George Graham

Unmasking Tax “Reform”

The tax plan being touted by Republicans isn’t my idea of reform. It’s a shameless giveaway to the richest Americans at the expense of the poor.

There’s a lot to reform in the existing tax code. All those corporate deductions, for example. Wealthy companies pay little or no taxes after their accountants apply all the deductions available to them.

But with the Republican plan, corporations (and investors) would get even more generous tax breaks.  And rich families would also benefit. It’s those who now pay the lowest tax rate – 10 percent – who would get squeezed. That bracket would go up to 12 percent.

Nobody should be surprised by any of this.

You and I know Republicans preach trickle-down economics. They insist that when the rich have more money to spend they give jobs to the rest of us. And you and I know this never works. It has been tried repeatedly – at both the state and federal levels – and the result has always been disastrous.

The proposed tax plan would add trillions to the national debt despite Republican assurances that lower taxes on the rich would produce an economic boom and compensate for the government’s loss of revenue as more people pay more taxes.

You might remember how that kind of thinking recently bankrupted the state of Kansas.

I’m sure you know by now that Trump consistently avoids the truth. So when he says the plan is designed to help “the middle class,” you take it with a grain or two of salt.

It’s true that couples making $300,000 a year or more would pay less taxes. But I don’t consider those people middle class. Do you?

Under the proposed tax plan, the real bonanza would go to billionaires like Trump and the global corporations they invest in.

Once again, we’re being flimflammed. But you knew that would happen when the voters put the Republicans in charge of Congress and the White House, didn’t you?

More on the tax plan

The Kansas experiment

Trickle-down economics

About the author

gwgraeme

I am a Jamaican-born writer who has lived and worked in Canada and the United States. I live in Lakeland, Florida with my wife, Sandra, our three cats and two dogs. I like to play golf and enjoy our garden, even though it's a lot of work. Since retiring from newspaper reporting I've written a few books. I also write a monthly column for Jamaicans.com