Analysis: Ultra Rich Paying Lower Tax Rate Than Working Class

Keep this in mind when you file your tax returns, and when you vote:

A new book-length study on the tax burden of the ultrarich begins with a startling finding: In 2018, for the first time in history, America’s richest billionaires paid a lower effective tax rate than the working class.

“The Triumph of Injustice,” by economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman of the University of California at Berkeley, presents a first-of-its kind analysis of Americans’ effective tax rates since the 1960s. It finds that in 2018 the average effective tax rate paid by the richest 400 families in the country was 23 percent, a full percentage point lower than the 24.2 percent rate paid by the bottom half of American households. [snip]

But the tipping point came in 2017, with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The legislation, championed by President Trump and then-House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, was a windfall for the wealthy: It lowered the top income tax bracket and slashed the corporate tax rate.

By 2018, according to Saez and Zucman, the rich were already enjoying the fruits of that legislation: The average effective tax rate paid by the top 0.1 percent of households dropped by 2.5 percentage points. The benefits the bill’s supporters promised — higher rates of growth and business investment and a shrinking deficit — have largely failed to materialize.  (our emphasis)

Fraud and con man Donald "Rump" Trump benefited nicely from the Republican- passed tax cut for the wealthy, as did the American oligarchs who continue to pour money into his campaign and generally prop up their toadies in the rotted- out Republican Party, while those same oligarchs garner Ambassadorships enabling them to cover- up Trump's abuses of power =cough= Gordon Sondland =cough=.

Remember this, too, every time you hear a Republican or a media enabler yap about the Democrats' "socialist plans," which invariably refers to a better health care system, fair minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, and a tax system that eliminates an abuse like this.

Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.

Happy (?) Earth Day 2019!  It's the day we (at best) take stock of the past 364 days during which we seemed to be doing everything we could to wreck our precious world.  So, this year's theme is "Protect Our Species:"

Nature’s gifts to our planet are the millions of species that we know and love, and many more that remain to be discovered. Unfortunately, human beings have irrevocably upset the balance of nature and, as a result, the world is facing the greatest rate of extinction since we lost the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago. But unlike the fate of the dinosaurs, the rapid extinction of species in our world today is the result of human activity.

The unprecedented global destruction and rapid reduction of plant and wildlife populations are directly linked to causes driven by human activity: climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticides to name a few. The impacts are far reaching.

If we do not act now, extinction may be humanity’s most enduring legacy...

Until we get people in power around the globe who will act forcefully, especially in countries with the largest carbon footprint, future Earth Days will be increasingly somber events (click on table to enlarge):

(Source: Union of Concerned Scientists)

Every country on the list is a participant in the Paris Agreement, except the United States -- and we know who's responsible for that.

Speaking of that existential threat (Donald "Not Exonerated" Trump, that is), the self- dealing fat cats of the rotted out Republican Party are all in on his re-election:

Deep-pocketed Republicans who snubbed Donald Trump in 2016 are going all in for him in 2020, throwing their weight behind a newly created fundraising drive that’s expected to dump tens of millions into his reelection coffers.

The effort involves scores of high-powered businessmen, lobbyists and former ambassadors who raised big money for George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney — and who are now preparing to tap their expansive networks for Trump after rebuffing his first presidential bid.  [snip]

The push illustrates how Trump, who once took a sledgehammer to rivals for their supposed fealty to big donors, has come to rely on a GOP establishment he once repudiated. And it’s a sign of just how closely the lean, ragtag operation that stunned the political world in 2016 now resembles a traditional presidential campaign. Yet it also underscores how the elite Republican money class, which waged an aggressive, but ultimately unsuccessful effort to stop Trump in the 2016 election, has come to accept and accommodate a president it once scorned.  (our emphasis)

Accepting and accommodating the greatest threat to American democracy in our history.  But, those Republicans are the "real Americans!"  Funny, that.  The Washington Post's Tom Toles sums up the quid pro quo:



Speaking of taxes,

Did you know that if you make less than $66,000 a year, you can prepare and file your taxes for free?

No? That’s no accident. Companies that make tax preparation software, like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, would rather you didn’t know.

Intuit and other tax software companies have spent millions lobbying to make sure that the IRS doesn’t offer its own tax preparation and filing service. In exchange, the companies have entered into an agreement with the IRS to offer a “Free File” product to most Americans — but good luck finding it.

ProPublica takes you down the rabbit hole looking for that "free filing service."  They get away with it because the IRS (and Congress) lets them get away with it.

Now that the (redacted) Mueller report is out, detailing the corruption and unfitness for office of Putin's puppet, the issue of what comes next lands in the laps of House Democrats.  Here's E.J. Dionne, Jr.'s suggestion on "threading the needle" on how to proceed:

Those demanding impeachment are right to say Mueller’s report can’t just be filed away and ignored. But being tough and determined is not enough. The House also needs to be sober and responsible.

This needle needs to be threaded not just for show, or for narrow electoral reasons. Trump and Barr have begun a battle for the minds and hearts of that small number of Americans (roughly 10 percent or a little more) who are not already locked into their positions. Barr’s calculated sloth in making the report public gave the president and his AG sidekick an opportunity to pre-shape how its findings would be received. The uncommitted now need to see the full horror of what Mueller revealed about this president. A resolute but deliberate approach is more likely to persuade them.

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) joins her caucus on a conference call Monday, she will reiterate her “one step at a time” strategy. The bottom line is that rushing into impeachment and ruling it out are equally foolish.

This means the House Judiciary, Intelligence, and Oversight and Reform committees should and will begin inquiries immediately. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) took the first step on Friday by subpoenaing the full, unredacted Mueller report, which the administration immediately resisted. Mueller himself has rightly been asked to appear before both Judiciary and Intelligence.

