SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) applaud with their fellow House Republicans during a news conference following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol November 16, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
'Welfare for the Wealthy': 227 House Republicans Pass $1.5 Trillion Tax Cut for Corporations and the Rich
"It's immoral that many hardworking families will pay a higher tax bill or lose access to critical services like healthcare so that some CEO can get a bigger bonus and buy a bigger yacht."
Nov 16, 2017
By a vote of 227-205, House Republicans on Thursday passed a tax bill that would permanently cut taxes for massive corporations, reward the extremely wealthy by eliminating the estate tax, trigger billions of dollars in automatic cuts to Medicare, and raise taxes on millions of middle- and working-class families.
"With this bill, the House GOP is moving to rig the system further for the powerful and elite against everyday Americans," Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, said in a statement following Thursday's vote. "It's immoral that many hardworking families will pay a higher tax bill or lose access to critical services like healthcare so that some CEO can get a bigger bonus and buy a bigger yacht. Millions of Americans in the middle and at the bottom will be the losers from this tax plan, while the wealthiest will benefit."
According to an analysis released by the Joint Committee on Taxation, everyone earning under $75,000 a year would on average see their taxes rise by 2027 under the House's plan. The wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations, by contrast, would see their taxes fall drastically.
As the Washington Post notes, the House bill--which calls for $1.5 trillion in tax cuts--"delivers more than 80 percent of its overall cuts to corporations, business owners, and wealthy families who are subject to the federal estate tax."
It is these facts that led Terrence Meehan of the Patriotic Millionaires to label the House GOP's plan "welfare for the wealthy" in a video published following Thursday's vote.
Watch:
The House's approval of the tax plan was a major step toward President Donald Trump's expressed goal of ramming through tax cuts by the end of the year.
The Senate Republicans are expected to vote on their own plan before Thanksgiving. In addition to providing similarly enormous tax cuts to the rich while hiking taxes on millions of middle class and poor families, the Senate bill also includes a provision that repeals the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which the Congressional Budget Office has estimated would strip healthcare from 13 million Americans.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
By a vote of 227-205, House Republicans on Thursday passed a tax bill that would permanently cut taxes for massive corporations, reward the extremely wealthy by eliminating the estate tax, trigger billions of dollars in automatic cuts to Medicare, and raise taxes on millions of middle- and working-class families.
"With this bill, the House GOP is moving to rig the system further for the powerful and elite against everyday Americans," Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, said in a statement following Thursday's vote. "It's immoral that many hardworking families will pay a higher tax bill or lose access to critical services like healthcare so that some CEO can get a bigger bonus and buy a bigger yacht. Millions of Americans in the middle and at the bottom will be the losers from this tax plan, while the wealthiest will benefit."
According to an analysis released by the Joint Committee on Taxation, everyone earning under $75,000 a year would on average see their taxes rise by 2027 under the House's plan. The wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations, by contrast, would see their taxes fall drastically.
As the Washington Post notes, the House bill--which calls for $1.5 trillion in tax cuts--"delivers more than 80 percent of its overall cuts to corporations, business owners, and wealthy families who are subject to the federal estate tax."
It is these facts that led Terrence Meehan of the Patriotic Millionaires to label the House GOP's plan "welfare for the wealthy" in a video published following Thursday's vote.
Watch:
The House's approval of the tax plan was a major step toward President Donald Trump's expressed goal of ramming through tax cuts by the end of the year.
The Senate Republicans are expected to vote on their own plan before Thanksgiving. In addition to providing similarly enormous tax cuts to the rich while hiking taxes on millions of middle class and poor families, the Senate bill also includes a provision that repeals the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which the Congressional Budget Office has estimated would strip healthcare from 13 million Americans.
By a vote of 227-205, House Republicans on Thursday passed a tax bill that would permanently cut taxes for massive corporations, reward the extremely wealthy by eliminating the estate tax, trigger billions of dollars in automatic cuts to Medicare, and raise taxes on millions of middle- and working-class families.
"With this bill, the House GOP is moving to rig the system further for the powerful and elite against everyday Americans," Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, said in a statement following Thursday's vote. "It's immoral that many hardworking families will pay a higher tax bill or lose access to critical services like healthcare so that some CEO can get a bigger bonus and buy a bigger yacht. Millions of Americans in the middle and at the bottom will be the losers from this tax plan, while the wealthiest will benefit."
According to an analysis released by the Joint Committee on Taxation, everyone earning under $75,000 a year would on average see their taxes rise by 2027 under the House's plan. The wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations, by contrast, would see their taxes fall drastically.
As the Washington Post notes, the House bill--which calls for $1.5 trillion in tax cuts--"delivers more than 80 percent of its overall cuts to corporations, business owners, and wealthy families who are subject to the federal estate tax."
It is these facts that led Terrence Meehan of the Patriotic Millionaires to label the House GOP's plan "welfare for the wealthy" in a video published following Thursday's vote.
Watch:
The House's approval of the tax plan was a major step toward President Donald Trump's expressed goal of ramming through tax cuts by the end of the year.
The Senate Republicans are expected to vote on their own plan before Thanksgiving. In addition to providing similarly enormous tax cuts to the rich while hiking taxes on millions of middle class and poor families, the Senate bill also includes a provision that repeals the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which the Congressional Budget Office has estimated would strip healthcare from 13 million Americans.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy