Senator Susan Collins - wrong position on tax cuts for the rich

I've always respected the point of view that Senator Susan Collins presented, when she thoughtfully prepared to vote on Senate bills ~ I'm positive she gave very careful consideration to her vote in support of the Republicans' tax cuts for the rich, passed in 2017, by a partisan vote, written "by and for Republicans". 

Senator Collins knows that the demographic she presented in her defense, published in a statewide newspaper opinion, in support of the Republican tax cuts for the rich, were not consistent with Maine's reality.

But, her opinion published in Maine newspapers, to support her vote, was wrong. 

Rather than take the leadership opportunity to call for Congress to invest in America's future, the Republican bill increased the national debt by $1Trillion, while giving permanent tax cuts to rich corporations.

In Maine, Senator Collins' vote was also wrong for the following reasons ~ it presented a pipe dream concept about Maine citizens as benefiting from child tax credits and the Obamacare coverage mandate. Maine people aren't having children and by eliminating the Obamacare penalty, the people she wanted to help will pay higher health care costs. Moreover:

1.  Maine people do not fit the demographic described in her defense of the wrong minded Republican tax bill. In Maine, the child deduction won't help when the cost of educating children will rise along with health care premiums. In fact, the people she claims will see their taxes decrease are the very population that will see health costs increase as a result of removing the Obamacare mandate. Senator Collins knows how the mandate works, because the Medicare program depends on 100 percent enrollment to insure a risk pool of beneficiaries that can absorb the costs of care across the population receiving the benefit.  The same was true for the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare" mandate.  She knows how this works. But, she voted for it, anyway.  Health care premiums will go up, even while the child deduction is higher.  Obviously, there's no net gain.

2.  Medicare will see cuts to the program in the form of higher co-pays and premiums taken from Social Security checks.  Period!  She knows this.

3.  Corporations like Cianbro, Pratt and Whitney and General Dynamics at Bath Iron Works will see their corporate taxes cut but this will not translate into higher wages for the employees. In fact, these corporations can't find employees! Additionally, all of the employees in these corporations will pay higher premiums for their employer health coverage ~ plus higher co-pays for services.  Moreover, the shortage of qualified workers for these companies is so acute that they are recruiting to fill position in Maine from throughout New England. Instead of permanent tax cuts for corporations, emphasis in the tax bill should have been on investment in education, to improve the capabilities and qualifications of Maine's workforce, rather than to raise tax deductions for children that Maine's increasingly elderly population are not producing.  Senator Collins knows all of this.

But, she voted for tax cuts for the rich, anyway.

4. Of course, as Senator Collins said, Maine people aren't interested in spending their "tax cuts for the rich" on expensive vacations to the French Riviera. But, neither are they looking for tax relief as a way to pay for attending basketball tournaments in Bangor. This defensive position is beneath the dignity of her elected office; this statement trivializes her constituents. Doubling the child credit on federal taxes will be lost with the increasing cost of providing medical care and funding education for those children, a cost transfer rather than a tax cut.

5.  Maine people would love to see real tax relief, but transferring wealth from the middle class to enhance the financial bottom lines of rich corporation is an economic shell game.  Maine is a poor state. Senator Collins knows this.  Transferring wealth from the dwindling middle class to help already rich corporations like Cianbro, Pratt & Whitney and General Dynamics won't improve the quality of life for Maine people, who live in Madawaska.

In the short term, the tax cuts for the rich will give the false sense of putting more money in the pockets of Maine people, while they will be forced to pay it back in the form of increased costs for health care, education, local public safety expenses and surcharges for services that will need sustainable resources.  Entrance fees to Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island will probably double.

Senator Collins had the rare opportunity to put American resources into improving the human condition and investing in Maine's future, but, instead, she supported tax cuts for the rich.

Obviously, Americans will have to see the outcome of this wrong minded Republican tax cut before making a final opinion by voting in the 2018 mid-term election.  Senator Collins knows this and her vote to support this Republican plan may, hopefully, put her Senatorial position into the minority party.

I am disappointed in Senator Collins vote to support the Republican tax cuts for the rich and in her miscalculated description about how her wrong minded vote will impact on Maine people. The Maine that she described in her newspaper opinion, was a pipe dream.  

The only way for Senator Collins to prove her position in support of tax cuts for the rich was the right call, would be if Maine's population increases, encouraging families to have children, and by seeing health care premiums in the private insurance market, and in Medicare, go down. Neither scenario will happen.

And she knows this.