That’s how journalist David Sirota refers in a tweet about the Senate Finance chairman’s tax giveaway to Trump, Bob Corker, Paul Ryan and other top GOPers.
Indeed.
Republicans who have large ownership stakes in real-estate-related entities stand to reap a personal windfall from the legislative language Hatch added to the final bill.
The Utah Republican is now saying it’s all some sort of coincidence, no special favors intended. So I guess he’s saying the provision was only a giveaway to the entire real estate industry, not just select members of Congress and the President. Don’t you feel better now?
Politicians enriching themselves, even if coincidental, is not the change even most Trump voters intended.
“You can’t get rich in politics unless you’re a crook.”
Harry S. Truman
fiscal times: 8 Winners and 5 Losers in the GOP Tax Bill
1. Big business: Slashing the top corporate tax from 35 percent to 21 percent is a clear win for U.S. businesses, especially those who currently pay higher rates, like big retailers. The bill also eliminates the corporate alternative minimum tax, making it possible for some businesses to lower their rate below 21 percent through the use of various deductions. And multinationals with billions of dollars in profits offshore will be forced to bring that money home, but at rates ranging from 8 percent to 15.5 percent.
2. Real estate investors: Property owners already receive considerable benefits from the tax code, and a last-minute tweak added to the tax bill sweetens the pot, allowing landlords — including such notable figures as President Trump and Sen. Bob Corker — to take advantage of new tax breaks for pass-through businesses.
3. Pass-throughs: Most businesses in the U.S. are organized as pass-through entities, and the tax bill gives most of them a big break — a 20 percent deduction straight off the top line.Most ofthe benefit will flow to high-income households.
4. Individual taxpayers — until 2026: The majority of taxpayers will get a tax cut starting next year, though for many the size of the cuts will be modest. Although the alternative minimum tax remains in place, it now kicks in at a significantly higher level, shielding more upper-middle income households.
5. Wealthy heirs: The cutoff for paying estate taxes will be doubled to roughly $11 million for individuals and $22 million for couples, further reducing the number of estates exposed to the tax.
6. Wall Street: During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump frequently complained about the rules for carried interest that allow some large investors to pay a lower tax rate. Those rules remain in place for the most part, much to the relief of many fund managers.
7. Tax planners: Republicans have talked about simplifying the tax code, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is anything but simple. NYU tax expert Dan Shaviro predicts “there will be many billions of dollars” in transactions designed to reduce tax liability in the near future, meaning lots of billable hours for tax experts.
8. Supply-side conservatives: “This, if it passes, will be the single biggest policy triumph for conservatives since the 1996 welfare reform,” supply-side economist Stephen Moore told Politico. Long-time supply-sider Grover Norquist added that he thinks there’s more coming: “This tax cut and reform will drive further reforms and reductions for the next 50 years.” But will supply-siders still be crowing in five years?
5 Losers
1. Most individual taxpayers after 2025: The corporate tax cuts are permanent but many of the individual cuts expire after 2025. The majority of households will see higher taxes after that date, assuming Congress doesn’t step in to maintain the cuts.
2. Top earners in high-tax states: The tax bill imposes new limits on deductions for state and local taxes ($10,000) and mortgage interest ($750,000 on new purchases). Many high-income households in New York, California and other high-tax states will feel the pinch.
3. Workers on payroll: The tax bill gives a larger tax break to owners of businesses than to their employees, even if they do the same kind of work for the same pay.
4. Doctors and lawyers: Some high-income pass-through businesses, including many law firms and medical practices, will be unable to take advantage of new tax breaks for pass-through income.
5. Deficit hawks: It’s not clear that there are many deficit hawks left in the Republican Party, but anyone concerned about the size of the national debt can’t be happy with a bill that adds more than $1 trillion — and potentially as much as $2.2 trillion — to it.
Methinks a lot of the gop know they are going down in their next elections. But instead of trying to do what’s right for their constituents (and might ensure their re-election), they’ve decided to get while the getting is good. They’ll be all set for life… so what do they care if the Dems sort out the mess.
