Jan 7, 2018 2 min read

Here comes the full-court press of public relations designed by billionaires and corporate elites to convince us that the Republican tax bill is going to improve our lives.

The plutocratic Koch brothers have earmarked $20 million in advertising to “educate” the public on how making them wealthier will benefit ordinary Americans.

They want us to ignore the fact that this bill was written by lobbyists behind closed doors, without a single public hearing or any expert analysis. We also shouldn’t notice the carve-out that will enable people who have extensive real estate holdings to pay far less in taxes.

More than a few congressmen have directly enriched themselves as a result of this law. President Trump will likely save millions in tax dollars each year from the same provision, and his heirs will inherit millions more due to changes in the estate tax. Keep in mind, as you enjoy your temporary increase in take-home pay, that the president has signed a law that will pay him a winning lottery ticket in tax savings every year on a permanent basis.

They don’t even try to hide the corruption anymore. Expect to see cuts in Medicare and Social Security to pay for the hole in the budget this pile of horse manure will create.

This is typical Republican policy: pay off the donor class, cut services the poor and elderly need, then convince everyone else that it had to be done to balance the budget. There is one difference this time. The public at large knows this bill continues the trend of rigging the economy toward the rich. The approval rating for the law hovers at around 30 percent. So, when Americans for Prosperity, or some other political action committee funded by the oligarchy, tries to convince you with a slick sales pitch that trickle-down economics is really going to work this time, don’t fall for it.

Bill Schooley

Washington