As a conservative and a Republican for over 40 years, I’m compelled to testify, without political motive, and with the best interest of our country and people at heart, that the current Republican tax plan is extremely disappointing. It is disappointing because while it purports to reform the tax code, stimulate economic growth, and help the American people, it does little more than provide a handout to those that are already wealthy. It is a Trump led con, supported by Republican “leaders” desperately seeking a “win”, who have forgotten their compassionate conservative roots and given in to enriching wealthy friends and maintaining a narrow base they’ve conned into believing their pitch. This tax bill will add to the deficit, stoke inflation, raise interest rates, result in 13 million people losing their health insurance, put additional upward pressure on health insurance premiums for the rest of us, and ignore the very real constraints to the economy and the long term needs of our country.
The tax bill Congress approved this week, which was supposed to focus on tax reform isn’t tax reform at all. It’s a give-away to the wealthy, where the top 1% will receive 83% of the benefits. It does nothing to reduce the 70,000 pages of federal tax code and closes few of the loopholes far too many businesses and wealthy individuals use to pay little to no taxes. Real tax reform, like taxing overseas business profits in the year they’re earned, instead of when they’re repatriated, is what is needed. No one likes paying taxes, but it wouldn’t be near as painful or insulting if everyone paid their fair share. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, businesses like GE, First Energy, American Electric Power, International Paper, Priceline and Ryder used loopholes to pay a total of zero federal taxes from 2008-2015. In this bill, hedge fund managers, who make millions per year, and pay lower tax rates than the secretaries, will have their tax rates lowered even further. Under this tax bill those who deal in real estate will also receive substantially more favorable tax treatment. Forbes, a conservative business publication, estimates Trump will reduce his personal taxes by $11 million per year and perhaps much more than that. Tax loopholes written into law to benefit the wealthy not only insults the rest of us, it diminishes the social and economic fabric of our democracy. Income inequality in America is at the highest it’s been since 1928; and we all know what happened after that. This bill, rather than reducing income inequality, shamefully expands the gap between the rich and the poor and middle class.
Trump and Republican leaders have intentionally misled the American people into believing that this bill is going to make their lives better, while sucker-punching the healthcare insurance markets all of us depend upon. After many attempts, Republicans have finally succeeded in rescinding the individual health insurance mandate, which will result in 13 million fewer Americans carrying health insurance. This will provide the federal government with $338 billion in saving which will be redistributed predominantly to the wealthy. Without the “individual mandate” many healthy people will opt out of participating in insurance pools, tilting the pools toward those that are less healthy and more costly to insure. This tax plan very intentional continues Trump’s drive to destabilize health insurance marketplaces, and drive insurance premiums up; this time by an average of 10% more than they otherwise would have been. All this is so that Trump and Republican leaders, bent on crushing Obamacare, can usher in their own healthcare program. How “leaders” can so callously support a program that encourages millions of people to let go of their health insurance and raises insurance premiums for the rest of us, is beyond me.
The Republican tax plan is being led by “leaders” that refuse to put country ahead of party, refuse to give credence to pragmatic economic forecasts, and are determined to stridently whistle past the graveyard, dragging the rest of us with them. Moderate Republicans, who for years preached fiscal discipline have given in to leadership bent on taking us in the opposite economic direction of where we should be going. This tax bill will add more than $1.5 trillion to our national debt at a time when we don’t need it. Deficit spending is supposed to be used when the economy is in or heading into a recession, not when we are growing at nearly roughly 2.5%. Increasing our national debt, which conservative Republicans are supposed to be concerned about containing, will reduce economic stability and put upward pressure on interest rates. While it’s hard to say when that will happen, the tax cuts Trump and Republican leaders have rammed through will ultimately raise interest rates on home mortgages, credit cards, and most other forms of debt. So, if you’re lucky enough to get a modest temporary reduction in your weekly payroll taxes, let me warn you that raising health insurance and interest payment costs are likely to eat through the little you thought you were going to be ahead. Also, though few are talking about it, we should all be aware that the rise in our national debt this bill will stoke will be the pretext to cuts in Medicare and Social Security.
Tragically, the Republican tax plan fails to address the real constraints and needs within the economy. The economy needs investment in education and training, infrastructure and the environment. Given that the most common need employers’ state they have is a lack of available skilled worker, we ought to be investing in education and training. Education and training are the keys to securing a quality career and an income that can support a family. Last month 68% of businesses were struggling to fill skilled trade opening. Currently there are six million job openings in US, and that number is expected to more than double in the next three years, unless skilled trades training is ramped up. Furthermore, US labor productivity, the basis of our national economic competitiveness and prosperity, has grown by just 1.1% per year since the great recession (2007) vs an average of 2.4% going back to 1947. If Republicans or anyone wants to help people as well as our nation fulfill their potential, investing more in education and training must be our top priority. Without additional investments in education and training, economic growth remain muted, and the tragedy of income inequality, crime, racism, drug abuse and poverty will continue to plague our nation.
Enabling our country to move forward also requires investing in infrastructure. 56,000 bridges across the country have been designated structurally deficient, including 1,900 across interstate highways. Repairing these should be a major priority. Repairing bridges and roads is what the government is supposed to be doing. Lowering taxes for the wealthy and leaving our bridges and roads to rot is a horrible way to govern. In addition, our nation’s power grid is in desperate need of upgrading. The power grid needs upgrades to improve energy efficiency, reduce vulnerability to cyber-attacks, and shield it from a complete collapse should a nuclear weapon someday be detonated over the continental US.
As a lifelong Republican it pains me to have to call out the dreadful conduct of our current leadership, but it must be done. To remain silent, knowing that our leaders are ignoring the genuine needs of the people, and not only taking us in the wrong direction but conning us into believing this is in our best interests, would be a shameful retreat into my own little world. We are better than this.
Whatever you may believe about all of this, I hope each of us, either today or sometime in the coming year will take a stand, each in our own way, and let our leaders in Washington know your thoughts. With hope for our country, our families and our children’s future, let us take to heart the brave example of conservative English statesmen Edmund Burke who in 1775 stood up against the power being exerted by his own British Parliament and King, spoke what he knew to be right, and defended the American colonies and people. Perhaps today is such a time as the one Burke found himself in back in 1775.