They are virtually naked upon the stage and obviously don’t give a shit.
Renee, I believe they think that the campaign and PAC donations will enable them to overwhelm the challengers.
wapo:
Senate intel committee investigating Jill Stein campaign for possible collusion with the Russians
The Senate Intelligence Committee is looking at the presidential campaign of the Green Party’s Jill Stein for potential “collusion with the Russians,” a sign that the panel’s probe is far from over, even as allegations swirl that the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation is racing to a close.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) told reporters Monday that the Senate Intelligence Committee has “two other campaigns that we’re just starting on,” in addition to the panel’s ongoing probe of alleged ties between the Trump administration and Kremlin officials. One of those he identified as Stein’s; Burr has indicated previously that the committee is also looking into reports that the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign paid for research that went into a dossier detailing allegations of Donald Trump’s 2013 exploits in Moscow.
Stein was present at a 2015 dinner in Moscow that was also attended by Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, whose contacts with Russian officials have been a chief focus of congressional investigators and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe. Flynn and Stein were photographed at the same table as Russian President Vladimir Putin, who sat next to Flynn and across the table from Stein.
Stein released a statement Monday night defending her campaign’s transparency and integrity.
“Our communications with Russian indiviuals regarding an invitation to speak on international relations at the RT 10th anniversary media conference will confirm what we stated publicly at that time and since: that we did not accept any payment or even reimbursement for the trip,” Stein said.
[…continues…]
Theme for the 2018 elections has to be ending the corruption of the House, Senate, Lobby, and Campaign Donors.
With this tax deform, the republican party has become a dangerous parasite on the 99% Underclass.
sorry, had trouble linking above. something’s happened to my handy dandy edit bar
it’s https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-intel-committee-investigating-jill-stein-campaign-for-collusion-with-the-russians/2017/12/18/ea7f3f1a-e44b-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html?utm_term=.4b3efdcb0922
the guardian: ‘Kill the messenger’: how Fox News cried ‘coup’ over the Trump-Russia inquiry
The cable news channel regularly accuses Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation of being a ‘coup’ by a ‘criminal cabal’. What are they playing at?
Aaaah… Pogo… that’s a good point. They probably think voter suppression will help them also.
putzes!
Paul Ryan unhinged not a good look
As long as the Democrats don’t have a logical alternative to Republican giveaways then the Republicans are the only choice. Screaming and crying as the democrats are now doing isn’t a plan.
Jack
wapo: House passes massive GOP tax plan; Senate to vote this evening
a little bit of sugar makes the medicine go down
🙂
tpm:
In a speech on the Senate floor on Monday, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reiterated his promise to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to hold votes this week on three policies to mitigate the damage the tax bill would do to the nation’s health insurance markets. Collins originally said her vote for the tax bill—which is scheduled to happen either Tuesday or Wednesday—would depend on whether the other policies become law. But the vote on the continuing resolution to fund the government and the bills McConnell plans to attach to it, won’t happen until later in the week, making her promise Monday to support the tax bill a giant leap of faith.
“We must pass a routine waiver to avoid unacceptable cuts in Medicare funding and other vital programs,” McConnell said, referring to Congress’ PAYGO law that unless waived would trigger hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to federal programs due to the tax bill’s $1 trillion-plus price tag.
“And of particular importance,” he continued, “faced with the continued failure of Obamacare to keep health insurance affordable for working Americans, we must take this opportunity to pass bipartisan solutions that will help stabilize collapsing health insurance markets and lower premiums for individuals and families across the country.”
McConnell is presumably referring to two health policies Collins demanded in exchange for her vote on the tax bill—one to restore government subsidies to insurance companies that Trump cut off earlier this year, and the other to set up a temporary federal reinsurance program.
Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the co-author of the first bill, also pledged that it would be attached to the funding bill that must pass before midnight Friday to avoid a government shutdown.
The bills are aimed at balancing out the expected insurance premium hikes caused by the tax bill’s repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate, though health care experts say they would do little to prevent the number of uninsured Americans by jumping by at least 13 million over 10 years.
