All that said, it probably made sense to give this a shot back in 1981, given the dire state of the economy and before we had actual evidence of its possible ineffectiveness. But why in the world did Republicans try it after they should have known better?
Listen, we try hard to always be positive. We try hard to give people the benefit of the doubt, and to not point fingers and constantly play the blame game. But there are times when there is simply no option but to call people out: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was outrageous in its irresponsibility.
We're not saying there is never a time and place for tax cuts. There certainly can be. But this tax cut was one of the largest financial heists in American history – the crazies officially took over the asylum and they had your checkbook. Once again, a Republican-led Congress passed a tax bill that ensured the wealthiest Americans and already majorly flush corporations won. Bigly.
… which is fine if that’s what you want to do. But at least be man enough to be honest with the “forgotten men and women,” as you call them, who fervently believe in you and count on you to tell them the truth.
This is what truly makes our blood boil about Donald Trump. Over and over and over, he just bald face lies to the very people who have never wavered in their loyalty to him. Millions of Americans root for him and trust him – still – and he repays them by blatantly lying to their faces. It’s just not right.
Here are Donald Trump’s Claims Before the 2017 Tax Bill Passed:
DJT on September 28, 2015, at a news conference: “[The tax bill] is going to cost me a fortune.”
DJT on May 7, 2016, on Meet the Press: “For the wealthy, I think, frankly, it’s going to go up. And you know what? It really should go up.”
DJT on September 13, 2017, at a meeting with members of Congress: “The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan. I think the wealthy will be pretty much where they are.... If they have to go higher, they’ll go higher, frankly.”
DJT on September 29, 2017 at an event for small businesses: “By eliminating the tax breaks and special interest loopholes that primarily benefit the wealthy, our framework ensures that the benefits of tax reform go to the middle class, not the highest earners.”
DJT on November 29, 2017, at a speech in St. Charles, Missouri: “[The tax cuts] are not good for me. Me, it’s not so – I have some very wealthy friends. Not so happy with me, but that’s OK. You know, I keep hearing Schumer: ‘This is for the wealthy.’ Well, if it is, my friends don’t know about it.”
DJT on November 29, 2017, at the same speech in St. Charles, Missouri: “Our focus is on helping the folks who work in the mailrooms and the machine shops of America. The plumbers, the carpenters, the cops, the teachers, the truck drivers, the pipe fitters. The people that like me best.”
DJT on December 16, 2017, at the White House: [The tax cuts] are “one of the great Christmas gifts to middle-income people.”
Every single one of these statements was complete b.s. The truth is that wealthy Americans got a windfall from the tax bill – and were going to from the very beginning, a fact Donald Trump acknowledged when he walked into dinner at Mar-a-Lago after the bill passed and said to the entire room, “You all just got a lot richer.”
This was on top of the fact that Donald Trump’s claims about what would happen to household incomes were also complete b.s.
DJT on October 11, 2017, at a speech in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (but he also said it a zillion times elsewhere): Speaking to hundreds of truck drivers, he said that the average American family would get “a $4,000 pay raise.” He also said that his wealthy friends told him they don’t want anything from the tax bill, and that he should just “give it to the middle class.”
2018 Economic Report from the President: “The corporate tax changes alone are expected to increase annual income for families by an average of $4,000.”
Here’s the truth: The U.S. Joint Economic Committee (JEC) – one of four joint committees of the U.S. Congress, this one responsible for reporting the current economic condition of the country – found that, “Annual household income growth in the first year the tax cuts took effect lagged far behind the previous three years. It grew only $550 in 2018, compared to $850 in 2017, $1,900 in 2016 and $2,900 in 2015. The growth curve of real median income became flatter.”
The Wall Street Journal reported it this way on September 10, 2019 (remember, the tax cuts went into effect on January 1, 2018): “American incomes remained essentially flat in 2018 after three straight years of growth… in recent weeks, the government has revised downward its estimates for job gains, economic output and corporate profits at various points in time since early last year.”
Grrrr… see, this is the kind of ^#*@ we're talking about. Okay, back to tax rates. The U.S. Joint Economic Committee reported this in 2020: “The personal income tax cuts were heavily weighted to the very wealthy, with the top 1 percent of households – those with average incomes of almost $2 million – projected to receive an average tax break of nearly $50,000 in 2020. Their tax cuts alone are worth more than the entire average annual income of households in the bottom 40 percent.”
This is certainly not us with a pitchfork, gunning for rich people. In fact, we think we need to cut rich people some slack. It seems like lately they have been demonized for things that are realistically not their fault. We get that many Americans are frustrated, especially now, but taking it out on rich people seems petty, bitter and jealous, and that’s just not the American way.