Liberal Political Websites Dislike Tax Plan

Economy Section

So my comments echo those liberal political websites.  Trump boasts of his biggest tax cuts in history to feed his oversized ego a long-awaited legislative achievement which he thinks will positively reflect on his legacy, but did they also have a motive of actually helping the American people?  Based on their foolish reliance on trickle down, having questionable impacts on economic growth while allowing deficits to soar, it looks to only be a concession for big donors while GOP leadership brags they did something.  So truth be known it is a self-serving bill providing little benefit to workers, which it arguably might do more harm than good.  Yes, the stock market always gets amped up over tax cuts & some amount of economic growth can be expected, but far from enough to offset the increase in deficits.  So this tax bill only exacerbates our existing troubles, the continuing too high deficits, plus the uneven economy where the top half is thriving & the bottom half struggling to make ends meet.  Useful tax reform matching the realities on the ground would have a bottoms-up approach, not so much the top-down that defines this plan.

This tone-deaf monstrosity of a bill was so ill-conceived & rushed-through, there was no time to vet its real impact & last-minute provisions were even scribbled in on the margins.  The prez is crowing about these big beautiful tax cuts, blowing a lot of smoke as he lays his BS on us thick.  Every time I hear economists like Stephen Moore, Larry Kudlow & Art Laffer, it reminds me of watching Pat Robertson on the 700 Club, they’ve lost their fastballs & their comments made sense in some previous century.  As the bill goes through the reconciliation process between the House & Senate versions, the smell that emanates from what’s really in the bill will drive down its popularity with the public into the toxic range.  So it still remains to be seen if by the holidays this unpassable bill seen as a must-pass by the GOP will pass or not.  They’re so desperate to pass something, they’ll probably get this done, but who knows?  The House Freedom Caucus will always raise a fuss.  And also who knows whether we’ll face a government shutdown by this weekend?  The impasse over DACA could shut things down.

In many countries, more people are in work than before the global financial crisis as the world economy racks up its strongest growth since 2010.  But pay, which would normally rise more quickly as employers compete for staff, is rising painfully slowly for many.  The living standards hit has big implications, fueling the frustration of many voters who have dealt stinging rebukes to establishment candidates in elections around the world, most notably the victory of U.S. President Donald Trump last year.

Income and wealth inequality is high in the United States compared to other countries, and it has been growing for over 30 years. This trend in inequality is associated with increasing political polarization. Interestingly, inequality is also increasing in other countries. whether these trends are associated with political instability or polarization internationally is beyond the scope of this report.

In the Salon article Can Capitalism Be Saved, the author nitpicks a bit too much about Robert Reich’s ideas.  I’ve always respected Reich’s background & ideas as someone who clearly perceives our entrenched issues & thinks outside the box.  The article does offer an important big-picture view that the evolution of capitalism does offer unique challenges which will require bold new thinking, including the perspective historical trends, show that wealth becomes increasingly concentrated as capitalism expands & evolves, as we can so clearly see happening now.  That article further provides these thoughts:

This sums up the overall theme of Reich’s documentary: It is not capitalism itself, but the deviant form of “crony capitalism,” that is to blame for the skyrocketing levels of inequality and many other economic and political problems we face today. “There’s nothing inherent in an economic system that makes it immoral or moral, good or bad,” Reich says early on in the documentary, while responding to the question of why we should “save” a system that is inherently immoral. “It depends on how it’s organized. And if it’s organized for people, then it can be a good and moral system.”

 

The global economy has changed enormously since the 1930s, and capital has essentially colonized the world. It has nestled everywhere, settled everywhere, and established connections everywhere, as Karl Marx predicted. This has undermined the ability of domestic governments to limit the excesses of capitalism, as they did during the 20th century. Capital has become too powerful, and throughout the world profit has come to take precedence over people (and the planet).