The Trump administration is on the verge of demonstrating – yet again – which part of the country they are fighting for.
And I hate to break it to the mobs of low-income, MAGA-hat-wearing mobs that show up at Trump’s rambling political events, but it isn’t you.
According to a New York Times report published Monday, Trump is considering a plan to that would slash $100 billion in taxes for the wealthiest income earners – without even going through Congress.
According to the Times, “The Trump administration is considering bypassing Congress to grant a $100 billion tax cut mainly to the wealthy, a legally tenuous maneuver that would cut capital gains taxation and fulfill a long-held ambition of many investors and conservatives.”
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More from the report:
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit meeting in Argentina this month that his department was studying whether it could use its regulatory powers to allow Americans to account for inflation in determining capital gains tax liabilities. The Treasury Department could change the definition of “cost” for calculating capital gains, allowing taxpayers to adjust the initial value of an asset, such as a home or a share of stock, for inflation when it sells.
“If it can’t get done through a legislation process, we will look at what tools at Treasury we have to do it on our own and we’ll consider that,” Mr. Mnuchin said, emphasizing that he had not concluded whether the Treasury Department had the authority to act alone. “We are studying that internally, and we are also studying the economic costs and the impact on growth.”
The Times points out that “the move would face a near-certain court challenge” and only confirm what most Americans already know: the GOP is the party of millionaires and billionaires.
Pushing ahead with this idea would also be disastrous for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, particularly when voters are already angry at the GOP for being Trump shills and passing a tax cut that did nothing to help struggling middle-class Americans.
Meanwhile, Trump’s trade war is hurting regular Americans
The news that Trump plans to give another handout to the richest Americans without Congressional approval comes at a time when his trade war is already having an adverse effect on working folks.
As Jason Easley pointed out on Monday, citing an analysis from the Beer Insitute, “Trump’s tariff on aluminum is projected to cost 20,000 Americans their jobs in beer-related industries.”
And it won’t just hurt those who work in industries connected to Trump’s tariffs. It will also hit the pocketbooks of consumers.
“Absolutely, you’re going to see higher prices passed on to consumers … almost immediately,” said Matt Gold, former deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative for North America, according to CNBC.
A majority of U.S. voters did not cast their ballot for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election because they knew he was a con artist. They aren’t surprised to see Trump – a guy who once ran a scam university – turn around and screw the same people he pledged to represent.
But I have a strong feeling that those who did support this president – the low and middle-income folks who proudly sported their MAGA hats at one of his many stream-of-consciousness, rambling campaign events – weren’t clamoring for yet another handout to the billionaire class.
So it’s okay, Trump supporters, you can admit it now: You were hoodwinked.
Now do the rest of the country – the majority – a favor and make things right in November.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
