Robbery by another name

To meet the ridiculous goal of passage before end-of-year recess — President Trump wants to deliver a “big, beautiful Christmas present” that won’t in fact materialize for months — senators and congressmen furiously moved the dials on their tax plan to get as many Republicans on board as possible, the larger consequences be damned.

It seems to have worked. Even Sen. Bob Corker, who calls debt “the greatest threat to our nation” and pledged to vote no on any tax plan “adding one penny to the deficit,” got on board, despite the plan adding a $1 trillion to the deficit over a decade.

For the non-mathematicians in the crowd, that’s 100,000,000,000,000 times one penny.

The negotiated compromise — if you can call something frantically cobbled together either negotiated, or a compromise — is better in some respects than either the original House or Senate bill. That’s not saying much of anything.

Rather than disastrously preventing all Americans from writing off state and local tax payments against their federal liability, Republicans are set to exempt the first $10,000 in payments.

In states like New York and New Jersey, where suburban property taxes alone can easily hit double that, the economic pain will still be severe.

New York City will instantly suffer as it becomes a less powerful magnet of talent and capital; suburban home values will take a serious hit.

Meantime, the worst features that made both original bills sops to the wealthiest Americans and corporations, at a time of rapidly increasing economic inequality, remain.

The top income-tax rate will slip from 39.6% down to 37% — and that will only apply for incomes above $600,000, for joint filers. Those making $400,000 to $600,000 will see their rates drop to 35%, and those making $315,000 to $400,000, 32%. Those are hugely regressive shifts.

Far fewer of the richest Americans will pay the estate tax on intergenerational transfers of wealth; its threshold will be doubled.

So-called pass-through income will get special, low, low, tax treatment — encouraging many top earners to reclassify what they earn, and make out like bandits.

And, oh, the legislation will strike the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, likely leading to millions leaving the health-insurance rolls — and driving up premiums for millions more.

A raw, rushed, rancid deal.