A precipitous rush to impeachment based on the Mueller findings alone might hamper other work, such as, for example, finding out what Trump's trying to hide in his tax returns, the continuing investigations by the Southern District of New York and the New York Attorney General, and the 12 criminal referrals made by Mueller whose targets we yet don't know.  Trusting the acumen of Speaker Pelosi is always a good bet.

As always, we conclude by recommending the excellent blog link round- up by Infidel 753.  Don't take our word that it's the best, most eclectic spotlight on goings- on around the internutz, see for yourself.

Surprise! The Republican Tax Law Was Very Good For Big Corporations

Be sure to remember to "thank" Putin puppet Donald "Not Exonerated" Trump and every Republican running for office in the next two years for what their party is doing:

Amazon. Delta Air Lines. Chevron. IBM. General Motors. Molson Coors. Eli Lilly.

What do these companies have in common? They paid no federal taxes last year.

Thanks to President Trump’s 2017 tax law, the number of Fortune 500 companies that pay no federal taxes roughly doubled last year, to 60, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a research group. Some of them effectively paid negative taxes, because they received a refund. [snip]

Altogether, the law led to a 31 percent decline in corporate-tax revenue last year. That decline has helped cause an increase in the deficit. As the law professors Rebecca Kysar and Linda Sugin have written, the Trump tax cut is financed “on the backs of future generations.”  (our emphasis)

It's why the middle class is shrinking.  It's why income inequality is continuing to grow.  It's why we can't have nice things in this country.

Happy Tax Day, plus one!

The Tax Man Cometh

Whoops:

...[J]ust to be sure that voters noticed all the good Paul Ryan had done for them, the Trump administration reportedly pressured the IRS to err on the side of withholding too little from Americans’ paychecks “so people will see big increases in their take-home pay ahead of this year’s midterm elections.” 

This did not work out as planned. Even with (allegedly) light withholding, the the tax bill’s breaks for middle-class people weren’t large enough to attract much notice. Between changes in salaries, health-care premiums, and 401(k) contributions, most Americans didn’t detect much tax relief in their paychecks. The Trump Tax Cuts actually became less popular after they took effect. And, of course, Paul Ryan’s majority drowned in a blue wave. 

Now, the bill for the GOP’s (reported) withholding shenanigans is coming due: The average American’s tax refund was 8.4 percent lower in the first week of 2019 than it was one year ago (under the pre-Trump tax code). And while Americans have trouble noticing tax changes when they’re dispersed across 12 to 24 separate paychecks, they do typically pay very close attention to the size of their refunds. About three-quarters of the country typically qualifies for a tax refund most years — and for many of those households, that check from the IRS is the largest lump sum they’ll receive all year. 

“Ask people how much they paid in taxes, nobody knows. Ask them how much they got in their refund, people know,” Howard Gleckman , a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, told the Intercept’s David Dayen this week. “Everyone focuses on size of the refund, and it does affect perception.” 

In other words: It looks as though the Republican Party implemented their signature tax bill in a manner that will lead many people who received tax cuts to believe that Donald Trump raised their taxes.

In short, the Trump/ Republican wealthfare tax cut bill resulted not in job creation or sustained raises for workers (corporations used their windfalls on share buybacks and capital improvements), not in an economic boom (GDP is about what it has averaged since 2014 and is expected to slow significantly in 2019), not in significant tax reduction for the average American, and now not in increased tax refunds for the average taxpayer.

So what did it accomplish, you didn't ask?  Under the wealthfare bill, the average 1 percenter will get a $51,140 tax break, the lower tax rates for corporations were made permanent while those for individuals lapse in 2025, and it eliminated the stabilizing individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act.  You can't get much more dystopian than that, but that doesn't mean Republicans won't try if given the chance.

BONUS:  David Cay Johnston goes into much greater detail on the effects of the Republican wealthfare bill.

Retrospective: The Republican Wealthfare Act Of 2017

Matt O'Brien has a retrospective on the Republican Congress' only Big Achievement, the 2017 Republican tax cut wealthfare bill passed just over a year ago, and wonders what exactly they achieved:

It can’t be any of the things they promised, because none of those have happened. At least not yet. Indeed, the $5 trillion that President Trump said his tax cuts would bring back into the country has, according to the Wall Street Journal, been more like $143 billion so far — or 97 percent short of his stated goal. Which is why it should be no surprise that the investment boom all this money was supposed to set off hasn’t materialized either. Not unless you think the rather anemic 0.8 percent increase in nonresidential fixed investment last quarter constituted some sort of economic miracle. No, the reality is that business investment is still going up and down more with the price of oil — spending on things such as rigs is a big part of the overall picture — than it is with the tax rate on corporate income. 

It’s almost as if giving businesses more incentive to invest doesn’t matter if they don’t have a reason to invest in the first place. They’ll just buy back more of their stock instead, which, of course, they’ve been doing at a record pace the past year.

So, if an ineffective "stimulus" via corporate tax cuts wasn't really needed for an economy already on solid footing (thanks, Obama!) and salaries haven't seen sustained, commensurate growth as a result, what, again was the Republican achievement? Oh, right:

Which brings us to the real reason that Republicans are so happy that they cut corporate taxes. It’s that they ... cut corporate taxes. For some of them, you see, letting the rich keep more of their money is an absolute moral good. Heck, it might be the absolute moral good. That’s because they’re worried, as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) used to put it before he realized that this type of Ayn Rand-inspired rhetoric is politically toxic, that the “takers” will soon outnumber the “makers” and simply vote to give themselves other people’s money. That’s why, independent of any economic benefits, which we’re finding out may very well be ephemeral, they think that cutting taxes for top earners is good policy. For the less philosophically-inclined among them, though, letting the rich keep more of their money is still an absolute political good. It’s what their donors gave them money to do. And that’s not just a cynical interpretation of events. It’s their own interpretation of them. Republicans were quite open about the fact that they had to cut corporate taxes or their moneymen would cut them off. “The financial contributions will stop,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) bluntly put it, if they let their tax bill get derailed like their health-care plan had. 

