Why Are Democrats Not Hammering on the Trump Tax Cuts Which Need to be Increased for Middle Class and Eliminated for the Rich
by John Lawrence
American voters love tax cuts. That's the main appeal of a Republican administration. Biden has said he won't raise taxes for anyone making less than $400,000. This is not a strong enough statement. He, or whoever eventually is the Democratic nominee, should say that they will lower taxes for anyone making less than $400,000. Most of the Trump tax cuts go to those making over $400,000. CNN reported: "The highest-income households would receive more than 45% of the benefits if the expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are extended, according to an analysis released Monday by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center." Why can't the Democrats see this? The Republicans' only appeal to the middle class are the tax cuts which give them a paltry $1000 or 1.3% of their income off their taxes while the rich households making at least around $450,000 – roughly the top 5% - would see their after-tax income increase by 3.2%. Democrats need to take this issue away from Republicans. Right now their rhetoric around this issue is too weak.
For those in the top 1%, who make at least $1 million, they get a tax cut of about $70,000, on average, in 2027. The top 0.1%, who make at least $5 million, would pocket a tax cut of nearly $280,000, on average, or about 3% of their after-tax income. Also extending the Trump tax cuts would have a big impact on the national debt, raising it by more than $4 trillion over the next 10 years – before interest costs are factored in, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Of course this will give power to Republican claims that the government can't support social security and Medicare any more. There will not be any more money available after supporting a one trillion dollar military budget and paying interest on the national debt.
What is wrong with the Democrats? There is already too much disparity between the very rich and the middle class. We are going back to a medieval society where the rich aristocracy run the political establishment and the middle class are nothing but modern day peasants. The peasants will not be able to build wealth because they won't be able to buy a house which is the main wealth builder for the middle class. They all will be renters for life living paycheck to paycheck. This is the reality for life in America today. People who have even one asset, a house, will get ahead by building wealth. People who are life long renters will only create wealth for their landlords. This is the way it was 500 years ago. Well, at least today, everyone has a cell phone.
