. . . and American decency

Call it a tax bill if you must. But make no mistake: The gargantuan reordering of the Internal Revenue Service code now bubbling in the cauldron of the U.S. Capitol equally amounts to a sweeping away of a civic order built up over many decades, one that has made this nation richer and stronger.

Better and stronger on the whole for the tax system’s promotion of homeownership, and advanced education, and state-of-the-art hospitals, and infrastructure like airports and roads.

Better and stronger for advancing charitable giving, and low-rent alternatives to slums and shacks, and job training to promote better skills and wages.

Better and stronger for encouraging states and cities to invest in their own growth.

And too much more to itemize here — mere roadkill in the way of the trillions of dollars Republican sponsors of the bills hungrily seek to save on the U.S. Treasury’s books in order to pay for mammoth tax cuts on corporations and the wealthy.

To free up funds for the high rollers’ tax cuts, the plans hurl into the trash or severely limit deductions that reward the kind of positive behavior folks in charge of this country used to champion.

The House would do away with or erode longcherished deductions for mortgage interest, health expenses, builders’ bonds urgently needed to upgrade American infrastructure. Even, for heaven’s sake, the cost of wheelchairs that bring freedom to the mobility impaired.

Higher ed would take gut hits from an end to student loan interest deductibility, tax forgiveness for grad students’ tuition waivers, and more. Hell, even schoolteachers who shell out for whiteboard markers get stung.

The charitable deduction would remain — but a doubling of the standard deduction, nullifying the benefit for millions, will reduce giving by billions.

The Senate goes easier on some deductions, tougher on others, all to the same upshot: The tax code once used to enrich a nation indivisible is poised to turn into a slot machine paying out private jackpots, full stop.

We are better than this. Or are we?