Full of same snake oil

Last week, the GOP unveiled its new tax plan and to no surprise, it was chock-full of the same stale dogma and snake oil the Republicans have been peddling for years. Slashing tax rates for the wealthy and most especially real estate tycoons. Let’s remember, real estate is where Mr. Trump makes his money, and he remains the only presidential candidate of either major party who has refused to release their tax returns in 40 years. I think this is a reason why: because it would show how much he would benefit.

The GOP plan also gets rid of the alternative minimum tax, which is paid primarily by upper-income families with lots of deductions. According to a leaked copy of Mr. Trump’s 2005 return, the AMT, as the tax is called, amounted to the vast majority of what Mr. Trump actually paid in taxes that year. The plan also does away with the estate tax, which will greatly benefit just 0.2 percent of the population, but result in a loss of $269 billion in revenue over a decade.

The plan also blows a giant hole in the budget deficit, but the usual noise you hear from Republicans about that has disappeared. But if they are successful in passing this scheme, in a couple of years you can bet they will be coming back saying spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid has to be slashed in order to rein in the deficit.

And while the plan doubles the standard deduction, it cuts out many other deductions used by the middle class, like the state and local tax deduction. So, needless to say, the Republican talk of helping the middle class is nothing more than what it seems comes out of the mouth of White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders each and every day: one big fat lie after another. RICHARD MOORE

Little Rock