Fact-checking Mcclintock

To the Editor:

Congressman Mcclintock, as so many career politicians, can definitely stir a crowd with his inflammatory writing and speeches.

He'll say anything to get a rise, regardless of facts.

In his last op-ed on Nov. 6, he states one of the biggest tax cuts in American history was under Trump. According to the U.S. Treasury, even the two tax cuts under Obama were larger. The other fact Mcclintock fails to mention for some reason is that the tax cuts for individuals expire in 2025, whereas the tax cuts for corporations are permanent.

Then there is the “biggest economic expansion in our lifetimes” hyperbole. Trump did improve somewhat on the expansion trajectory of the previous eight years, but if you look at the GDP of the first three years of the last four presidents (therefore pre-pandemic), it looks something like this (macrotrends.net, Business Insider): Trump 2.5%, Obama 2.48%, GWBush 2.75%, and Clinton 4.56%.

As far as hiring 87,000 new IRS agents, this is designed to help agents go after uncollected taxes owed by large corporations, partnerships, and wealthy individuals. The Treasury Department estimates that this amount was about $554 billion in 2019, and compliant taxpayers (the ones without lobbyists or clever tax lawyers) are the ones who have to make up the difference.

Then there's the wicked Civilian Climate Corps gearing up to spy on lawn watering. Has he read their mission statement? “To conserve and restore public lands and waters, bolster community resilience, increase reforestation, increase carbon sequestration in the agricultural sector, protect biodiversity, improve access to recreation, and address the changing climate.” Sounds like the least we could do for the generations following us to maintain a viable planet. There are even job openings if McClintock ever wants to try something besides politics.

Stefani Reichle

Jamestown