GOP tax-cut plan is right step for nation

In his Dec. 17 Sunday Perspectives piece, “I Don’t Need a Tax Cut,” William Mutterperl said that he and 400 other highnet-worth individuals wrote to Congress requesting that their taxes not be cut. I say: Get together and write some checks to the IRS. I’m sure they would gladly accept.

According to IRS data, the top 1 percent of earners, those with adjusted gross income at or around $500,000, pay about 39 percent of federal income tax. So under 900,000 citizens are saddled with 39 percent of all federal taxes. Moreover, many of these are small business owners who create jobs, not huge corporations. I certainly don’t feel badly for those folks, but that is not private-jetrich money.

The top 10 percent of income earners, those with an adjusted gross income of about $140,000, pay about 70.6 percent of federal income tax. Is that fair? Do you think they deserve a tax cut?

The bottom 50 percent of earners, those with adjusted gross income of $40,000 or less, pay about 2.83 percent of federal income tax.

Approximately 37 million tax filers have no tax obligation at all. The Tax Policy Center estimates that 45.5 percent of households will pay no federal income tax this year.

According to the latest Harvard-Harris Poll survey, 54 percent say they oppose the Republican tax reform bill. If you don’t pay federal taxes and have any skin in the game, I can see why you would be opposed to a tax-cut legislation.

The problem is the 45.5 percent of those not paying federal taxes become the constituents of big-spending politicians and understandably so. They benefit the most from tax-funded entitlements. Even if it is only $1 or $5, every citizen should feel obligated to contribute to the common good of the country.

$40,000 a year or less is not a cushy wage to raise a family on and we need to continue programs that aid families that need child care and other assistance. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and welfare are important safety-net programs that need to remain. But they need to be reformed to eliminate the horrible waste and fraud — not just have more tax dollars thrown at them.

As for the tax cut: Bring it on. I’ll take it. Whatever it happens to be, that money is better off in the pockets of those paying federal taxes than in the coffers in Washington of those pandering for votes in the next election. TIM HANNON Economy federal deficit! This bill will add over a dollars to the deficit. And that assumes all the rosy, trickle-down assumptions built into the estimates — and have always failed in the past — come to fruition. I guess deficits only matter when the Democrats are in power? Can they be any more hypocritical!

It used to be that the Republican Party stood for family values and fiscal conservatism. Now it appears it will stand for anyone not a Democrat (see Roy Moore!!) and deficits don’t matter as long as big business goes unchecked and the rich get richer.

What a shame your party has forsaken all that actually made America great. GARY MULHOLLAND

Edgewood

This past Sunday morning, my husband and I woke up at 8:30 a.m. to discover that our faucets had extremely low water pressure. It was caused by a water main break at South Negley and Centre avenues. About 30 minutes later, full water pressure was restored and we proceeded to go about the business of a normal Sunday: brushing our teeth, making a pot of coffee, rinsing veggies and dishes.

Around 8 p.m., I filled a big glass of water so I could take my prenatal vitamins. I am in my ninth month of pregnancy and due any day now. A few moments after I downed that tall glass of water, my phone rang: It was PWSA announcing an emergency flush-andboil order for multiple Pittsburgh neighborhoods affected by the same water main break that had occurred 12 hours earlier.

Huh? How could PWSA officials think it was acceptable to wait so long to issue this “standard precautionary” advisory? It would seem obvious to issue a blanket advisory for the entire city of Pittsburgh as soon as the break occurred, rather than waiting literally all day to complete a social media-driven analysis to determine the specific neighborhoods impacted, as PWSA’s nighttime press released indicated somewhat confusingly. How many other residents consumed unboiled water during those 12 hours? Of that tally, how many are pregnant or breastfeeding women, young children, elderly people and folks with compromised immune systems?

Shame on PWSA for yet again putting the health and safety of Pittsburgh residents at risk. LAURA SAULLE Morningside