Student Loan Interest

Republican Tax Plan Will Hurt Middle Class, Promote More Concentration Of Wealth, And Will Kill Republican Majority Whether It Passes Or Not!

Ronald 3 Comments

The Republican Party’s attempt to promote “tax reform” will fail, whether it passes or not.

The likelihood is that Republicans in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California will refuse to vote for it, since it ends deduction of state and local income taxes on tax forms in those states.

It is also likely that a few Republicans in the US Senate will oppose it because of other aspects of the plan that make it uncomfortable to support.

The bill would victimize the middle class, and promote greater concentration of wealth in the top one percent and the corporations.

It would harm the white working class voters who put Donald Trump in office in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The legislation adds $1.75 trillion to the national debt, and cuts so many programs and benefits, displeasing deficit hawks because of the former, and moderates and independents due to the latter.

Charities will be harmed by the legislation, and home builders and real estate agents will be affected by limits on mortgage interest deductions, making people less willing to buy homes, and instead to rent their housing.

Corporations will gain the most from the legislation, and many Americans are angry that many corporations already pay little or no taxes.

The legislation would also hurt Obamacare in a different form, even after failure to repeal it earlier this year, and no replacement is offered for millions of Americans who benefit from it.

The end of the estate tax, which affects so few people, also will displease the average American, who does not understand why all inheritances should be untouched in any way by taxes, as wealthy people have a responsibility to pay their fair share in life, as well as at the end of life, rather than pass on tens of millions to their heirs, without any responsibility to contribute to the future of American society.

Also, medical deductions would be limited, and students who have massive loan payments would not be able to deduct any of them on their tax return, undermining the sick and the young.

One can expect that this legislation will not pass, and therefore will harm the Republican Party, but if somehow it does pass, it also will harm the Republican brand in the 2018 midterm elections!

113th Congress To Set Record As Least Productive Since World War II!

Ronald 3 Comments

THe 113th Congress, the second consecutive Congress to be a split Congress of a Republican majority in the US House of Representatives, and a Democratic majority in the US Senate, the only two times that a split Congress has been of this such division in American history, is on its way to becoming the least productive since World War II, surpassing the dismal record of the previous 112th Congress in 2011-2012!

A reminder that the other “split” Congresses were of a Republican Senate and Democratic House, and a lot more was accomplished under that scenario in 1911-1913, 1931-1933, and 1981-1987!

But this 113th Congress is setting a record for obstructionism never seen in American history!

The GOP is preventing action on the following:

The rebuilding of America’s infrastructure, badly in need of repair.
Accessible and affordable health care for all Americans
Getting off dependence on foreign oil by having a clean energy agenda
Promotion of the protection of women’s health
Responsible gun regulations to prevent future Sandy Hooks
Immigration Reform
Air and water pollution regulations
Strengthening of voting rights and civil rights for all Americans
Wall Street and banking reforms to prevent future “crashes”
A new farm bill, including food stamp protection for the poorest among us
Student loan interest reform

Confidence in Congress is at an all time low of TEN percent! The Republicans have abused the filibuster weapon in the US Senate, and the Tea Party Movement in the House of Representatives has hijacked even the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, who is powerless in the assault on cooperation and crossing of the aisle so essential for anything to get done in Congress!

Only 15 legislative items have become law in the past six months, lower than the 23 which became law in the first six months of the 112th Congress!

Those who believe that divided and split government is good for democracy are learning the hard way that it is the prescription for statemate, gridlock, and total paralysis, and that the answer is to kick out the Republican House majority and elect a Democratic majority in both houses, ideally with a filibuster proof Senate of 60 Democrats!

Sadly, neither of these ideas are realistically tenable, so the halting of effective government is likely to continue, undermining the future of America!