• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
  • WORLD DEMOCRACY
  • POLITICAL ART
  • more
    • election technology
    • money politics
    • political dissidents
    • THIRD PARTY
      • third party central
      • green party
      • justice party
      • libertarian party
    • voting methods
  • DC INFO
    • author central
    • about
    • advertise with DC
    • contact
    • privacy policy

Democracy Chronicles

The $1.5 Trillion Tax Con

by Amy Seon - November 23, 2017

Facebook2TweetLinkedInPin2Shares4

Trillion Tax Con

The Republican Party once stood for fiscal conservatism, but those days are long gone when you look at the current tax reform bill that they are in the midst of passing.   Instead of muddling through the details, the takeaway is this:  Corporations win and the 99 percenters lose.  Without real spending cuts to offset the proposed tax cuts, their plan will add $1.5 trillion1 to the already existing $20 trillion deficit.2  It will slash taxes on the wealthy while raising taxes on those earning $10,000-$75,0003 and even raise taxes on graduate students.4  Why aren’t we all outraged at this?  Because we’re not paying attention.

The ruling party has not passed any real legislation since the election, and they need to accomplish something for their wealthy donors, or their campaign contributions will run dry.5  If they can con their voters into thinking that they are looking out for them while they’re trying to take away their healthcare, then they can certainly get away with increasing their taxes so that the wealthy can save a few extra bucks that they don’t even need.

This latest scam further proves a need to limit and provide public funding for election campaigns.  Get big money and special interest groups out of government once and for all.  Shorten and limit the amount of time and money candidates could spend campaigning, since, currently, elected officials are expected to devote four hours a day on fundraising activities alone,6 four hours they should be spending on governing.

You think that special interest groups don’t have any sort of negative impact on Americans?  “60 Minutes” recently aired a startlingly expose7 about how the pharmaceutical industry used its influence over Congress to contribute to the “worst drug epidemic in American history.”  Drug companies’ lust for profit has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, and has been aided by our own government.  And how are they attempting to treat the opioid crisis?  With more drugs of course.  The NIH has proposed to allow drug companies to profit even further from a drug problem that they helped create by allowing federal funding to help improve and create new drugs that would treat opioid addiction.8  It isn’t as if pharma desperately needs funding from taxpayer money.

Historically, taxes have been an important issue when it comes to deciding on whom to vote for. Remember when President George H.W. Bush uttered “Read my lips:  no new taxes?”  With a Democratic-controlled Congress, he was forced to raise taxes anyway which resulted in his losing the ’92 election.  Today, we have fallen asleep at the wheel and our senators and representatives know it.  When the majority of Americans that voted for our current government are also the very people that would be hurt the most by the repeal of the ACA and the new tax plan proposal, it’s time to wake up and take our country back.

  1. http://www.crfb.org/blogs/tax-cut-and-jobs-act-will-cost-15-trillion
  2. http://www.usdebtclock.org/
  3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/16/senate-tax-bill-cuts-taxes-of-wealthy-and-hikes-taxes-of-families-earning-under-75000-over-a-decade/?utm_term=.afc0079d821c
  4. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/16/house-gop-tax-plan-could-increase-taxes-for-grad-students-by-400-percent.html
  5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/house-tax-panel-adopts-gop-changes-after-day-of-bickering/2017/11/06/e2f88a9e-c35d-11e7-9922-4151f5ca6168_story.html?utm_term=.8def5506febc
  6. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/call-time-congressional-fundraising_n_2427291.html
  7. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-dea-agent-opioid-crisis-fueled-by-drug-industry-and-congress/
  8. http://www.chronicle.com/article/To-Counter-Opioid-Crisis-NIH/240219?cid=wcontentlist_hp_latest
Facebook2TweetLinkedInPin2Shares4

Filed Under: DC Authors

About Amy Seon

Amy Seon writes for Democracy Chronicles from her home in New York City. Checkout the rest of our international team of authors as well. Together, they help cover free and fair elections on every continent with a focus on election reform in the United States.