The Trump tax cuts, then, weren’t so much about the economy as the political economy — and it shows. There’s been very little bang for even 1.5 trillion bucks. (our emphasis)

It's always good to be reminded which is the plutocrat party and how they're looting the country.  This is their quid for allowing Trump to trash our democracy quo.

Nope, Didn't See This Coming At All

It takes more gall than most turtles have, but rancid human/ turtle hybrid Republican Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell (R- Dystopia) is playing the card all but the least sentient among us knew he would play:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday called the ballooning budget deficit “very disturbing” but said large federal spending programs were to blame, dismissing criticism that last year’s GOP tax cuts are saddling the country with more debt. 

McConnell, in a Bloomberg News interview, also said there was little chance Republicans would be able to cut government spending next year if they retained control of Congress because any changes would need leadership from Democrats. 

Three weeks to midterm elections, McConnell (R-Ky.) said that tackling the mandatory spending programs such as Medicare and Social Security, as well as Medicaid, could not be done by Republicans alone, suggesting that it was unlikely to occur unless Democrats controlled at least one chamber of Congress. 

“I think it’s pretty safe to say that entitlement changes, which is the real driver of the debt by any objective standard, may well be difficult if not impossible to achieve when you have unified government,” McConnell told Bloomberg News.  (our emphasis)

This suit overflowing with toxic cynicism, this thing who kneecapped Merrick Garland and wrecked the Senate is now saying it wasn't the $2 trillion Republican tax cut for the wealthy that he and his co- sociopath Paul Ryan jammed through Congress last year that ballooned the deficit -- oh, no.  It's those darned "entitlement" programs that lower- and middle- class families have paid into and depend on that are the real villains here!  Their latest grossly irresponsible tax cut upward wealth transfer proposal would add another $3.8 trillion to the deficit, a plan they're trying to get through the House before a new (Democratic) House is elected.  But, look over there at those "entitlements"!

Of course, the plan all along by these social Darwinist jamokes was to shovel tax benefits to the wealthiest 1 percent and corporations, blame the ensuing deficit explosion on "entitlements," then tell everyone they've got to be cut to bring down the deficit they created in the first place with their wealthfare. Oh, and shift blame to Democrats for not helping "fix" the "problem" (by gutting the social safety net). We'll see in three weeks if they managed to convince enough credulous voters to let them proceed with their plans.

BONUS:  More, please --

Heads up for the "Dems have no national message" people: The McConnell comments on entitlements are driving today's state Dem messaging. pic.twitter.com/OzCvauPMax

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) October 16, 2018

The Trump Economy: Profits Vs. Wages

The con in graph form:

BREAKING: New corporate profit data shows just how corrupt the Republican tax bill really was. #CultureOfCorruption pic.twitter.com/d8d0uzTXmH

— CAP Action (@CAPAction) August 29, 2018

"Eye-Popping" Corporate Executive Payouts Resulting From Republican Tax Law

Spoiler alert: The Republican re- distribution of wealth to the wealthiest is working!

Some of the biggest winners from President Donald Trump’s new tax law are corporate executives who have reaped gains as their companies buy back a record amount of stock, a practice that rewards shareholders by boosting the value of existing shares. 

A POLITICO review of data disclosed in SEC filings shows the executives, who often receive most of their compensation in stock, have been profiting handsomely by selling shares since Trump signed the law on Dec. 22 and slashed corporate tax rates to 21 percent. That trend is likely to increase as Wall Street analysts expect buyback activity to accelerate in the coming weeks. 

“It is going to be a parade of eye-popping numbers,” said Pat McGurn, the head of strategic research and analysis at Institutional Shareholder Services, a shareholder advisory firm.

In other words, the Republican wealthfare tax law is working precisely as desired and as predicted by everyone not a Republican (see links here, here, here, ad nauseam).

So what about the economically anxious "forgotten man" that the Republican tax boondoggle was supposed to help?

Spoiler alert:  Suckers!

Wages were supposed to rise after Trump's tax cuts. Instead, they’ve fallen https://t.co/LactYzTE7a via @bopinion pic.twitter.com/qUdfYQK1En

— Bloomberg (@business) July 21, 2018

Just stick with the Republicans and their sociopathic party- before- country, comfort the comfortable / afflict the afflicted politics.  Yeah, that'll work out well for you (if you're a corporate CEO).

Twit Tweet, Thwap

Twit tweet:

So many people are seeing the benefits of the Tax Cut Bill. Everyone is talking, really nice to see!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2018

Thwap:

new NBC/WSJ Poll on tax-cut:

mostly positive effects: 39%
mostly negative effects: 53% https://t.co/pB0KAGYeLp

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) April 17, 2018

Yeah, they're loving it out there. "Untethered to truth," indeed.

Surprise! Foreigners Will Reap 80 Percent Of Republican Tax "Reform" Benefits By 2028

The Congressional Budget Office has a new analysis on "The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2018-2028," (PDF here) and it paints a devastating picture of the effects of the plutocrat wealthfare bill passed by Republicans last Fall.  One of the effects that Democrats warned about is being confirmed by the CBO analysis: that large corporations and foreign investors will stand to reap the highest gains at the expense of American workers:

The report found significant differences between projected GDP, which measures the level of production in the U.S., and gross national product, which measures the income earned by all Americans. If the economic impact from GDP is higher than GNP,  the difference between the two is income generated in the United States but going to foreigners. According to the CBO, on average 34 percent of income from the economic activity driven by the tax cuts is flowing out of the country, and in 2028, when the full effects of the tax cuts are in place, that number will increase to 80 percent. [snip] 

Nearly one-third of the U.S. stock market is owned by foreign investors, which means they’re benefiting from the $238 billion increase in stock buyback authorizations since the tax law passed. An analysis of Fortune 500 companies found that corporations have spent 37 times more on stock buybacks than on American workers’ bonuses and wages. [snip] 

At the same time, U.S. deficits are projected to balloon because of the decrease in revenue being collected under the tax cuts. The CBO projects that federal spending will exceed revenues by $804 billion in fiscal year 2018, up from $665 billion in 2017. The national debt is now on track to be 100 percent of GDP by 2028. That means the U.S. will have to borrow money to make up for its shortfalls, and much of that money will come from abroad. The small gains to GDP will be offset by increased interest payments abroad. 

“That’s the effect of the tax law, it provides some boost to GDP but that boost is financed by a lot of borrowing,” said Chad Stone, chief economist at the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “Each year’s borrowing produces more income for foreigners and by the time you get to 2028 there’s a fair amount of income for foreigners being generated.” (our emphasis)

Let us gaze on the monumental hypocrisy of, say, unlamented plutocrat pal and departing Squeaker of the House Paul "Lyin'" Ryan and his merry Republican band of nihilist social Darwinists, who have labored to sell their wealthfare tax "reform" bill as a boon to the working and middle class. Rather than providing relief to those classes -- which President Obama's tax cuts provided to the tune of $321 billion -- the Republican "reforms" only provided $190 billion, doling the rest out to the 1 percent and corporations. And we all know about the odious but consistent hypocrisy of Republicans who balloon the deficit when they're in power and scream bloody murder when there's a Democrat in the White House.  It all comes down to who is benefitting, and for Republicans, it's all about their plutocrat benefactors. The only wealth they're creating is in the bank accounts of the well- to- do here and abroad.

Meanwhile, sniveling shyster Sen. Bob Corker (Poultry-TN), who vowed never to vote for a tax bill that added one cent to the deficit (and who's decided to bail now that he's got his extra millions from the wealthfare bill in the Corker kickback), is disingenuously whining that his vote to pass the deficit- busting, plutocrat- enriching bill "could be one of the worst votes I've made."  No shit, Sherlock -- but you knew that all along, didn't you?

Quote And Vid Of The Day -- "A Brazen Heist Of The Country"

E.J. Dionne, Jr.:

Dec. 20, 2017, will live on as a day of disgrace and dishonor. 

It will be remembered as the day when a government of, by and for the people became a government of, by and for wealthy campaign donors — and of, by and for wealthy Republican politicians themselves. 

We thought the corruption, self-dealing and social indifference of the Gilded Age were long behind us. But we underestimated the raw nerve of President Trump, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Just as these rotted- out Republicans exhibited their raw nerve in passing their corrupt wealthfare bill, we must draw on our raw nerve and discipline in cleaning their clocks on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 -- 319 days and counting.

Seth Meyers takes "A Closer Look" at what just happened:




BONUS:  Infidel has a good read on what this all portends and what we must do about it.

"A Full-Scale Looting Of America"

Regardless of the forthcoming attempts by Republican liars and looters to "sell" it, their disastrous wealthfare tax bill (a.k.a., the "No Billionaire Left Behind Bill") is an unprecedented redistribution of the nation's wealth upward. This chart shows what the Republican wealthfare bill does for income inequality over the coming decade:

(click on image to enlarge)


(Attribution: Economic Policy Institute, via Daily Kos)

Not only the substance, but the "process" employed in the passage of this sociopathic legislation is an assault on democracy, as Niskanen Center vice president Wil Wilkinson explains (h/t dear friend P.E.C.):

In its great haste, the “world’s greatest deliberative body” held no hearings or debate on tax reform. The Senate’s Republicans made sloppy math mistakes, crossed out and rewrote whole sections of the bill by hand at the 11th hour and forced a vote on it before anyone could conceivably read it.

The link between the heedlessly negligent style and anti-redistributive substance of recent Republican lawmaking is easy to overlook. The key is the libertarian idea, woven into the right’s ideological DNA, that redistribution is the exploitation of the “makers” by the “takers.” It immediately follows that democracy, which enables and legitimizes this exploitation, is itself an engine of injustice. As the novelist Ayn Rand put it, under democracy “one’s work, one’s property, one’s mind, and one’s life are at the mercy of any gang that may muster the vote of a majority.” (our emphasis)

Can't you just picture Ayn Rand disciple and Sneaker of the House Paul "Lyin'" Ryan, "Millionaire Mitt" Romney and any number of other Republican "makers" when you read that?

Matthew Yglesias reiterates that we're witnessing "the full- scale looting of America" in this bill and in other actions by Republicans:

Over the course of 2017, both in Congress and in the executive branch, we have watched the task of government devolve into the full-scale looting of America. 

Politicians are making decisions to enrich their donors — and at times themselves personally — with a reckless disregard for any kind of objective policy analysis or consideration of public opinion. 

A businessman president who promised — repeatedly — that he would not personally benefit from his own tax proposals is poised to sign into law a bill that’s full of provisions that benefit him and his family. Congressional Republicans who spent years insisting that “dynamic scoring” would capture the deficit-reducing power of tax cuts are now plowing ahead with a bill so fast that they don’t have time to get one done, because it turns out they can’t be bothered to meet their own targets. 

