GOP economists have developed a new economic theory that provides the rationale for the tax cut they are imposing on American citizens. Trickle-up economics is the basis for the new tax cut that Trump and the Republicans are in the process of passing in the House and Senate without any input from the Democrats and without any hearings or comments from different economists. Trickle-up economics fits well with recent Republican scientific data apparently showing that global warming is non-existent and that fossil fuel usage is perfectly acceptable and will not damage the planet. If you have any questions about this, get back to Scott Pruitt the head of the EPA whose boundless scientific knowledge assures us that global warming is a hoax and that we should not worry about it.
Getting back to trickle-up economics, this is a novel way to make certain the middle-class is screwed by the new tax bill. Though Donald Trump ran a populist campaign promising that the working and middle classes would primarily benefit from his economic policies, in fact the most affluent Americans and corporations are the ones who will profit from his tax reform measures, including Trump himself. On the other hand, the middle and working classes will suffer financially from the GOP tax cuts and trickle-up economics. In trickle-up economics, money is appropriated through taxes and fees from the poor, the working and middle classes, winding up in the hands of those most affluent through trickle-up mechanisms. Taxpayers believe that what they pay to the government will be employed to enhance Social Security and Medicare and help to support them when they are older. They do not understand that the revenue collected will immediately be transferred to the top one tenth of one percent and corporate entities by eliminating any tax burdens they may have accumulated. Trickle-up is meant to aid those who are affluent and add to their wealth.
Though Trump and the Republicans professed interest in helping the middle and working classes during the election campaigns, they have done absolutely nothing to improve the lot of working people since the election, concentrating their efforts on those who are already wealthy. These are the Moneybags people who contribute money to Republican campaign funds, 401(c)(4) organizations, and various other funds. And these donors expect to receive a return on their investments, wanting their taxes cut and more money to wind up in their pockets. They don’t really care about the mechanisms that are used as long as they are rewarded for their investments. We can joke about trickle-up economics, but in reality, that is what is happening. In what is probably the worst tax bill that has been devised in the last century, income is being taken from those who can least afford it and given to the wealthy who least need it.
The Republicans have given no thought to the funds necessary for the CHIP program that offers medical care for children. There is no additional protection for Medicare and Medicaid, and no funds for child care. There is no additional workman’s compensation and no insurance programs for workers and the unemployed. And the deficit will explode with the new tax bill. All money collected will go to the affluent and to corporations, individuals and groups who have contributed to GOP coffers. No debate on the bill took place and it was passed by the Republicans alone without any input from the Democrats. Not a smart way to construct an important bill for the nation. But the GOP doesn’t care. Their goal is more money for the rich and to hell with those who are poor.
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020