Trump wants you to be so mad at minorities that you’ll give him and his kids your retirement.
One thing most Americans agree on besides “pie is also good for breakfast” is that things are “rigged.”
Elizabeth Warren used the metaphor to explain how we got into the financial crisis that cost America 8 million jobs and trillions in wealth. Bernie Sanders used it to expound on an economy captive to millionaires and billionaires. And Donald Trump picked up on it to justify why he’s constantly on the verge of a crying fit, and his whining resonated with the white males and their wives who feel as if everything was being taken away by “them,” including Christmas.
In his closing argument ad, Trump promised to take on “the establishment” and “special interests” that fueled the “destruction of our factories” and — get this! — flood “money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations.”
If he actually believed that, he probably wouldn’t be backing a tax plan that ends up handing more to foreign investors than it does to the middle class. It wouldn’t give Trump’s family up to a billion dollars in tax cuts while raising taxes on millions of middle class families.
Trump’s economic agenda is obviously the same old trickle-down — make the rich and their corporations richer and more powerful so they never have to care about the well-being of workers.
He wants to pay off the exact the speculators, bankers and traders who helped create the financial crisis and anyone who makes their living playing with money or property instead of working. And he wants to make sure their wealth stays in their families forever.
This isn’t speculation. The House bill eliminates the Estate Tax completely so rich grown sons can inherit trillions tax-free while the Senate bill merely doubles the exemption of that tax to $11 million. So rich grown sons will only be able to inherit 186 times the median American household income tax-free.
As the joke goes, how else are we going to convince these lazy bastards to pick richer parents?
And that’s not all:
House GOP tax bill ‘littered’ with loopholes for Wall St.’s wealthiest:
—Hedge fund investors could take advantage of lower tax rate
—Private equity fund managers could sidestep tax on earnings
—Descendants of wealthy could avoid income taxes in perpetuity https://t.co/XOEPiyJ7Du— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 25, 2017
So what about the “rigged” thing?
Won’t the Republican voters in every red district in every red state who bought into Trump’s paranoia be pissed when they end up paying for rich guys’ corporate tax cuts — either with higher taxes or cuts to essential programs like Medicare and Medicaid that even Ayn Rand ended up needing.
Of course, Warren’s “rigged” isn’t Trump’s “rigged.”
Warren and Sanders are discussing reality. They argue the economy is rigged for richest, not the top 1 percent but the top .01 who soak up the income growth that used to go to the middle class.
We are becoming an oligarchy where the rich and immoral engineer the economy to destroy economic mobility, equality and the freedoms that make mobility and equality possible.
It’s a trend that’s going on all over the world exacerbated technology and trade but contained or exacerbated by government policies. And America’s government policies since the late 70s have been designed to reward financialization and inherited wealth. As a result, we’re seeing the kind of inequality that’s only evident in the developing world or — of course — Russia.
This is the actual problem. This is what “rigged” actually looks like.
So what kind of “rigged” justifies backing a bill that rewards the richest and their kids almost exclusively while savaging America’s health care, retirement system, education and economic competitiveness while encouraging outsourcing?
Trump only makes sense if you buy into the fantasy that America is rigged for “them.”
You know “them,” right?
The guys who get your place in college and get to use the “n” word or the gals who are reporting you for sexual harassment just because you grew up in the 60s. It’s a fantasy that says racism ended in 1965 and white men are now behind because we have a black Oprah.
Carol Anderson calls the concept “White Rage” and it’s fed by figments of the imagination. Trump didn’t invent it — he just weaponized better than any Republican has ever dared.
Guess what?
It’s still good to be white, especially rich and white.
This is not to say that life isn’t hard for everyone and individuals don’t struggle uniquely. But we don’t write tax codes or regulations for individuals. You don’t have to believe that racism is systemic to believe the tax code and regulations are systemic — and under Republicans these systems are geared to make the rich — who tend to be white men — and their kids — who tend to white — richer.
It’s a system that’s bound to infuriate millions. But if you’re mad at imaginary things and not the billionaire with both hands in your pocket, the middle class you destroy may be your own.
The damage this bill will do is irreparable. But you can help fight it now — even if you’re in a blue state, literally or metaphorically.
This fight will come down to just a couple of Senators and the time to take action is now. If you live in a blue state, sign up to make calls to red states and urge them to call their Senators about the #TrumpTaxScam👇👇 https://t.co/GM5cB5Zlc2 pic.twitter.com/69XWDf5h2C
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) November 20, 2017
[Image by Sebastian Vital | Flickr]