Meanwhile, in the background an incredible flurry of regulatory activity is happening out of public view — much of it contrary to free market principles but all of it lucrative for big business and Trump cronies. (our emphasis)

We need to have this moment burned into our consciousness, along with every other moment that's passed and will pass between last January and next November. These are objectively evil people, and we need to chase them out of public life, period.

Republicans Pass Historically Awful And Unpopular Wealthfare Tax Bill

It takes real incompetence to pass a tax cut bill that is this unpopular https://t.co/n3AU12YxYv pic.twitter.com/rGTeFLR9f8

— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) December 19, 2017

Speaking of Republican incompetence:

After years of false starts and failed promises, House Republicans had another one Tuesday: They passed a tax bill with provisions that were struck down by the Senate parliamentarian. 

Even though House Republicans had already congratulated themselves in a series of speeches, the House will have to vote again on Wednesday, after the Senate passed a new version of the final tax bill, 51-48, on a party-line vote with John McCain (R-Ariz.) absent.  (our emphasis)

new NBC/WSJ Poll:
who was tax cut designed to help?
--63% say corporations and the wealthy
--7% say middle-class

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) December 19, 2017

Barring extreme political malpractice by Democrats (something that's always to be considered), this monstrosity will be one of several anvils that will bring Republicans down in 2018 and beyond. Here's some preliminary, generic evidence in one demographic:

Latest Quinnipiac poll shows more worrisome numbers for Trump/GOP with millennials:

•Trump approval at 25%
•58% strongly disapprove of Trump
•GOP net fav/unfav is -38
•Dem net fav/unfav is +11
•60% say Dems should control House of Repshttps://t.co/pjv3mNQRqa

— Evan Siegfried (@evansiegfried) December 19, 2017

Now, we all just need to vote when the time comes, k?

Monday Reading

As always, please follow the links to the articles for the full reads!

As passage of the Republican wealthfare tax bill nears, some "curious" features meant to secure votes and comfort the comfortable have been identified, including a so- called "Corker Kickback." That's a provision that would enrich those with real estate interests like Tennessee Republican real estate millionaire and former "man of principles" Sen. Bob "Liddle Bob" Corker.  But, Corker isn't the only familiar name who benefits from this windfall:

Republican congressional leaders and real estate moguls could be personally enriched by a  real-estate-related provision GOP lawmakers slipped into the final tax bill released Friday evening, according to experts interviewed by International Business Times. The legislative language was not part of previous versions of the bill and was added despite ongoing conflict-of-interest questions about the intertwining real estate interests and governmental responsibilities of President Donald Trump — the bill’s chief proponent. 

The Trump organization and the Kushners (the family of Ivanka's husband, Jared) have overseen vast real estate empires, and top GOP lawmakers writing the tax bill collectively have tens of millions of dollars of ownership stakes in real-estate-related LLCs. The new tax provision would specifically allow owners of large real estate holdings through LLCs to deduct a percentage of their “pass through” income from their taxes, according to experts. Although Trump, who became famous for his real estate holdings, has transitioned into branding in recent years, federal records show Trump has ownership stakes in myriad LLCs. (our emphasis)

Corrupt sociopaths.

Bill Moyers, who's now 83, bids an unwelcome farewell this week. His voice will be sorely missed:

BillMoyers.com will continue to serve as the archive of the television journalism my colleagues and I have produced over the past 44 years. I hope you find it useful. The site will go into archive mode on Wednesday, Dec. 20. 

Until it moves to a new home, our Trump-Russia timeline, created by the indefatigable Steve Harper and orchestrated by our producers, will continue to publish right here at BillMoyers.com, tracking the convergence of events connecting the Trump empire and Russian oligarchs now being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller. [snip]

In the meantime, please remain vigilant and engaged as citizens in the civic and political life of your community and our country. Democracy is fragile, and no one can say with certainty that it can withstand the manifold risks to which it is now exposed.

As time passes, and the daily outrages pile up, we need to remember Puerto Rico is still suffering from Hurricane Maria. Many more have died there than have been officially counted. It appears politics has played a role in keeping the death count low:

Facing mounting evidence that Puerto Rico has vastly undercounted the number of people who died because of Hurricane Maria, Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló ordered on Monday that every death on the island since the calamitous storm be reviewed. 

Officials will look again at all deaths attributed to natural causes after the hurricane, which made landfall Sept. 20 and knocked out power to 3.4 million Puerto Ricans — and to their hospitals and clinics. Parts of the island are still without power almost three months later, and the power grid is operating at only 70 percent of capacity. [snip]

For weeks after the storm, top leaders of Puerto Rico’s government insisted that its count of the dead was accurate and not significantly low. On Sept. 29, nine days after Maria made landfall, Héctor M. Pesquera, Puerto Rico’s public safety secretary, said he did not think the count would rise by much. Four days later, President Trump visited the island and remarked that the death toll — which officially stood at 16 at the time — was much lower than the 1,833 people who died in 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina. 

Sanctimonious weasel Sen. Ted Cruz (R- Texass) thought he would get a dig in on Star Wars icon Mark Hamill over Hamill's roasting FCC douchenozzle Ajit Pai for celebrating killing net neutrality with a sophomoric display. Turns out, The Force was not with Cruz or Pai (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian):

Cute video Ajit "Aren't I Precious?" Pai 🤮-but you are profoundly unworthy 2 wield a lightsaber-A Jedi acts selflessly for the common man-NOT lie 2 enrich giant corporations. Btw-did you pay John Williams his royalty? @AjitPaiFCCorpShill #AJediYouAreNOT pic.twitter.com/SpIcOEySUY

— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 16, 2017

.@HammillHimself Luke, I know Hollywood can be confusing, but it was Vader who supported govt power over everything said & done on the Internet. That's why giant corps (Google, Facebook, Netflix) supported the FCC power grab of net neutrality. Reject the dark side:  Free the net! https://t.co/nARkMvIEYk

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 17, 2017

Thanks for smarm-spaining it to me @tedcruz I know politics can be confusing, but you'd have more credibility if you spelled my name correctly. I mean IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU! Maybe you're just distracted from watching porn at the office again❤️-mh https://t.co/nHpJVG1Wpe

— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 17, 2017

We conclude with the lightsaber- worthy link round-up from Infidel 753, where you can browse the eclectic assortment of goodies.

