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Johnson misses the real points

To the editor:

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, ended 2017 with a guest column bragging about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and why he supported this piece of legislation (“Tax cuts offer a way to invest in the American Dream,” Dec. 31.) He said he listened to his constituents — I think the only people he listened to were his party leaders.

Let’s take a look at his party-approved talking points, shall we?

He never once mentioned the $1 trillion that will be added to the national debt during the next 10 years, or the 13 million fewer Americans who will be insured and that the majority of Americans were against this bill. I guess those facts slipped his mind.

What he did mention we’re higher wages, job growth and a fairer tax system.

Higher wages? CEOS may like the big permanent tax cut their companies will be getting, but that does not mean more jobs or higher wages. Jerry Sonnenfeld, head of the Yale CEO Summit, said, “It’s astounding how few companies plan to reinvest their tax savings back into their companies.” There is no promise of higher wages for workers, and Johnson knows it.

Job growth is the same issue, these companies have no desire to reinvest into their businesses now when they are flush with cash already. All this bill does is give them more money to line their own pockets.

Fairer system? Any small relief the middle class will get is gone in 10 years but the tax cuts for corporations are permanent. Middle income families will see a tax saving of less than $1,000 the first year, and it’s less after that until by 2025 you will have a tax increase; however the top 1 percent of earners will get a larger and larger tax savings. It’s Robin Hood in reverse.

His boast about mortgage interest is half true, but he forgets to mention that it doesn’t apply to existing mortgages, just new ones, and that the S.A.L.T. deductions are skewed to harm “blue states and cities” over red states.

Once again, the Republican Party is trying to sell hard-working people on trickle-down economics. It didn’t work before and it won’t work now. Giving wealthy people more money by taking it from the middle class and working poor is a recipe for disaster, and they know that is true, but it will make their corporate lobbyists overlords happy, and that seems to be all Johnson and his party care about.

Barbara Davis

Wintersville

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