Tax Cuts for the rich are focused on the wealthy

Indiana ~ This echo letter to the editor was published in the News Sentinel newspaper: "Tax cuts for the rich are only focused on the rich" ~ the middle class will not benefit.

Most of us who object to this (Republican) “tax reform” don’t believe that the rich are the only ones to benefit. What we object to is that they benefit the rich dis-proportionally to the middle class. 

Republicans sold their bad till as "middle-class tax relief"...so why did anyone above the middle class get a cut?

In fact, the wealthy will benefit not only directly from this “reform” with lower taxes, but as shareholders, they will get a probable second dose through stock buybacks and increased dividends.

I don’t want to sound ungrateful with my new found treasure. 

Certainly, I will most assuredly spend and enjoy whatever I get. 

I am a shareholder so I may enjoy those benefits as well. It’s estimated that the average middle-income tax break will be $1,000-$1,500 while those at the top will average $16,000. In a country where income and asset inequality is the greatest since the great depression, that seems not only misguided but maybe even evil.
Kevin Leininger’s January 2nd column in the News-Sentinel was wrong when he compared tax cutting of communist China to the Republican tax cuts.  (MaineWriter- Donald Trump's tax cuts for the rich claims that the American corporations that pull business out of China and, thereby, improve US jobs and pay. This is wrong. American companies will never be able to compete with China's labor costs.)
That brings me to my next point. Tax abatements and corporate welfare. It is estimated that the federal government spends $100B on corporate welfare each year and state and local governments spend another $100B. This last fact is so hard to find information on that nobody really knows how much it is. The one example cited by Leininger shows one company getting $46,350 in benefits each year and that’s one company in one county in our state. 

Multiply that by counties cities states and businesses and you see how difficult it is to keep track of. Politicians argue that it creates jobs but I see it as blackmail. Whenever companies want to build new plants they always seem to have 2 or 3 states where they want to relocate and then the bidding starts. So now you see the true comparison to China, it is in our socialist policies of giving welfare to corporations. It’s how business is done in communist countries. Take away Putin’s oligarchs and you have a much weaker Putin. Take away any politicians donors and you have politicians who need to stand on their record to survive the next election.

The $200B I cited could be used for socialist policies that benefit everyone. Improve healthcare costs, police and fire departments and infrastructure. Pay attention and vote.

— Dennis Powell ~ Indiana