A Wake Up Call
Political Bites
The book, The American Spirit by David McCullough, could not be a timelier read. One of our nation’s foremost contemporary historians reminds readers of what it means to be an American and the spirit that binds us. I need not enumerate the issues that work to divide us. They bombard readers continuously via the various media. I do not want to say more about his message; I prefer that readers pursue it for themselves.
Suffice it to say that I read the book in one sitting. Although by no means a voracious reader, I have read a few books in my time and I cannot recall one that held my attention through one sitting. I am confident that anyone with an interest in this country and its history will find this book worth the time it takes to read it. I also suspect that, like me, they will want to share it.
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Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have dominated the news cycle for weeks now; however, that will change as Congress grapples with many pressing issues. Americans desperately need Congress to deal expeditiously and responsibly with these issues. Unfortunately, recent history generates little optimism on that front, but maybe, just maybe, Harvey and Irma have delivered a much needed wakeup call to Congress. Of course, readers could provide some impetus as well by communicating with their elected representatives.
One issue in need of immediate attention concerns the status of the Dreamers, the c. 800,000 young, illegal residents of the United States, residents through no fault or choice of their own, Americans in every sense of the word except legally. We desperately need these young people for their energy, their intellect, and their spirit, an American spirit. We have an aging population that cannot afford to deport and cast off young talent. Arguments against necessary legislation to provide the Dreamers with a safe harbor in this country and a path to citizenship are inconsiderate at best, cruel and inhuman at worst.
A perennial issue concerns fiscal policy. Policy makers this year generally employ the label “tax reform” in hopes of attracting popular support, albeit not close attention, with the use of the word reform. Who does not believe that our tax code needs reform? Currently, specifics regarding the reform proposals are scarce. My reading to date persuades me that hard working Americans should prepare for deceptive promises along the lines that they will benefit from reform providing a lower tax burden and more jobs, promises that they would do well to examine closely. People knowledgeable about fiscal policy, expect that the bulk of the benefits of tax reform will accrue to the rich in the form of tax cuts. I define rich here as those in the top 1.0, .1, and .01 percentiles of income. Low and middleincome people may expect these tax cuts to be paid for in no small part with cuts in benefits that would otherwise accrue to them and with manipulative accounting strategies too arcane for me to comprehend, let alone summarize.
One justification of the tax cuts asserts that the rich pay the bulk of taxes while low and middle-income earners pay little or none. One may garner an element of truth from that rationale if one focuses only on the federal income tax. When one takes into account the total tax burden, the justification loses credibility.
A second justification for tax cuts favoring the rich is that they are the “makers” of goods and services whereas the low-income people are mere “takers” of benefits, i.e. welfare, paid for by the rich. Before succumbing to that argument take the time to examine the many fiscal favors and benefits that the government doles out to the rich. Surely, you did not think that the millions in campaign contributions from the rich to members of Congress were not reciprocated in some fashion.
When it comes to the spin on the issues in the coming weeks, make the effort to dig deeper. You will likely find that the alleged claims of benefits for hard working, middle income Americans fail to hold up as advertised.
Jerry Marsh is a long-time government teacher, now retired, at Ellsworth High School.
