 million in worker bonuses, while pocketing $2.6 billion it will get this year alone from the tax cut.
What
they don’t tell you is that many of those bonus-paying corporations are also
laying off thousands of workers.
In
addition, the tax boondoggle for corporate giants guts our public treasury, so
Washington Republicans and their army of corporate lobbyists are now demanding
cuts in our Social Security, Medicare, and other safety-net programs.
That
is where America’s inequality comes from. If the corporate-GOP syndicate
wonders why they’re so despised, there it is.
OtherWords
columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker.
He’s also the editor of the populist newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown.
Distributed by OtherWords.org.