BONUS:  "Liddle Bob" Corker is shocked! shocked! that the Corker Kickback was inserted in the bill at the last minute, just before he misplaced his "principles."

Republican Wealthfare Tax Bill Nears The Finish Line (UPDATED)

(click on image to enlarge)

(Image: DonkeyHotey)

Assuming (which we do) that Republicans will have enough votes by next week to pass their historically disastrous wealthfare tax bill, it will usher in a period of increasing income inequality, declining public investments, undermine the Affordable Care Act and ultimately provide a rationale for an assault on social safety net programs and discretionary domestic spending -- in other words, every Ayn Rand acolyte's dream. Let's look at some future victims of this vicious piece of Republican sociopathy.

Paul Krugman focuses on the fate of working class Americans, many of whom foolishly backed numbnut Donald "Rump" Trump:

Republicans don’t seem able to help themselves: Their disdain for ordinary working Americans as opposed to investors, heirs, and business owners runs so deep that they can’t contain it. 

When I realized the extent to which G.O.P. tax plans were going to favor business owners over ordinary workers, I found myself remembering what happened in 2012, when Eric Cantor — then the House majority leader — tried to celebrate Labor Day. He put out a tweet for the occasion that somehow failed to mention workers at all, instead praising those who have “built a business and earned their own success.” 

Yes, it was just a gaffe, but a revealing one; Cantor, a creature of the G.O.P. establishment if ever there was one, had so little respect for working Americans that he forgot to include them in a Labor Day message. 

And now that disdain has been translated into legislation, in the form of a bill that treats anyone who works for someone else — that is, the vast majority of Americans — as a second-class citizen.

Fareed (yes, we know) Zakaria focuses on the bill's impact on our competitiveness and the effects of the automatic cuts in discretionary spending the bill will force:

If the Republican tax plan passes Congress, it will mark a watershed for the United States. The medium- and long-term effects of the plan will be a massive drop in public investment, which will come on the heels of decades of declining spending (as a percentage of gross domestic product) on infrastructure, scientific research, skills training and core government agencies. The United States can’t coast on past investments forever, and with this legislation, we are ushering in a bleak future. [snip] 

Those who vote for this tax bill — possibly the worst piece of major legislation in a generation — will live in infamy, as the country slowly breaks down.

John Cassidy discusses the redistribution of wealth the Republicans are aiming for:

As virtually every independent study has shown, the G.O.P. plan showers most of its goodies (tax cuts) on the richest people in the country while doing little for poor and middle-income households. Consider the bill that passed the Senate. If the personal tax cuts and family credits it contains are gradually phased out, as the bill’s authors planned, so that the over-all projected cost of the proposal remains below a limit of $1.5 trillion, then, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, by 2027 the only group paying noticeably less tax would be the richest five per cent of households. 

That was bad enough. But the final bill, which Republican leaders are scheduled to release in full on Friday, is now expected to be even more of a sop to Donald Trump and his fellow-plutocrats. It would reduce the top rate of income tax, which is now about 40.8 per cent when you take into account a 2012 law that limited deductions for high earners, to thirty-seven per cent. That’s lower than the top rates that were proposed in the original bills passed in the Senate and the House. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Republicans cut the top rate further after receiving complaints from high earners in places like California and New York that the original bills weren’t generous enough to them. 

OK, we all know how irretrievably bad this piece of garbage is. We also know it's much more likely than not to pass next week after some posturing weasels =cough= Marco Rubio Susan Collins =cough= get sops to buy their votes. Right now, all we can do is watch the disaster unfold. But this already deeply unpopular bill, passed without serious consideration for obvious reasons, will be seen by more and more as another feature of what we get with Republican governance, along with all the other despicable, unhinged, un- American policies and actions bum rushed by Rump and his enablers in the past 10 months. The energy and momentum that has been built through multiple local special elections, through Virginia and Alabama, will be sustained because of these outrages and our determination to correct them.

UPDATE:  As expected, noble holdout Marco "Glug Glug" Rubio has been bought off for a measly amount and is now a "yes." Pisher.

I wanted to see how much a favor Rubio did low income families with his act today.

For a family w 2 kids, the average cost of daycare is $2k/month.@marcorubio just secured $25/month for that family.

This same bill allows wealthy kids to inherit $11 million tax free.

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) December 15, 2017

UPDATE II:  Another giant of the Senate folds - "Little Bob" Corker.

Trump Wealthfare Bills: Worst For Middle Class In 50 Years

The Washington Post has looked at tax cuts over the past 50 years to see how the various Trump/ Republican wealthfare bills stack up. We quickly see why they were in such a hurry to pass those steaming turds:

Comparing tax plans across generations is hard. Super hard. 

But we can say the Republicans’ $1.4 trillion tax plan isn’t the biggest in history. It’s not even the biggest in the past decade. 

It’s probably the most regressive tax cut in the past 50 years, but there’s not enough data to speak with absolute confidence. The Bush tax cuts were pretty regressive too. 

