GOP to Non-Wealthy Americans: Assume the Position

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). So proud of himself.

The tax bill they are crowing about…

• Raises taxes on middle-income filers in the end.  The modest cuts in the first year or so phase out and by the time we approach the end of the ten-year window, some of us in the middle are actually paying higher rates than we are paying right now under current law.  And it’s done in order to fund the permanent tax cuts designed to comfort the already-comfortable.
  •  Tax Policy Center analysis of winners, losers from Trump, GOP tax reform bill
  •  Why Trump’s ‘giant’ middle class tax cut is less than advertised
  •  How Much Will Trump’s Tax Plan Cost? | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
  •  The Trump Tax Cuts Just Got Even More Skewed to the Rich
  •  The Trump tax bill is a win for the wealthy, entitled and irresponsible
  •  Under the House G.O.P. Plan, Tax Cuts Shrink Over Time for Everyone but the Richest
  •  New GOP Tax-Cut Plan Raises Taxes on Almost Everyone by 2027
• Gives Donald J Trump and his family an enormous tax cut.  He won’t show us his tax returns, but everyone who has looked at the details understands that the provisions of the bill are very kind to people whose businesses are structured like his.  He’s filling his pockets at our expense and straight-up lying about it.
  • Trump may be about to get a big tax cut. Here’s why we still don’t know how big.
  •  In another country, we would call this ‘corruption’
  •  How the Trump Tax Cuts Solved Democrats’ Campaign Problem 
• Removes a key underpinning of the ACA, expected to lead to loss of coverage for some 13 million Americans and premium increases of 10% or more on those who remain in the pool.  (Remember the “death spiral”?  This is exactly the kind of hare-brained move likely to make it happen.)
  •  Trump brags: GOP tax bill ‘essentially repealed Obamacare’
  •  Trump Boasts He’s Repealed Obamacare, Doesn’t Understand Law
• Was done in such a hurry and so sloppily that no one knows what all crazy things are going to crawl out of it over time.
  •  Trump’s Tax Cuts Might Jack Up Deficit More Than You Expect
  •  In rush to finish, Senate passes tax bill with handwritten provisions
  •  GOP Senate tax reform bill final version has hand-written notes – Business Insider
  • Scam I Am: Why Is the G.O.P. Rushing This Tax Abomination? – The New York Times
• Does not simplify the tax code as they promised, but actually adds loopholes to benefit … guess who.
  •  Dozens of lawmakers to reap tax windfall from a GOP loophole
  •  The GOP Didn’t Reform the Tax Code. They Never Wanted To.
  •  The Republican Plan Is the Opposite of Tax Reform
• By knowingly adding about $1 trillion to the debt, sets the stage for yet another reprise of their signature move: Cutting safety net programs on the grounds that we can’t afford them, because … the deficit!
  •  Congress Will Not Renew CHIP This Year
  •  Paul Ryan admits the GOP will gut Medicare and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts
  •  The Long Game of Republican Economics

Is anyone surprised at this result?  I guess I’m surprised they’re being quite this brazen.  But we knew who they were and what they were about when we put them in power.  One can only hope that enough of us are now paying attention that they will have to pay a price for their behavior.