President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, infrastructure bill and Build Back Better bill are all designed to help Main Street, to finally help middle America. Of course, journalists such as Pat Buchanan and George Will are bemoaning the cost.
However, when Presidents Bush and Trump gave trillions of dollars in tax cuts to large corporations and the ultra-wealthy few, the effect on the budget was not an issue. We were told not to worry; the tax cuts will pay for themselves. Of course, they did not. As a result of those massive tax cuts, corporate profits after tax have skyrocketed from $500 billion in 2000 to $1.9 trillion in 2020, and the top 20% now own 86% of all wealth.
Meanwhile, the federal minimum wage, the purchasing power and the wealth accumulation of the bottom 50% remains essentially flat. Our extreme economic inequality is a direct result of our tax policies.
Most Republican lawmakers voted for the Trump tax cuts. All Republican House representatives voted against the Build Back Better bill, and many voted against the other two bills. This Republican action demonstrates more concern for their own money and donor money rather than their constituents.
The poor are getting poorer while the middle class is disappearing. Remember who is working to make life better for middle Americans.
Julia Bojalad
North Huntingdon