That said, it is hard to find a tax plan that has done less for the middle class. (our emphasis)

On the question of which was worse, the Trump plan or the 2003 Bush tax cut debacle:

Our main takeaway: The Trump plan and the 2003 Bush cuts were harder on the middle class than anything else in our sample, with both giving outsize benefit to those earning more than $100,000 a year in the first year after implementation. 

To be sure, the first year after enactment doesn’t tell the full story of either cuts’ true inequality. The Tax Policy Center forecast the second round of Bush cuts to shift heavily toward the benefit of wealthy taxpayers. Those earning more than $500,000 went from taking home 24 percent of the overall cut in 2004 to pocketing 50 percent in 2006. 

But even by that metric, the current House and Senate plans might have Bush beat when it comes to shifting money to the wealthy. The Senate plan was the only one in our sample that raised taxes on any group — doing so for lower-middle-class earners by 2027. That's largely because almost all the individual income tax provisions expire at the end of 2025. 

And in that same year, the Tax Policy Center forecasts those earning more than a half-million dollars will be taking in 68.5 percent of the cut’s overall value in the Senate plan, a boost to the highest earners that was also without precedent in our sample. (our emphasis)

The analysis comes with helpful charts showing plans back to the Nixon administration, none of which, as the Post says, have done less for the middle class than the Trump plan.

BONUS:  This wealthcare performs another vital function for these nihilist pig people:

The Heritage Foundation’s Stephen Moore, a conservative economist who worked with the Trump campaign last year, told Bloomberg Politics the GOP tax policy is “death to Democrats.” 

“They go after state and local taxes, which weakens public employee unions,” Moore said. “They go after university endowments, and universities have become play pens of the left. And getting rid of the mandate is to eventually dismantle Obamacare.” (our emphasis)

We need to whip every last one of them.

Senate Republicans Pass Their "Wealthfare" Bill, Get Ready To Gut Entitlement Programs

They just couldn't help themselves.

Once un-principled weasels like Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake capitulated one by one to their tribal instincts to afflict the afflicted and comfort the comfortable, the Republican wealthfare tax bill was sure to pass.  And it did in the wee hours this morning by a 51-49 party line vote, with no "regular order" or time to review what was in the bill. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker was the only Republican who voted no, due to his "concerns" about blowing up the deficit.

Here's a very brief summary of the lowlights:

Senate Republicans passed a $1.5 trillion tax bill early Saturday morning that bestows massive benefits on corporate America and the wealthy while delivering mixed blessings to everybody else. [snip] 

The centerpiece of the GOP plan is a move to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, starting in 2019. The Senate tax bill would also temporarily cut tax rates for families and individuals until 2025. 

But the bill would kill a number of tax benefits. It would subject fewer people to the estate tax, a levy charged on massive inheritances, but stop short of eliminating that tax altogether. 

The most recent review of the bill by the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s nonpartisan tax analysts, found that only 44 percent of taxpayers would see their burden reduced by more than $500 in 2019 but that high earners would fare much better than the poor under the bill. 

And the bill makes other changes that reach far beyond the tax code itself. It repeals the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act, a major change that was added in recent weeks as part of a broader GOP effort to dismantle the Obama-era law. The individual mandate creates penalties for many Americans who don’t have health insurance, but the repeal would leave 13 million more people uninsured. It authorizes oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. And by curtailing deductions for state and local taxes, it will put pressure on some state and local spending on education, transportation and public health programs. (our emphasis)

But, as sweet as this pile of steaming sociopathy is to Republicans, it's just an appetizer for the main course:

High-ranking Republicans are hinting that, after their tax overhaul, the party intends to look at cutting spending on welfare, entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and other parts of the social safety net. [snip]

While whipping votes for a GOP tax bill on Thursday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) attacked “liberal programs” for the poor and said Congress needed to stop wasting Americans' money. 

“We're spending ourselves into bankruptcy,” Hatch said. “Now, let's just be honest about it: We're in trouble. This country is in deep debt. You don't help the poor by not solving the problems of debt, and you don't help the poor by continually pushing more and more liberal programs through.” (our emphasis)

Yes, those damn liberal programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Children's Health Insurance Program, the Affordable Care Act, etc.! Hatch* wouldn't want to waste more money on that stuff when it can be given to corporations and the wealthy as tax cuts. It's feed- the- fat- cats- and- hope- something- trickles- down- but- it- never- does  economics.  Or, as the wonderful John Dingell put it before the final vote:

Back in the 1800s, supply-side economics was called the “horse & sparrow” theory, the belief that if you fed the horse plenty of oats, enough would pass through onto the road to feed the sparrows.

A perfect descriptor for this horseshit idea.

— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) November 30, 2017

99% of you are in no way horses in this metaphor. You’re the damn birds. Call and yell at your Senator NOW. The number is 202-224-3121. #GOPTaxScam https://t.co/Ngdq3uWqji

— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) December 2, 2017

Make no mistake: this is Class Warfare at its most cruel.  This monstrous piece of reactionary wealth distribution needs to be hung around the necks of Republicans at every level, just as the Trump- Russia scandal and Roy Moore should be. It's another perfect example of their rotted- out core.

(Photo: You know where you can stick that thumb, right?)

*BONUS:  In case you don't know him, Hatch is this semi- mummified octogenarian millionaire --



Recent Hatch quote:  Rump is "one of the best I've served under."

BONUS II:  Here's a little more demonstrating Hatch's capacity for inhumanity.

BONUS III:  Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog looks at uber- hypocrite Jeff Flake in "a conservative and his conscience." 

Tweets Of The Day - "Now That We've Created A Problem, We Have Just The Solution!"

