Beware The Tax Cut Menace
Politicians know that everyone loves a “good”tax cut, but none more so than the super rich. We all want something for nothing. So politicians, especially Republicans, are always searching for ways to work the magic elixir of tax cuts into their campaign rhetoric. But for average Americans tax cuts are mostly a mirage, a path to a lower standard of living, because tax cuts are mainly designed to excuse the super rich from there social obligation of helping fund America’s human and physical infrastructure, that which separates first world nations from banana republics.
The living standard for average Americans peaked around 1974. It has been in steady decline ever since, paralleling the ever-eroding federal tax rate. The absolute highest tax rate in 1960 was 90% and in 2017 it had fallen to around 42%. Now of course there are many tax loopholes and marginally legal devices available to the super rich, so they rarely come close to paying the top rate. But in any event those above $250,000 in annual income are proving far less in revenue than years past. Thus the bottom line is that the ever-expanding disparity between the living standard of average Americans and those at the very top of the social pyramid is forcing the wealthiest nation in the world into the form of a third world country.
Corporate America, though its GOP shills, has forever conflated socialism with our once great fear of communism, the latter a severely bastardized version of socialism. You don’t want none of that there government run socialism stuff has been the forever mantra of the GOP super rich. Sure, for those in America who can afford healthcare, the wait may be slightly shorter for elective surgery than for folks, say, in Canada or Great Briton. But at least in these more socialistic nations, citizens can rely on good medical care that won’t bankrupt them into homelessness.
The great deflection, the scapegoat game, is to blame Mexicans and the “other” for America’s problems. It’s easily done, especially among the unsophisticated lower middle classes. Nature, with its tribal impulse, has hardwired us at our most primitive, ego survival level with an often-unreasonable biased fear of the “other” — the Archie Bunker syndrome.
So as the living standards of the once great American middle class erodes away to nothing, the ignorant among us echo the mindless chant of tax cut Trump — “build the wall.”
Yes, old line Republicans may wonder about the Donald’s Russia connections, but where it counts most for them and their gilded ilk, he does give them what they thirsted after most — more money via those awesome tax cuts. I mean, after all if America does completely crumble to dust for lack of operating revenue, the wealthy can always move themselves and their billions to somewhere else.
While the super rich hate to see the “wasteful” government pay for Social Security or Medicare and Medicaid (no money for them to be made there) they have no qualms about seeing billions of our tax dollars poured into defense spending, even if it is for super expensive hardware manly designed to fight bygone wars, while at once ignoring the proper funding of that which would combat the dangers of modern cyber warfare. This is because the super rich, as one might guess, are heavily invested in the long established defense industries.
The bottom line is that while Trump supporters wildly cheer their fake hero, he is doing all he can to fund — through tax cuts — his super rich pals, which acts as a dagger in the backs of his clueless and abused fans.
