No, this is not the Onion.
Speaker Ryan (R-WI) praised President Trump Wednesday after the Republican permanent tax cuts for the rich were passed, saying something this big couldn’t have happened without exquisite presidential leadership.
“Something this big, something this generational, something this profound, could not have been done without exquisite presidential leadership,†Ryan said.
Speaker Ryan: “Something this big, something this generational, something this profound, could not have been done without exquisite presidential leadership†pic.twitter.com/mJ6Xq4xkUa
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— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 20, 2017
By exquisite presidential leadership, Ryan means ramming permanent tax cuts for the rich through in a process that can hardly be called regular order, even by the most desperate hack.
The Speaker is correct that this huge tax overhaul is generational and profound. But those are reasons why it should have been debated and hearings held on it for years, as happened when Reagan passed his huge tax overhaul in 86.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was designed to be revenue neutral, because Reagan, unlike the current crop of Republicans, actually had some conservative principles.
Reagan’s Tax Reform Act of 1986 started in January 1984. It was signed two years later after the House had 30 hearings and Senate held 36.
So yes, this is a huge piece of legislation with an unknown capacity to impact our taxes, savings, access to healthcare, and other things but it also impacts our larger economy.
The Republican tax plan will add 2.2 trillion to the deficit according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Everyone should file this soundbite away, because it will be needed in the months and years to come. It is proof that Paul Ryan has no values other than his own career advancement, but it’s also proof that Paul Ryan has no spine. His words are meaningless. He will say anything. Paul Ryan will say whatever someone more powerful than him wants to hear.
Unlike his predecessor John Boehner, Paul Ryan has no values. He has an ideology, but it’s a thin one that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny and isn’t actually conservative. His ideology is Machiavellian; the ends justify the means. And the ends are not serving the people who elected him, but rather serving the donors of the Republican Party.
Republicans are heady today, but this legislation is a disaster. It’s almost a gift to Democrats, but nothing that will hurt so many people can be seen as anything other than irresponsible and dangerous.
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