Taxes

Sam Pizzigati recounts the story of how an outraged electorate in 1932 pressured Congress to defeat a national sales tax and enact a higher tax bracket on the wealthy.

Just two weeks after the tax brouhaha in Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, a leading candidate for the 1932 Democratic Party nomination, would begin a remarkable series of addresses that aligned his candidacy four-square with America’s grassroots push against plutocracy.

Modern day Republicans are desperate for some kind of win despite the unpopularity of the current tax "reform". Principle goes out the window and the failure in Kansas is ignored. And now, a ruling from the parliamentarian has left Senators scrambling as they rush to push something through.

Paul Rosenberg cites Bruce Bartlett to point out that “In reality, there’s no evidence that a tax cut now would spur growth". Rosenberg argues for a different kind of tax debate.

The question, in short, is not about how to cut corners and do everything on the cheap, but about what kind of world we want to have. There’s always enough money for that.

Update:  The Senate bill passes 51 to 49.

Update (December 3):  Steven Rosenfeld points out the lasting damage Republicans will create.

If all the Republicans were doing was lining the pockets of the already rich, that would be bad enough—pick your adjective. But that’s not the endgame.

[T]he Republicans ... are more immediately targeting safety nets. ... [S]tarting with the tax bill’s anti-healthcare provisions, the GOP is willfully imposing unnecessary hardship and serious stress on millions of Americans.

Update (December 6):  Rosenfeld has ten key differences between the House and Senate tax bills. If we're lucky it will be too hard to please everyone.

Update (December 8):  Here's hoping things don't work out.

[I]t should be clear at this point ... that someone is going to get hoodwinked. At least one GOP leader is going to have to go back on his word.

Update (December 9):  Laura Paddison looks at six progressive tax reform ideas.

Update (December 11):  Heather Cox Richardson describes the Republican tax bill as an attack on the New Deal.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts slashes taxes on the very wealthy and kills regulations with the idea that rich businessmen will invest their money into the economy to support workers — the same idea that Republicans embraced in the 1920s. The $1.4 trillion hole the bill creates in the deficit will require crippling cuts to Medicare and Medicaid: This is deliberate. The bill also repeals the individual mandate, the piece of the ACA that enables it to work.

Update (December 12):  Passing the bill might be a bit tougher with Senator Jones.

Update (December 13):  In an interview, Nancy MacLean explains the dangers of the Republican agenda.

[T]hese people don't just want to get rid of Obama’s legacy. They want to reverse the whole 20th-century model of citizen-driven government and make it so that property reigns supreme.

Meanwhile, a deal on the tax bill seems close.

Update (December 15):  Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights:

The proposed tax reform package stakes out America’s bid to become the most unequal society in the world, and will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest 1% and the poorest 50% of Americans.

He adds:

If you want to talk about the American dream, a child born into poverty has almost no chance of getting out of poverty in today’s United States.

Update (December 17):  It's good to know Congress has our best interests in mind.

A last-minute addition to the tax bill that could personally save [Fuckface von Clownstick] and several GOP leaders millions of dollars in taxes was a way to “cobble together” enough votes to get the controversial measure passed, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) admitted to ABC.

Update (December 19):  Even a Fox Business Network host is critical of the tax bill.

This bill is good for CORPORATIONS, but for individuals, this is more like an ugly piece of coal!

The conference bill passes the House 227 to 203. May it's vast unpopularity bite them in the ass next year.

Update (December 20):  A version of the bill passes the Senate 51 to 48.

The final bill passes the House 224 to 201. John Cassady:

The shortfall in tax revenues could be enormous. Perhaps that is what Republicans want to happen. Undoubtedly, there are some in the Party who would like to see the tax base decimated, the I.R.S. crippled, and the federal government forced to slash spending on domestic programs, particularly entitlement programs. But, for anybody who believes in a properly functioning government, a rational, clearly defined tax system is essential. The Republican reform doesn’t meet that standard.

So I guess we'll run this experiment and see who's right. If the tax cuts are really so beneficial, why the rush to pass it now?

Oh, and then there's this:

Congress’ failure to renew a program that provides health care to low-income children by year’s end could cause almost 2 million kids to lose their coverage as soon as next month.

Billions for the rich and then fuck everyone else.

Update (December 21):  Heather Digby Parton thinks the GOP may have screwed themselves.

Many middle-class people will see a small change in their paychecks, and the very wealthy will get a tremendous windfall, which undoubtedly makes them very happy. But there is another group that is going to see some very unpleasant results: college-educated folks earning $80,000 to $250,000 in urban areas and wealthy suburbs. Tens of millions of upper middle-class people in those areas will see major tax increases from the changes in home mortgage deductions and local sales taxes.

The Republicans got their tax-cut Holy Grail. But in the process they exacerbated their most challenging demographic crisis: Their growing estrangement with white, college educated voters in the upper middle-class. 

Michelangelo Signorile's take on why the GOP would do anything for a "win" even if it means they have screwed themselves.

[M]uch of the motivation ... seems to be desperation among many Republicans who see the handwriting on the wall. Between the Russia investigation and [von Clownstick's] plummeting approval, they know [Fuckface] will fall, or that they will soon lose control of the House and possibly the Senate ― or both.

[Dear Leader] ... is clearly freaking out about the Russia investigation and is desperately trying to cling to his base, no matter what the costs.

