Here’s how the GOP’s tax s**m backfired spectacularly and helped Democrats win key midterm races
Nov 21, 2018 21:53:00 #
The bill was never going to be a winner
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/heres-how-gops-tax-s**m-backfired-spectacularly-and-helped-democrats-win-key
When Republicans finally passed their tax cuts bill at the end of 2017, the party seemed to genuinely believe that the accomplishment would produce a wave of enthusiasm that they could ride to success in the 2018 midterm e******ns.
Now that the e******ns have been held, and GOP has proven to be deeply unpopular and has lost a whopping 38 house seats (at least), it's clear that didn't happen. And new analysis from Jim Tankersley and Ben Casselman of the New York Times found that not only did the tax bill do little to nothing to help them in the midterms, it produced significant d**g on their e*******l hopes in many key districts.
The law "appears to have done more to hurt, than help, Republicans in high-tax districts across California, New Jersey, Virginia andother states," they wrote.
Why? It is because of the new limits on the state and local income tax deduction (SALT).
It can sound a little dry and complicated, but the legislation essentially shrank the discount that people who live in regions with high state and local taxes receive when they pay their federal tax bill. This largely hits people with higher incomes, though the people with the largest incomes likely received more of a benefit from the effects on the corporate tax rate and the lower top marginal rate.
"The SALT cap may not have been the primary motivation for v**ers in choosing Democratic candidates," the reporters wrote. "But a review of polling data over the past year suggests that the limit has some key Republican constituencies feeling bittersweet about the new law — and more willing to back Democrats in House e******ns."
Of the 20 Republican-held districts where residents make the most use of the SALT deduction, Democrats won 10 of those e******ns — a massive gain.
Now, there are decent arguments for and against reducing (or eliminating) the SALT deduction. Since the deduction mostly benefits the rich, progressives may be less inclined to criticize reducing its scope — indeed, much of the criticism of GOP tax bill relies on the fact that it gave far too much to corporations and the wealthy while neglecting the most vulnerable members of society. However, the existence of the SALT deduction can make it easier for local and state governments to levy their own taxes without sparking a backlash, which can help state- and local-level efforts to finance new progressive programs.
But there's a more significant point about the GOP's legislative agenda revealed in this episode. Making the wealthy pay a cost that could hurt your party's e*******l chances in some areas may well be a political price worth paying at times. But it should be done for a worthwhile goal — not to provide rich businesses with a huge influx of cash that they simply pay out to wealthy stockholders.
And if the GOP had structured their tax bill in a way that significantly benefited a large portion of the public — say, by drastically increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit to help working families or by generously raising child tax credits to support struggling parents — it might have garnered support from other portions of the country to make up for what it lost by going after the SALT deduction.
The Republicans didn't do that. Instead, they passed an unpopular bill with minimal tangible benefits to the people who most need them because it was what the wealthy donor class demanded. And fortunately, it seems that, at least this time, the Republicans paid a price for their folly.
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/heres-how-gops-tax-s**m-backfired-spectacularly-and-helped-democrats-win-key
When Republicans finally passed their tax cuts bill at the end of 2017, the party seemed to genuinely believe that the accomplishment would produce a wave of enthusiasm that they could ride to success in the 2018 midterm e******ns.
Now that the e******ns have been held, and GOP has proven to be deeply unpopular and has lost a whopping 38 house seats (at least), it's clear that didn't happen. And new analysis from Jim Tankersley and Ben Casselman of the New York Times found that not only did the tax bill do little to nothing to help them in the midterms, it produced significant d**g on their e*******l hopes in many key districts.
The law "appears to have done more to hurt, than help, Republicans in high-tax districts across California, New Jersey, Virginia andother states," they wrote.
Why? It is because of the new limits on the state and local income tax deduction (SALT).
It can sound a little dry and complicated, but the legislation essentially shrank the discount that people who live in regions with high state and local taxes receive when they pay their federal tax bill. This largely hits people with higher incomes, though the people with the largest incomes likely received more of a benefit from the effects on the corporate tax rate and the lower top marginal rate.
"The SALT cap may not have been the primary motivation for v**ers in choosing Democratic candidates," the reporters wrote. "But a review of polling data over the past year suggests that the limit has some key Republican constituencies feeling bittersweet about the new law — and more willing to back Democrats in House e******ns."
Of the 20 Republican-held districts where residents make the most use of the SALT deduction, Democrats won 10 of those e******ns — a massive gain.
Now, there are decent arguments for and against reducing (or eliminating) the SALT deduction. Since the deduction mostly benefits the rich, progressives may be less inclined to criticize reducing its scope — indeed, much of the criticism of GOP tax bill relies on the fact that it gave far too much to corporations and the wealthy while neglecting the most vulnerable members of society. However, the existence of the SALT deduction can make it easier for local and state governments to levy their own taxes without sparking a backlash, which can help state- and local-level efforts to finance new progressive programs.
But there's a more significant point about the GOP's legislative agenda revealed in this episode. Making the wealthy pay a cost that could hurt your party's e*******l chances in some areas may well be a political price worth paying at times. But it should be done for a worthwhile goal — not to provide rich businesses with a huge influx of cash that they simply pay out to wealthy stockholders.
And if the GOP had structured their tax bill in a way that significantly benefited a large portion of the public — say, by drastically increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit to help working families or by generously raising child tax credits to support struggling parents — it might have garnered support from other portions of the country to make up for what it lost by going after the SALT deduction.
The Republicans didn't do that. Instead, they passed an unpopular bill with minimal tangible benefits to the people who most need them because it was what the wealthy donor class demanded. And fortunately, it seems that, at least this time, the Republicans paid a price for their folly.
Nov 21, 2018 22:17:10 #
Keenan wrote:
b The bill was never going to be a winner /b br ... (show quote)
Alternet again? far Left wing rag tag f**e news rag tag. The party in control of the House/Senate and Presidency suffers losses is no surprise...it's very common, cept there was NO Blue wave as predicted lol. Heck, both Obama and Clinton lost more seats in their first term mid term e******ns, cept for the loss Dems suffered in the Senate in which the Reps did not suffer a loss, they gained seats in the senate earlier this month. lol
Nov 21, 2018 22:20:32 #
EyeSawYou wrote:
Alternet again? far Left wing rag tag f**e news rag tag. The party in control of the House/Senate and Presidency suffers losses is no surprise...it's very common, cept there was NO Blue wave as predicted lol. Heck, both Obama and Clinton lost more seats in their first term mid term e******ns, cept for the loss Dems suffered in the Senate in which the Reps did not suffer a loss, they gained seats in the senate earlier this month. lol
Right! Don't let the facts get in the way of your fanatical support for your Fourth Reich Party's F*****t Plutocratic Agenda.
Nov 21, 2018 22:27:19 #
Keenan wrote:
Right! Don't let the facts get in the way of your fanatical support for your Fourth Reich Party's F*****t Plutocratic Agenda.
Fourth Reich Party's F*****t Plutocratic Agenda??? LOL you lost your mind, you are totally unhinged.
Nov 22, 2018 08:32:15 #
If you think that "tax cut" was unpopular on E******n Day, wait until April 15th. With the Real Estate Tax credit cut to 10K, people who normally get large returns on their federal taxes won't get any or will get less. I know some of you right wing, red hat wearing, yahoos don't understand but in a lot of states, 10K is just about the lowest real estate tax there is. In Westchester County, NY there are people paying more than 100K on their real estate tax because of the value of the home and now 90K of that is no longer deductible.
In the end, this was corporate welfare, plain and simple.
In the end, this was corporate welfare, plain and simple.
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