Recent research by the Heritage Foundation and GOP pollster Public Opinion Strategies demonstrates that, along with corporations and wealthy Americans, middle class taxpayers also benefit significantly from Trump’s tax cuts. I actually have specific numbers for you below.
But if you listen to the mainstream media or Democrats, you’d think the middle class got shafted by President Trump’s tax reform plan. Not true!
Yet the media and the Dems have done such a good job of lying about who benefits from the tax cuts, a majority of Americans still believes the tax cuts benefit “large corporations and rich Americans over middle class families.” As such, many Americans are still opposed to the tax cuts.
With the economy booming and with consumer and small business confidence at record highs – largely as a result of the tax cuts and deregulation – you would think Congressional Republicans should have one of the strongest re-election issues in recent decades: the unquestionable success of this year’s tax cuts. And yet, their own polling shows they’re not getting credit from most voters.
The Republican National Committee commissioned a survey by GOP pollster Public Opinion Strategies to gauge public opinion about President Trump’s tax cuts, which the GOP-led Congress passed last December without a single Democratic vote.
What they found was no doubt dispiriting: 61% of those who responded said the cuts benefit large corporations and rich Americans over middle class families. Only 30% (mostly Republicans) felt the cuts were fair to the middle class. Of particular concern for the GOP is that Independents, by 63% to 27%, said the tax cuts favored the rich and big companies. They’re swing voters that will decide the coming election.
More specifically, Heritage Foundation research estimates that the average middle class family – defined as married couples with two kids – will see their household income expand by $26,000 to near $30,000 over the next 10 years, due to the tax cuts (assuming the tax laws don’t change). That compares to single tax filers who will see their household income increase by $14,000 over 10 years.
These estimates by the Heritage Foundation only reflect the reduced tax rates. They do not include the benefit of doubling the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for families. The law also doubled the child tax credit to $2,000, and brought relief to those hit by the Alternative Minimum Tax and the death tax.
In addition, there’s no question that American workers have it better today than they did a mere two years ago. Their wages are higher. Many are getting nice bonuses, some for the first time. And they’re receiving better, more diverse benefit packages than ever before.
The Americans For Tax Reform think tank has listed literally dozens of companies that are delivering more benefits to their workers, thanks to the tax cuts. They range from very small businesses to major multinational corporations.
The tax cuts shouldn’t be a partisan issue, given their clear success. The economy grew by 4.2% (annual rate) in the 2Q, its best showing in nearly four years, after growing less than 2% annually during the Obama years.
Meanwhile, jobless rates for Blacks, Hispanics and Asians are all at or near all-time lows. Even well-paid manufacturing jobs, once given up for dead, are growing. And after no growth during the Obama years, real median household income has jumped by 4.5% to a new record high, just since Trump took office. That’s a phenomenal increase! Yet the mainstream media rarely mentions any of this.
The GOP pollsters glumly concluded, “We’ve lost the messaging battle on this [tax cuts] issue.” The Republicans no doubt thought they’d take a victory lap in the upcoming mid-term elections for their tax cuts; instead, they’ll have to defend them to many voters.
“If we can’t sell this to the American people, we ought to go into another line of work,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joked last December, after the Senate approved the tax cuts.
In the end, if Republicans aren’t careful, some of McConnell’s colleagues may soon be looking for another line of work in the private sector, while Democrats take over and raise our taxes. From now until November 6, Republicans better be talking up their tax plan and explaining the truth. If not, they might lose an election and the American people might lose our growing economy.
Ta ta Mitch. I am one of the few beneficiaries, bu I still realize that this is a huge payoff to the 1% and basically screws everyone else. The biggest part of the problem is that blows a huge hole in the deficit. I am not an accountant and I can see how the hole can easily become much bigger than intended, and the intention was huge.