Day 336: Trump Gets His Tax Bill. Now What?

The last couple of weeks have been a discombobulated mess on Capitol Hill. The House passed a tax bill, then the Senate, then the House passed a reconciled bill, then the Senate, then the House again. When the smoke cleared, Donald Trump got what he wanted: a tax bill.

While he claims that it will help the middle class, more than anything it helps corporations and the wealthy, including him. While the slashing of the effective tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent for corporations is permanent, any tax cuts to individuals slowly get phased out in the coming years. Most experts agree that the lower and middle classes will generally see a very modest initial decrease in their taxes, but they will soon rise.

The Republicans are touting this as an across the board win.

Now what?

1. The nation can dispense with the notion that there are any Republican “deficit hawks.” The tax bill will raise the national debt by about $2 trillion over the next decade, meaning the United States will borrow money from China to give tax breaks to the rich in a strong economy with a bull market. If there was ever a time to work on lowering the national debt, it’d be now. But Republicans were not and are not interested in that. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), for instance, insisted he could never support a bill that raised the debt by a single penny. When it was time to vote, he proudly voted aye. The House Freedom Caucus, alleged beacons for a balanced budget and lowering the debt, lined up in support of the bill.
2. The shadiness of this bill will be examined for a long time. The bill was rushed through Congress, drawn up in back rooms by Republicans and lobbyists. When the Senate voted, there were scribbled notes in the margins and most members of Congress didn’t even have time to read the entire bill before voting. Corker was initially a no but suddenly flipped to yes — despite admitting he he hadn’t read the full bill — when a provision enriching his — and Trump’s — companies was slipped into the bill. The majority whip, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) openly admitted the provision was added to shore up a few votes.
3. “Moderate” or “anti-Trump” Republicans can go away, including Corker for the reasons above. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) pathetically folded for a mere promise to be included in discussions on a future immigration bill. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was told her vote could get her a health insurance deal. Collins initially insisted that the bipartisan health insurance bill, known as Alexander-Murray, must be voted on before the tax bill. Not only has that not happened, it’s unclear if it will ever happen. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was bought off by allowing companies to drill in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), recovering from cancer treatments, wasn’t at the final vote, but voted for the initial Senate bill that helped push the matter to reconciliation between the two chambers of Congress.
4. The lies can be tallied. In addition to the deficit hawks flipping at the drop of a hat, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said the tax plan would simplify the tax code. It didn’t. Ryan promised to slash the number of tax brackets from seven to four. The final number: seven. Between the benefits of restructuring companies and moving assets around, the bill creates loopholes inside loopholes, despite assurances that loopholes would be closed.
5. Midterm elections are November 6, 2018. Americans can make their voices heard on a wildly unpopular bill then.

336 days in, 1126 to go

Follow us on Twitter at @TrumpTimer