Following last night’s Senate vote of 51-48 along party lines, the House re-voted on the sweeping $1.5 trillion GOP tax bill today mirroring yesterday’s results of 224-201 – sending the bill to President Trump’s desk for his signature, which the White House says Trump may wait until January to do.
GREAT AGAIN: House approves GOP's historic tax reform 224-201, sending bill to President Trump's desk pic.twitter.com/JmyjHUQkfO
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) December 20, 2017
As the Financial Times points out, “the vote gives the president a longed-for legislative victory to carry into his second year, one whose scope matches the radical reforms of healthcare and Wall Street regulation achieved by his predecessor Barack Obama.”
But the tax bill is already as divisive as Mr Obama’s achievements, ensuring 2018 will be dominated by electoral sparring over whether it will help middle-class families, as Republicans claim, or will deliver further riches to the wealthy and powerful, as Democrats say.
Mr Trump said at a “celebration” cabinet meeting that people would begin seeing the results of the tax bill in February when adjustments to their after-tax income started appearing in pay checks. “We got it done,” he said, thanking congressional leaders.
The House had to re-vote, after it was discovered that several minor provisions in the legislation were in violation of Senate rules – requiring they be stripped from the bill. As Senator John Kennedy notably said on Tuesday “somebody screwed up.”
According to NBC, One of those provisions would allow 529 savings accounts, which are now used for college tuition, to help finance home schooling. Another would exempt a small tuition-free college in Kentucky from a new tax on endowments.
Democrats roundly opposed bill, calling it a boon to the wealthy while offering little for the middle class. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called it “the worst bill to ever come to the floor of the House.” Moreover, several protesters showed up to Congress on Tuesday at both the House and the Senate votes – shouting “Kill the bill. Don’t kill us!”
Protestors in the House Chamber shouting "Kill the bill, don't kill us!"
The #GOPTaxScam takes health coverage from 13 million Americans. #Shame https://t.co/7gtz9lqHK1 pic.twitter.com/huGIo4VMNR
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) December 19, 2017
In addition to lowering the corporate tax rate to 21% to 35%, Town Hall‘s Guy Benson noted yesterday that over 80% of Americans will see their taxes reduced under the bill according to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, and the “losers” are limited to just 5% (largely upper income filers from high-tax blue states). “And no,” Benson writes, “the “one-percenter” rich do not disproportionately benefit from the cuts.” Furthermore, the bill eliminates the Affordable Care Act’s penalty for Americans who don’t purchase insurance.
BREAKING: The Senate has passed the GOP tax reform bill, 51-48.
Nonpartisan analysts have determined that the proposal will cut taxes for 80+% of Americans, drastically improve our globally-uncompetitive corporate tax rate, grow GDP & create jobs. Every Democrat voted no.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 20, 2017
The average tax cut will be $1,600, according to TPC’s data (Republicans cite a different statistic: A tax cut of more than $2,000 for a median income family of four). Let those numbers marinate for a moment. We’ve been caught in a blizzard of misinformation claiming that this bill hurts the middle class. But even the Republican-hostile Tax Policy Center couldn’t escape the empirical conclusion that 80 percent of all Americans will see their taxes reduced under the bill. -Town Hall
TPC conference report:
Bottom 80% currently pays 33% of all federal income taxes, but gets 35% of the tax cuts.
Top 1% currently pays 27% of all federal taxes, but gets 21% of the tax cuts.
So the share of all federal taxes paid by wealthy will rise.https://t.co/F4805lVSo6
— Brian Riedl (@Brian_Riedl) December 18, 2017
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was in a good mood Tuesday night, telling the press “The president will have delivered the most significant tax cut in the history of the nation,” adding “We will look forward to signing it, hopefully in the next couple of days.” Sanders also hit back at claims that the bill would personally benefit President Trump, stating “certainly, on the personal side, could cost the president a lot of money.”
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Pyrrhic victory
You are guilty of data mining. So consider this:
The bill will make yet more money available for buybacks/payouts (this is exactly how most CEOs have indicated they’ll “invest” this windfall) and so will benefit those who are already asset rich …this is quite consistent with Fed/govt policies during the entirety of the BushBama administration. Further, a $1.5 trillion deficit/stimulus will cause inflation to be higher than it otherwise would be, and this will cause those who must consume what they make to have less real purchasing power …all while inflation in the stuff that the already asset-rich own benefits from inflation …making them yet richer.
More concentration of wealth/power, more danger to the stability of our republic. Beware the socialist/Democrat backlash that will build as the above becomes clearer …even to a Foxtard.
What is the cost of the Pyrrhic victory? Nancy Pelosi spitting on herself while trying to talk? Already happens. Media criticism? Comes built in with anything Trump or his admin does.
EdN, Perhaps he is referring to the backlash that will come when the affects adding fuel to an already huge asset bubble become apparent and when there is a socialist backlash to the wealth concentration that this bill exacerbates.
When the barista millennial looks at his paycheck and says,
“Dude, I gotta raise!”, his cohort will tell him
…..”That’s the Trump tax cut moron”
“Dude, I’m voting republican from now on!”
Thanks, ferd. The socialists can go fuck themselves. As for the asset bubble, this may sound silly with everyone watching LFIN and NETE… but this huge corporate tax cut may have some effect on valuation. An obsolete idea, I know.