Dueling tax plans

[Rewind]

A full-page open letter to Donald Trump and California's Congressmen appears in today's Los Angeles Times. Steve White, president of the California Association of Realtors, denounces the House tax plan as "catastrophic" because "it would punish homeowners, eliminate the financial benefits for homebuyers and leave hundreds of thousands of people across California much worse off than they are today."

Saying "our economic future is at risk," White encourages Californians to call their Congressmen and urge them to reject the "misguided" House proposal.

People in all 50 states need to do that.

[Rewind]

This is why we don't need more tax cuts for the wealthy:

World's richest 1% control more than half of all wealth

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/richest-...of-all-wealth/

[Rewind]

Johnson says the plan benefits big corporations more than smaller businesses. Hey, Senator, what about the middle class?

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson is first Republican to oppose GOP tax package

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...x-package.html

[Penguin]

Why is Congress trying to give big tax cuts to the big corporations anyway? Reagan did that because he thought business owners would have more money and would hire more workers and give big pay raises and it didn't work. They just kept all the money they saved and got even richer. Have the Democrats come up with a tax plan? All I hear about are the Republicans.

[Rewind]

Further proof that Republicans care about big corporations but not about the middle class:

New Senate tax bill hides $515 billion of gimmicks, would end benefits for individuals after 2025

http://www.crfb.org/blogs/new-senate...llion-gimmicks

[Rewind]

Tax cuts for the big corporations and the wealthiest Americans will definitely not lead to more jobs and higher wages for the middle class, as we learn from the verbal battle between Orrin Hatch and Sherrod Brown:

This remarkable, angry exchange between senators unmasks the GOP's tax-cut lies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...=.eb6fe2cc9831

[Rewind]

Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik discovered that the GOP tax plans would change the way inflation is calculated and would result in higher taxes for the middle class, who, as we all know, Republicans do not care about.

The chained CPI: Another secret tax hike for the middle class slipped into the GOP tax bills

http://www.latimes.com/business/hilt...121-story.html

[Rewind]

This week the Senate will vote on the Republicans' tax plan. Those of us who are not among the wealthiest Americans should hope and pray it doesn't pass. This headline says it all:

Senate GOP tax bill would cost $1.4 trillion and hit poor and middle class harder than estimated, CBO says

http://www.theweek.com/speedreads/73...mated-cbo-says

[Penguin]

CNN says there are seven Republican senators who are opposed to the tax plan, so it may not pass. Trump keeps saying it will pass but he said the same thing about the healthcare plan. When are they supposed to vote?

[Rewind]

Orrin Hatch wants to have a vote by Friday but if they can't make enough changes to secure the votes of Flake, Corker, McCain and the others who are opposed, I'm betting the vote will be postponed. I hope it will be canceled completely. Those big tax cuts for the wealthy will not "trickle down" to the middle class, despite what the President keeps saying. Reagan already tried that -- and the rich just got richer.

Senators scramble to advance a tax bill that increasingly rewards the wealthy

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/us...publicans.html