I put Reform in quotation marks in the title, because that word has a different meaning to Republicans than to the rest of us. To them, tax reform consists of cutting taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals. Oh, they will throw in a few minor cuts to the middle class as a bribe, but they evidently think middle class voters can be bought cheaply, since the sources I read reported that approximately 85% of the benefits of the"reform" go to the wealthy, none goes to the poor, and the paltry amount that goes to the middle class disappears in ten years.
Now, I'm not completely sure these numbers are accurate, but I accept they are, since they conform with my observations of Republican fiscal policy over the years. In fact, transferring as much wealth as possible from 99% of Americans to the top 1%, pretty much sums up Republican public policy in total. Everything else is ancillary to that.
No one should be curious as to why the incoming Bush Jr. administration took no action on the warnings of a major terrorist attack that had been relayed to them by the outgoing Clinton administration. They were concentrating on their policy priority: tax cuts for the wealthy. If you remember, prior to the 2000 election, Bush was trying to buy the election by saying that since the economy was doing so well, the country could afford a tax cut for everyone. Of course, what he really meant was a big tax cut for the wealthy and a much smaller one for the middle class, but, hey, those are just details. We're supposed to hear "tax cut" and leave it at that. But then, when the economy slowed down soon after taking office, the Bush Jr. administration had to switch gears and justify a tax cut for the wealthy which was needed in order to rejuvenate the economy. Changing gears so quickly regarding such an important issue left no time for such non-revenue-producing matters as national security.
In order to sell tax cuts to those who benefit from them little or not at all, which is 99%of the population, Republicans, over the years, have created myths which they promulgate widely and often. Each of these myths has been shown to be demonstrably false, but Republicans never let an inconsequential thing like the truth stand in the way of getting richer.
Myth 1: Tax Cuts for the Rich Pay for Themselves. It's a lie. Always has been a lie, always will be a lie. But claiming that cutting taxes for the rich actually generates more overall tax revenue is so appealing to Republicans that they can't resist it, so they keep repeating it over and over, evidently with the belief that if they really and truly believe it, someday it will magically come true.
Myth 2: Tax Cuts for the Rich Jumpstart the Economy. The opposite is actually true. Tax cuts for the poor and middle class ignite the economy, because most of it is spent on things they need, and a little on things they want. The rich already have everything they need and most of what they want, so tax cuts for them just make them richer.
Myth 3: Tax Cuts for the Rich Create Jobs. When Republicans are forced to admit the obvious, that their tax cuts are for the benefit of the rich, they respond by claiming that everyone else benefits because the rich are "job creators". This makes no more sense than any of the other conservative economic principles. Corporations and rich individuals don't create jobs when they are handed more money; jobs are created by demand. When poor and middle class families have money, they buy goods and services. In response, existing businesses expand and new businesses are created.
The reality is that the American economy needed no tax cut stimulus after Trump took office. It was already humming along nicely, thanks to Democratic efforts after the Republicans almost managed to wreck the entire world economy in 2008. Now would have been the time to run a surplus and start to pay down our national debt. But the only reality Republicans recognize is the need for the rich to get richer, even if that means everyone else must get poorer.
There are no morals more relative than conservative morals, and no hypocrisy quite like conservative hypocrisy.