Some highlighted Democracy Chronicles topics

Africa American Corruption American Local Elections American State Elections Asia Capitalism and Big Business Celebrity Politics China Democracy Charity Democracy Protests Democrats Dictatorships Education Election History Election Methods Election Security Election Transparency Europe Internet and Democracy Journalism and Free Speech Middle East Minority Voting Rights Money Politics New York City and State Elections Political Artwork Political Dissidents Political Lobbying Redistricting Republicans Russia Socialism and Labor Social Media and Democracy South America Spying and Privacy Supreme Court Third Party Voter Access Voter ID Voter Registration Voter Suppression Voter Turnout Voting Technology Women Voting Rights Worldwide Worldwide Corruption

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home | DC AUTHORS | The $1.5 Trillion Tax Con

Primary Sidebar

Advertise button

A Dangerous Reprise Of American Exceptionalism In Ukraine

By Jamie Lampidis May 15, 2022

The stakes are too high to cave into Putin’s phantasmatic imperial play, and too high to believe that this war can be won by arming Ukrainians.

On The Coming End Of Roe v. Wade

By Peter J. Dellolio May 11, 2022

Anyone who says that the evolution of law has nothing to do with politics is either very corrupt or very stupid. Laws evolved through the centuries.

democracy chronicles newsletter

DC AUTHORS

Goodbye Roe v. Wade, Goodbye Rule Of Law

By Andrew Straw May 5, 2022

Congress should impeach judges who act like that because it is not good behavior, and they were asked not to act that way when they were confirmed.

PODCAST: Debating The Future Of Debates

By Jenna Spinelle May 4, 2022

We love a good debate — and have certainly had plenty of them on this show. But how effective are they in today’s media and political landscape?

What “Pro-Palestine” Student Groups Get Wrong

By David Anderson, J.D. May 3, 2022

Back then – as now – this fit into a “colonialist” narrative of European Jews oppressing Arabs – an easy, eye pleasing but intellectually lazy fit.

Examining Government As A “Necessary Evil”

By Gary Berton April 29, 2022

Thomas Paine defines government as separate from society, and indeed if society functioned perfectly there would be no need for government.

Ukrainian And Polish History: Fighting The Empires

By Maxim Sidorenko April 26, 2022

On February 24th, Russia started an unprovoked war against Ukraine. It has become one more attempt of the empire to demolish the Ukrainian state.

PODCAST: What Student Debt Says About Democratic Institutions

By Jenna Spinelle April 26, 2022

In a new book, Josh Mitchell draws alarming parallels to the housing crisis, showing the catastrophic consequences student debt has had on families.

Aging White Men Who Commit Voter Fraud Have Nothing To Fear

By Steve Schneider April 22, 2022

The sentences stand in contrast with the actions of the Governor who recently got the state legislature to create an election integrity police force.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

VISIT OUR POLITICAL ART SECTION:

dc political art

DEMOCRACY CULTURE

North Korea Cracks Down On 'Capitalist' Pop Culture

North Korea Cracks Down On ‘Capitalist’ Pop Culture

May 6, 2022

North Korea has increased its campaign against “capitalist” style clothing, others, in broader crackdown on foreign pop culture.

DiCaprio, Ruffalo Urge Brazilians To Vote, Irking Bolsonaro

DiCaprio, Ruffalo Urge Brazilians To Vote, Irking Bolsonaro

May 6, 2022

Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo joined other celebrities making a final push for voters in Brazil to register to vote.

Mock M&M Election Teaches Alaskans About Ranked Voting

Mock M&M Election Teaches Alaskans About Ranked Voting

April 26, 2022

There are paper cups with eight different kinds of M&M near the entrance to Amalga Distillery in Juneau for a mock ranked choice vote.

How Moral Echo Chambers Increase Likelihood Of Radicalism

How Moral Echo Chambers Increase Likelihood Of Radicalism

April 21, 2022

Moral convergence – group of people who share moral standards – emerges in online situations where communities share similar values.

Dr. Oz Seeks To Make History In US Senate Bid

Dr. Oz Seeks To Make History In US Senate Bid

April 16, 2022

Trump’s endorsement of Dr. Oz in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania adds a new wrinkle to the tight race for GOP nominee in a month.

MORE CULTURE

VISIT OUR US DEMOCRACY SECTION:

American Democracy