Thanks to the Columbian and staff writer Katy Sword for publishing the “Local Angle” on Nov. 17 in which Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler attempted to explain why she voted for the Republican tax plan, while also illustrating in that article a number of inconvenient facts that belie Herrera Beutler’s position. Herrera Beutler chose to focus on the first year of the plan in her misleading statement and failed to note that individual cuts are temporary while the huge corporate tax cuts are permanent. The Columbian clarified that in six years 40 percent of Americans will pay less and 22 percent will pay more.
Thanks also for publishing that same day the opinion piece by Catherine Rampell (“If the tax bill is so great, why is the GOP lying about it?”). The lies are familiar ones to anyone who is paying attention: 1) the tax cuts will pay for themselves, 2) the tax plan primarily helps the middle class, 3) the bill will hurt President Trump, 4) this will be the biggest tax cut in history, 5) the economy desperately needs a tax cut. All of these are GOP lies, but their wealthy donors don’t mind. Their dividend checks will go up when corporate taxes go down.