Republican says the quiet part loud:

Hmmm, Marco Rubio says that the tax plan is just the first step before "instituting structural changes to Social Security and Medicare" benefits to reduce the federal deficit.   https://t.co/MPMczpCLjT

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) November 29, 2017

Good morning, suckers. https://t.co/o3XzLjbWz7

— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) November 29, 2017

The Myth Of The "Moderate Republican" -- John McCain Edition

As the Republican Senate wealthfare tax bill abomination shambles toward a vote (likely today or tomorrow), another "moderate" Republican Senator, shows his tribal colors:

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Thursday morning that he would support his party’s tax overhaul, a huge win for Republican leaders that could help pave the way for the upper chamber to pass its bill in the next 24 hours. 

“After careful thought and consideration, I have decided to support the Senate tax reform bill,” McCain said. “I believe this legislation, though far from perfect, would enhance American competitiveness, boost the economy, and provide long-overdue tax relief for middle-class families.” 

This man who'll never have to worry about facing knuckle-dragging Republican voters again, this supposed fighter for the Senate's "regular order," this "maverick" so beloved of the credulous media, is going to vote for a bill that, in truth, does nothing that he claims it will (in fact, this man who, by virtue of his position, has insurance that pays for his cancer treatments will vote for a bill that would result in funding cuts for cancer treatments for Medicare patients!)  How's that for integrity?

BONUS:  Michael Tomasky has a good read on this shameful bill and the shameful people who are voting for it.

The Myth Of The "Moderate Republican" -- Susan Collins Edition

Let's get one thing straight and out of the way: There Are No "Moderate" Republicans.

There are Republican officeholders who, on occasion but not because of "principles," will vote against the rotted out party's agenda.  It's generally based on some calculation involving re-election or extorting some legislative favor (refer back to "re-election"), but not on consistent application of "principles."  If that were the case, neither the House nor Senate Republican wealthfare bill would have been drafted, since they grossly violate the Republican "principle" of reducing the debt -- a "principle" which only comes into play when a Democrat is in the White House. But "moderate Republicans?" Please.

The latest example of this, shall we say, ethical "fluidity" is Maine's Republican Senator Susan Collins, who either just fell off the turnip truck or is willing to believe a number of promises made by notable truth- teller and policy genius Donald "Rump" Trump (via TPM):

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) walked out of a lunch meeting Tuesday with President Trump and Senate Republicans with a broad smile on her face, telling reporters that promises from the president to support two separate health care bills left her “encouraged” and more amenable to voting to repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate—something just weeks ago she warned would devastate the middle class. [snip] 

Collins insisted Tuesday that she secured support from Trump for two bills she says would mitigate the damage of repealing the mandate—one to restore government subsidies to insurance companies that Trump defunded earlier this year and the other to set up a federal reinsurance program. 

Health policy experts are not so sure. 

“The Alexander-Murray bill—while good policy on its own—would come nowhere close to undoing the damage from individual mandate repeal. The same is true of the Collins-Nelson proposal,” writes Aviva Aron-Dine, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former senior counselor at the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Aron-Dine says the reinsurance funding in the Collins-Nelson bill, about $2.25 billion per year for just two years, falls far short of the $10 billion per year in permanent funding needed to prevent premiums from rising. She added that repealing the mandate is also likely to be the final straw that pushes insurers to flee the market entirely.

Collins can't be unaware of the implications of passing the Senate wealthcare bill, and she also can't be unaware that "promises" from Rump are worth the same as a certificate from Trump University. So, the most reasonable explanation is that now that she's running for re- election, she needs to rejoin the tribe and get with the program, and this is her "get back in the fold" card.

Others not subject to re- election like Sen. Corker of Tennessee and Sens. Flake and McCain of Arizona, have expressed "concerns" over various aspects of the bill, the former focusing on its ballooning the deficit, the latter more for "regular order" issues.  Don't expect their objections to last the week, however. They're posturing for various reasons, none of which will exist once the roll call begins.

Finally, as a fig leaf for her shriveled conscience, Collins is taking refuge in some magical thinking:

Though Collins said earlier this month that she would need these bills passed into law before voting on the Senate tax and mandate repeal bill, she moved the goalpost on Tuesday. 

“I’m pushing to make sure they are passed and signed into law prior to the conference report coming back,” she said, “So I would know for certain that we’re going to be able to mitigate the impact of repealing the individual mandate.” 

When reporters pointed out the possibility that there will be no conference committee, that the House just passes the bill as-is, Collins waved away that fear. “Everything I’m hearing is that there is going to be a conference committee,” she said.

Will she act indignant for the folks back home when the individual mandate repeal ends up in the bill Rump signs and her constituents lose their health insurance? Or when her low- and moderate- income constituents see their taxes go up? Why, of course she will. But only "moderately" indignant.

Former Reagan official Bruce Bartlett explains why these sociopaths need to pass this wealthfare atrocity now (found via NMMNB):

If Democrats get control of one or both houses of Congress next year — a good bet — then obviously the tax cutting will end. That’s why Republicans are working at breakneck speed to get their tax cut enacted ASAP. They will use any lie, any tactic, no matter how underhanded, to achieve their goal. 

Republican deficit hawks, who are now AWOL, will suddenly reappear the moment Trump signs the tax cut. The media will be filled with reports from leading authorities about how the deficit endangers the country in a variety of ways, arguing that action must be taken immediately. 

But taxes will be off the table because of the tax pledge. Therefore, all deficit reduction must come from spending cuts. And of course, defense cuts will be off the table. Therefore, the bulk of cuts will have to come from so-called entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare because that’s all that will be left.

Condensed down:  afflict the afflicted and comfort the comfortable.

Remember on what side those "moderate Republicans" come down. Then we need to vote immoderately.

BONUS:  Another "moderate" rolls over.

(Photo: Sen. Susan Collins - um, no.)