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Are you retired? Get monthly Social Security checks? Have Medicare or Medicaid? Make minimum wage?

Here’s some over-the-top rhetoric to consider;

“MAGA extremists or neo-conservatives plan to use national debt they exacerbated with tax breaks for billionaires and profiteering corporations as an excuse to gut Social Security and Medicare."

Of course it’s one-sided statement. But, is it wrong?

To those on any Social Security program — from straight monthly benefits to SSI payments, to disability — the mere thought of, first, calling the programs “entitlements”, and, secondly, cutting benefits paid for by decades of work-related “pay-ins”, and thirdly, using these essential programs as bargaining chips in partisan political games, is toxic, malignant political gamesmanship.

Throw talk of slicing Medicare benefits, or Medicaid assistance, and America’s poor, middle class, young and elderly are facing a dubious financial future.

Social Security and Medicare programs are dead-center targeted for downward manipulation in order to maintain the Trump-era tax cuts which made it clear that the country’s wealthy and big corporations are steering the ship of state.

Where do you stand on this issue? Do you believe, truly believe, the tax cut five years ago aided a majority of Americans? While the tax cuts did provide income tax assistance for some American taxpayers, the corresponding decreases in deductions utilized by many in the middle tax brackets resulted in a substantial higher tax hit.

One couple paid too much income tax on earning on purpose, desiring a tax refund to take an annual “wowee” vacation. For years before the tax “cut”, taking normal; deductions, they would get $10,000 to $12,000 refund annually. With the tax cuts and the dissolving of certain deductions, the couple’s normal refund check was $4,000 less than normal, in other words, they paid more taxes.

Meanwhile, the tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations are still in effect; bought-and-paid-for politicians refuse to make the wealthy and big business pay their fair share of taxes.

To protect their monied masters, they focus their attention on spending money they don’t have, gouging those citizens with little clout, and pointing fingers and placing blame on those trying to right the system.

Time for changes, myriad changes to basic government operations, including: Term limits; real tax r3eform, campaign finance reform, including spending limits on campaigns and complete list of donors; requiring annual tax information release; abolishing stock purchases while in office; working within balanced budget; and, all left-over campaign money goes to charity and or pay off the national debt.

On that tax reform note…

One of the promises House speaker Kevin McCarthy made to the extremist members of the Republican conference to win his position was that he would let them bring the so-called Fair Tax Act to the House floor for a vote.

That ‘Fair Tax’ bill was introduced January 8 by Rep. by Earl Carter of Georgia.

Bottom line; The bill would repeals all existing income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes, replacing them with a flat national sales tax of 30 percent on all purchased goods, rents, and services. Okay, full stop! Breathe. Analyze.

You go into a restaurant and buy a meal that costs exactly $10; with the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax (not counting city or county add-on taxes), you owe $10.63. With the proposed Republican “Fair Tax bill’, that meal would now cost you $13.00, PLUS state, local and county taxes.

What consumers will that toxic bill adversely affect disproportionately? Of course, middle to low income taxpayers.

Thanks to Bloomberg news servicer, we also know the bill’s proponents are nonsensically calling it a 23 percent tax because, “if something sells for $100 plus $30 in tax, then it’s a 23 percent tax— because $30 is 23 percent of $130”.

Oh, almost forgot: The measure also abolishes the Internal Revenue Service, leaving it up to the states to administer the tax.

The bill wording states the measure will “promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity.” A 30 percent tax, of course, would hit Americans with less money to spend far harder than it would Americans with bottomless pockets.

Don’t forget, the end of income, gift, and estate taxes would be a windfall for the wealthy.

And, here’s another don’t-forget moment: Members of the Republican Party invented the U.S. income tax during the Civil War, and they created the precursor to the IRS to collect it, To raise money for the war, th4y established an income tax to make sure that “the burdens will be more equalized on all classes of the community, more especially on those who are able to bear them,” as one GOP senator put it.

Okay, so what has changed? It’s obvious politicians from both parties are lackeys for special interest groups and the uberwealthy. Too many federal elected officials are, themselves, rich, and make decisions based on benefits they and they families might receive.

It’s a time for change, big change, in how and why we elect our government officials. Limits on power, structure, and campaigns in general must be changed. And that change must start with the voters.

Ultimately, that’s where the real power lies.

At the time, one Republican not4d, “The weight [of] taxation must be distributed equally,” he said, “Not upon each man an equal amount, but a tax proportionate to his ability to pay.”

See where we are? It is sad indeed when the people ,… we the people … elect to represent us just sets up the majority of Americans to be scammed and slammed.

The bill won’t pass. Not now. But any voter with common sense can see this is another shot across the bow in the ongoing struggle between the “haves and the have-nots.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: George Smith is a former reporter, editor and publisher at several Arkansas newspapers.)