From the beginning, it's been clear that Donald Trump is a con man. But he's not the only one. Paul Krugman writes:
I’m talking about Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House, an obvious phony who nonetheless convinced the rubes — that is, much of the news media and the political establishment — that he was a brilliant fiscal expert. What we’re witnessing now is the end of the charade, the political equivalent of what happened when graduates of Trump University tried to get some value in return for their money.
The Republican tax bill bears all the marks of the party's attempt to "repeal and replace" Obamacare:
On Thursday, House Republicans unveiled a tax “reform” bill with the same good order and careful deliberation with which they unveiled their various attempts to repeal Obamacare. That is, after having had years to prepare, the G.O.P. waited until the last minute to throw something together, without any hearings or serious analysis.
Why are they in this spot? Put bluntly, despite all the talk, they never worked out the details:
This week’s debacle was predictable from the moment, more than seven years ago, that Ryan began establishing himself as a media darling by publishing impressive-looking blueprints for fiscal reform with titles like “Roadmap for America’s Future.”
Like the bill just released, all these blueprints included huge tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy; but Ryan insisted that any revenue losses would be made up for by ending unjustified tax breaks. Which tax breaks would he eliminate? He refused to say.
These evasions worked brilliantly as a public relations strategy. Those who warned about his plans’ phoniness were ignored. Ryan even received awards for fiscal responsibility.
So now the Republicans are stuck with a plan that will blow a hole in the deficit. And the only way to fix that is to take tax breaks away from ordinary folks:
What they came up with was a hodgepodge of stuff: ending deductions for some state and local taxes, limiting deductions for mortgage interest, phasing out child tax credits, and so on.
Since the point of these measures is to offset tax cuts for the rich, they will, more or less by definition, end up raising taxes on large numbers of middle-class families.
It's a repeat of Repeal and Replace. It's clear that the Republicans are a caucus of con men and women.
Will ordinary folks catch on?
8 comments:
They didn't catch on when Reagan's tax cuts turned the US from the world's greatest lender to it's greatest debtor. They didn't catch on when Dubya's tax cuts fueled the Great Recession. They won't catch on now.
A great con relies heavily on deception. The usual mix of white supremacy, religion, culture wars and tribalism will keep the rubes distracted while their pockets are picked.
Cap
I fear you may be right, Cap. Michael Bloomberg may know a con when he sees one. But lots of ordinary Americans are easy marks.
The fact that the Republicans can trot out the old discredited saw about corporate tax cuts stimulating the economy tells us all we need to know about the credulity of far too many Americans. Owen. They act as if the last 37 years never happened.
It's remarkable, Lorne. The evidence has been in for a long time. But these days -- in the United States -- evidence doesn't count for much.
I spend part of my winter in Arizona, Owen, and happened to have a short discussion with the two women who worked in the RV Park's office where we stay. Yes, it was about the ACA (or as they snarl, Obamacare, like it was a giant swear word). One opined that "Obamacare" was the worst thing that ever happened in the US. Being Canadian, I tend to ask questions, but offer no opinions, so mentioned that I didn't understand the different ways that health care happened i.e. Medicaid etc. and didn't all these proposed changed affect them as well?
Oh no, they replied: "our husbands are retired military so we'll always have our coverage". Yuppers, it was heartening to hear how two members of the so-called greatest democracy in the world cared about their fellow citizens. But they sure love their own personal Jeebus down there.
The guiding philosophy down there, Lulymay, seems to be "I've got mine, Jack, if you can't get yours, it's proof that you're morally deficient."
Is Paul Ryan really a con man? He doesn't seem bright enough to con anyone other than the dim bulbs so prevalent in the present Republican establishment and, of course, the gullabillies who vote for them. Ryan is a man of faith both religious, economic, and guns. He believes what he is told by preacher, voodoo economist and NRA spokes people tell him. Paul Krugman over-estimates these troglodytes.
Krugman has never been impressed by Ryan, Toby. He's been writing for at least a decade that Ryan -- who is a disciple of Jack Kemp -- is no economic guru. But Krugman also admits that his opinion is not the conventional wisdom.
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