Don’t be fooled by glowing pronouncements surrounding the GOP tax bill. It’s a mean bill. And the Senate version is worse than the House version.
The bill would eliminate deductions important to working people. It would require cuts in Medicare. It would even raise the cost of health care. And that’s only the beginning. Most people would end up paying more in taxes, not less.
For starters, the bill would do away with the deduction for the state and local taxes.
Say you earn $50,000. a year. Of that, you pay about $2,400. in New York state taxes. As the system is now, that amount would be deducted from your gross income, and you would pay federal taxes on the remainder, $47,600. Under the GOP bill, the deduction would be eliminated, and you would pay federal taxes on the whole $50,000. In effect, you would be taxed twice on the same money. Does that sound like a good idea to you?
The GOP bill also takes aim at teachers.
If you are a teacher, or if you know a teacher, you also know that she or he uses personal money to pay for supplies the school does not provide. These are supplies that children need: pencils, erasers, glue, lined paper, notebooks, construction paper, markers, up-to-date maps, books, safety scissors, even tissues and wipes. According to the National School Supply and Equipment Association, teachers spend about $485.00 of their own money for supplies and instructional materials, in some cases much more.
You know as well as I do, our teachers won’t be millionaires any time soon. The median income of teachers in District 21, in upstate New York, is between $50,000 and $60,000. If you’re raising a family—or even if you’re not—that doesn’t give you a lot of money to spare. Even so, 99.5 percent of public school teachers use personal money to pay for needed supplies. They’re dedicated professionals and understand what it takes to do their job.
If each teacher were classified as a small business, the money for these supplies would be called a business expense. And it would be deducted from income. Today, up to $250.00 is, in fact, deductible. But the deduction vanishes as soon as the GOP bill becomes law. Eliminating it is not only petty, it’s mean-spirited.
Medicare is also a GOP target.
Donald Trump promised not to touch Medicare, but apparently he forgot, and Republicans in Congress did too. Their bill would increase the deficit by so much it would trigger a rule called PAYGO, short for Pay-As-You-Go. PAYGO requires spending cuts to bring the deficit in line. Medicare is a likely recipient…to the tune of $25 billion. What could this mean for you if you have Medicare? Higher premiums, for sure. And if the deficit continues year after year, Medicare gets cut and cut again. Year after year until the situation is resolved. Another broken promise. Another callous detail.
Right now, you’re probably thinking, “Whew, I’ve got ten, twenty, maybe thirty years before I’m ready for Medicare. No worries for me.
Yes, worries for you.
First, the Senate version of the bill allows insurance companies to charge five times more for older people than younger people. (The limit is now three times.) It also removes the insurance mandate. That means health insurance would be optional, like the “bad” old days.
If you’re 20 and in good health you might think that’s grand…..You can save money—no premiums, no penalty, no problem. And that may be true, until you get sick or have an accident and face mountains of medical debt.
Or until you grow up, perhaps have a family, and decide to buy health insurance. That’s when you’ll discover the other side of “no mandate”: sky-high premiums. Up by ten percent, an average of $2,000. That’s what we’re looking at right now if the mandate is lifted.
Republicans say their tax plan cuts everyone’s taxes. That may be true as long as we’re talking about 2018. But if you’re earning less than $30,000 in 2019, you’ll be worse off. And if you’re earning less than $75,000 in 2027, you actually will be looking at a tax increase.
Don’t be fooled by the Republican’s rosy rhetoric. Their plan is cruel, clever, and calculated. It is not in the best interest of working people. Period. The truth is in the details, not the drama.