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By S.C. Burns
Well, it's been more than a week since my last blog. Ending another college semester of teaching, grading research papers and preparing final exams takes a chunk of time. However, I am glad to be checking back in with continued information about the current economic climate. In the interregnum since my last post, another world leader has died, and I have been witness to yet another turning point in national and world history. My condolences, respect and best wishes are extended to the entire Bush family, as they bid farewell to a wonderful father, grandfather, citizen of the world, and grand example of decency in politics and family life. Bon voyage, Mr. President!
Since President George H.W. Bush was willing to change his stance on "read my lips: no new taxes," I want to point out, again, that the willingness to put nation and fellow citizens above your own personal pocketbook is a sterling quality in a president. So, back to the topic of taxes...
Won’t
you take time to read the new tax bill, to understand what it does to the
majority of lower and middle class income peoples of the United States?
In one simple paragraph, here’s
another explanation of how this tax cut benefits corporations and individual
billionaires more than any other group:
The GOP bill cut taxes for most Americans,
including the middle class, but it heavily benefits the wealthy and
corporations. According to estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, the
top fifth of earners get 70 percent of the bill’s benefits, and the top 1
percent get 34 percent. The new tax treatment for “pass-through” entities — companies
organized as sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, or S corporations — will
mean an estimated $17 billion in tax
savings for millionaires in 2018. American corporations are showering their shareholders
with stock buybacks this year, thanks in part to their tax savings.
Please
note that these benefits privilege multinationals and billionaires above the
interests of their nations. The survival
of any nation’s economy represents, in the long run, the survival of its citizens—the
majority of whom are not millionaires, billionaires, not even upper middle
class citizens. Do you realize the long-term effects of allowing our deficit
spending and huge debt to rise continually and dramatically? Our
nation is carrying the largest national debt in human recorded history, and
most Americans seem unconcerned. At any
time, you can log into the U.S. Debt Clock on real time and verify the veracity
of my fears, at the following address:
As I compose this “filibuster,” the total debt is
fluctuating back and forth, in the range of over $21 trillion. NO ONE
IN WASHINGTON, D.C. IS SPEAKING ABOUT WHAT THIS DEBT MEANS—NOT THE DEMOCRATS
NOR THE REPUBLICANS. THAT IS BECAUSE
THEY ARE SECURE IN PLACING THEIR PERSONAL WEALTH AHEAD OF OUR NATION’S
SURVIVAL. THEY HOPE THAT THEIR RHETORIC WILL LEAD YOU AWAY FROM THOUGHTS OF
NATIONAL FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, SO THAT THEY CAN ENACT THEIR PERSONAL AGENDAS. Those who elected Donald Trump to office
have helped turn back the clock of progressive reform which took centuries to
craft, and will most certainly bankrupt our monetary system, if left unchecked.
Sadly, there are hundreds to thousands of very intelligent, very wealthy U.S. citizens,
such as Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and many more, who have stated they are willing
to pay higher taxes to help reduce this debt.
Washington, D.C. is not listening. Disney heiress, Abigail Disney, has been blatantly outspoken about this “gift” of a tax
cut for the extremely wealthy, and states that she doesn’t need it:
The GOP tax bill is a nightmare for everyone but the world’s
richest. As if the current administration couldn’t make the "American
Dream" even more unattainable, they are sure willing to try. So, why would
the Disney heiress, Abigail Disney, care
about the middle-class catastrophe outlined by the approved bill? Well, as she
states in thevideo posted
by NowThis Politics, "Disney is for the middle
class."
Abigail's family worked hard to rise from the poorest of poor to
living the high life. A descendant of the great Disney family, she is destined
to attain the wealth the Disneys have earned over the past century. She states
in the video that she was fortunate enough to receive money from her father,
who received it from his uncle and grandfather…..
The
tax cuts now written into law will benefit the 1% which, of course, includes
our wonderful President and Congressmen. The rich will be able
to route money in ways that will skew the system in their favor. But, as this
is America and we are here strictly for monetary purposes, this is, in fact,
strictly business.
To
make matters worse, the tax bill outlines that not hundreds, not thousands, but
millions—13 million Americans—will lose health care benefits. This will then
send premiums skyrocketing due to fewer customers, leaving many sick Americans
without the coverage they so desperately need.
Abigail
talks about how this new plan will allow her to pass along $20 million to her
children with no tax whatsoever. She also says that state and local tax
write-offs will disappear, causing problems for many. Even teachers, who spend
their personal money on school supplies for their classrooms, will no longer be
able to write them off on their taxes. As if America didn't devalue education
enough, it is making it that much harder for underpaid teachers to provide
supplies for their classrooms and students.
Disney
touches on how the debt of this country is projected to be $1.5 trillion
dollars greater, as if what we had wasn't enough already. Social mobility, the
ability for people to work toward and achieve wealth, will basically vanish due
to debt, the new tax bill and our ever-growing price on education.
Abigail
Disney is trying to show us all how horrible things will become with the
country's "biggest tax cut ever." We should be worried. Soon, dreams
won't come true.
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/disney-heiress-gop-tax-bill
As for Warren Buffett, he put it
succinctly, when he stated:
Prior to the
passage of the 2017 GOP tax bill, Buffett told
CNBC, "I don't think I need a tax cut." He went on to explain how
reducing the estate tax, a provision of the bill, makes it easier for the rich
to amass greater wealth and pass it along to their family members, leading to a
"dynastic system."
"I don't
think we should have our Olympic team 20 years from now be the eldest sons of
the Olympic team currently," he said. "I think it goes totally
against what's built this country, what this country stands for."
I like Buffett's analogy. Athletes have to prove their abilities on the field and court. While they may pass along good genes to their offspring, they cannot do the training and preparation to create or clone an athletic offspring. Why shouldn't future generations have to prove their ability to accrue wealth through honest effort and labor? Next week, a walk through history, examining disastrous and successful economic decisions by our nation's leaders: the truth about Andrew Jackson's legacy of racism, bigotry and economic failure!
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