Despite McConnell’s promise to hold votes on the bills and the likelihood of their passage in the Senate, Republicans in the House could vote to strip them out, setting up a showdown between the two chambers with a shutdown looming. House Republicans have long been hostile to Collins’ health care bills, deriding them as “welfare” and a “bailout” for insurance companies—though insurers are compelled to provide the subsidies to low-income patients whether or not the government reimburses them.
Regardless, Collins will be in the dark about whether her market stabilization bills will ever become law when she decides how to vote on a tax bill that nukes the individual mandate.
Patd – Ari’s bass will make your vehicle bounce down the road. I dig me some Pentatonix. It’s mind boggling what 5 talented voices can blend together to create.
travis, me too… enjoy their sound and staging. drummer is usually pretty ho-hum and worn out after the millionth time heard while shopping but they really do it up big.
patd got a Pentatonix Jones on?
In a speech on the Senate floor on Monday, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reiterated his promise to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to hold votes this week on three policies to mitigate the damage the tax bill would do to the nation’s health insurance markets.
Think about that. Republican governance at its most ridiculous.
Susan Collins, what a pathetic excuse.
Can you be any more stupid?
Jack
Tonight, tonight, won’t be just any night.
Tonight, tonight, won’t be just any night.
dammit
We should be celebrating the Goopers just signed their own death warrent
Who’s screaming and crying, Mr Jack ?
Get this from the Daily News.
The lovely Mr. Farenthold accounted for $84,000.00 – to ONE of his victims.
And Franken resigned over a stupid picture and a couple of butt grabs. I see that a number of Senators who screamed for his head wish he’d reconsider – something about due process and such. Yep, that was my contention at the time and all along. Don’t know if Moore would have won if he hadn’t resigned, and we’ll never know, but I really do think the lack of due process that we are seeing across the board with harassment claims is not a good thing.
Besides the issue that the stinking bill passed by the House, which is going to force the Senate to need sixty votes to pass, it looks like the stinking bill passed by the House and to be voted on by the Senate and returned to the House for more cleanup of crap added to it.
There is the issue of the Virginia House now in Democratic hands. Never, ever, not vote and state, “it is only one vote, no one will care”. The Virginia House shifted from solid, and very hard core, republican to Dem this afternoon. BY ONE VOTE!
Franken not resigning would have had Zero effect on black voter turnout in Alabama. The women and progressives who voted against Moore would have still voted just like they voted……Franken resigning might “sound” relevant but it was not so in Alabama, at least.
Meanwhile, Franken’s replacement will face election with one year in office and GOP will get a revenge republican 2018 in Alabama.
Democrat Strategery.
This is a mess. Roger Stone / FOX fingerprints are all over it A key member of the Senate Judiciary committee is thus sidelined while GOP House members attack Mueller and some urge his firing. Then they all go home for the holidays. twitter.com/KilloughCNN/st…
—-Richard Painter
KC said “We should be celebrating the Goopers just signed their own death warrent”
What, just because 2/3 of the country opposes it? Why, that silver tongued devil in the white house will convince the 1/3 that still thinks he isn’t as dumb as a stone that they will benefit from it. (Knowing that among that 1/3 is likely NOT most of the top 1-3 % who actually will benefit from the dumbass tax bill).
It never ends, they’ll never stop; they cannot rest until Socrates slurps his poison, there-by abandoning them to their fates.
What if all these GOP voting for the tax scam are really just afraid of voting against it. You know……sweaty Fear. They’re not oblivious……they’re just afraid.
Their masters can be pretty ruthless where money is the game.
exrep,
point to one who isn’t.
Jack
Mr Jack,
I just heard a plan on Lawrence O’ : Ride the fury over the DC corruption to power. Take over the House, Senate, and White House to rescind the works of this evil trump Administration.
I say that the normal Bob & Susan on the street must be allowed to see the corrupt perps march to their for profit prison work camps. They should also be able to see the end of the corrupt Citizens United ruling, the return to campaign spending limits, and the return of steeply graduated income taxes.