By placating some aspects of the base ... he’s actually scaring away others ... and GOP leader see this. From Virginia to Alabama, they know the blue wave is building into a possible tsunami next fall.

They didn't have time to think it out, so they had to grab what they could now for the donors. And so the actual content of the bill itself makes prospects worse for them.

Update (December 23):  Dave Chappelle has a message for white voters who think von Clownstick is on their side.

I’m standing there thinking in my mind, you dumb motherfucker. You are poor — he’s fighting for me!

Also, "[Fuckface] Voters Celebrate Massive Tax Cut for Everyone But Them".

Update (December 24):  Two friends of the president relayed private comments made at his Florida resort to CBS News.

You all just got a lot richer.

Matthew Rozsa notes:

The statement contradicted [Fuckface's] earlier assertion that the tax reform bill is mainly geared toward helping the middle class.

Igor Bobic observes:

The president himself is set to save $11 million a year from a single rule change in the bill, according to Forbes.

Update (December 30):  David Masciotra suggests Americans might support paying higher taxes if we actually got something for it.

Unlike citizens of Sweden or France, Americans feel that their taxes do not pay for much of anything, including civilized society.

When most [Americans] consider their financial status, they do not pause to reflect on the local efficacy of a highway expansion project or even the crucial existence of a fully functional educational program for children with developmental disabilities. They think in terms of losses and gains for themselves and their own family.

The Norwegian, even the Canadian, can justify relatively high tax rates with the knowledge of access to excellent health care, opportunities at tuition-free public universities, and readily available and affordable childcare. She can consider her routine use of safe, efficient and comfortable public transportation, and she can recall the joy of a culture with a vibrant public arts program. She can feel grateful for civilization.

If Americans had larger political imagination and ambition, along with more comparative knowledge, they would insist on universal health care, affordable universities and complimentary childcare. Instead, they endure the condescension of Paul Ryan smugly grinning as he promises that a family of four will save $1,182 because of the GOP’s tax beneficence. If we are going to tolerate vulgarity, we might as well fully commit. Ryan’s savings, averaged out, amount to $98.50 per month. This is not nothing, but neither does it come close to covering a month of daycare for one child and the parent's student loan payment.

Update (January 9, 2018):  States are now looking for ways to get around the new limit on local tax deductions.

Update (February 5, 2018):  OK, I admit I was wrong about the tax cut. A tweet from Speaker Ryan:

A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, PA, said she was pleasantly surprised her pay went up $1.50 a week… she said [that] will more than cover her Costco membership for the year.

Update (February 16, 2018):  Getting around the limits on local tax deductions won't be easy.

Update (February 19, 2018):  Conor Lynch says anyone who claims to believe "trickle-down" economics works is lying.

[T]he past few months have basically confirmed what those on the left have long maintained: Supply-side theory is simply a pretext for right-wingers to wage a class war on behalf of their corporate donors and billionaire benefactors.

As The New York Times editorial board put it last week, “recent actions [by Republicans in Congress] have revealed that the real game is to cut taxes on businesses and the wealthy, and use the resulting deficits as a pretext for cutting programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security that benefit the poor and the middle class.”

Update (February 23, 2018):  Looks like I'm in the majority when it comes to this scam.

A survey from Politico and Morning Consult found that only 37 percent of employed people have seen an increase in their paychecks since the law went into effect, while 53 percent of people have not noticed any change.

Update (March 3, 2018):  Sophia Tesfaye shows how the tax bill remains unpopular.

Every Democrat up for re-election — blue, purple, or red state — can run against the ultimate cost of the law — Republicans’ threats to cuts to Medicaid, Social Security and the rest of the social safety net.

Update (July 22, 2018):  The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds that lost government revenue from 2000 through 2025 is expected to be about $10 trillion with one-fifth of that going to the top one percent.

Update (September 22, 2018):  Republicans now realize they have "lost the messaging battle" on the new tax law.

Bloomberg obtained a private, internal poll from the Republican National Committee showing “By a 2-to-1 margin — 61 percent to 30 percent — respondents said the law benefits ‘large corporations and rich Americans’ over ‘middle class families.'”

Update (September 29, 2018):  The House of Representatives votes to permanently extend the tax cuts in last year's bill.

Update (October 17, 2018):  Turns out the tax cuts are blowing up the deficit. And now Republicans are talking about cutting entitlements. Might as well throw in ACA. Are they trying to lose the election? We don't have the guts to stand up to Fuckface, so we'll promise all these bad things and then it will be out of our hands when we lose.

Update (January 11, 2019):  An interview with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has lead to discussion about the economics of higher marginal tax rates for upper incomes.

Update (February 5, 2019):  Anecdotal evidence that Fuckface supporters are unhappy with their tax returns.

Update (February 15, 2019):  Arthur Delaney explains how the tax law and laziness makes Republicans look bad.

[The] administration decided not to make major changes to the withholding tables that employers are required to use to make sure everybody is paying the right amount of tax.

Coming up with new forms would have taken at least half a year, and would have been a chore for everyone.

Update (March 22, 2019):  The Council of Economic Advisers which had projected growth rates of 3 to 5 percent from the tax cuts, now expects less than 3 percent growth and even that is considered optimistic.

Update (May 30, 2019):  A report from the Congressional Research Service finds that only large corporations benefited from the 2017 tax revision.

Update (August 24, 2019):  Cody Fenwick points to new data that shows the big tax cut created fewer jobs and less growth than previously reported.