Middle class squeeze

by | Mar 4, 2015 | Editor's Blog, NC Politics, Tax Reform | 4 comments

Republicans in North Carolina have been pushing a narrative that the state is on an historic comeback and their tax reform plan is responsible. By their reckoning, North Carolina’s recovery has been more robust than other Southern states as result of the largest tax cut in North Carolina history. Unfortunately, that story doesn’t ring true for most of the state.

As Justin Guillory of Think NC First pointed out in an op-ed, the Republican narrative only looks at the number of jobs and not the impact they have on workers. Most the new jobs of low-paying and the labor force is shrinking. Median income, the best indicator of family economic well-being, is dramatically less than when the recession hit and won’t increase unless the quality of the jobs does.

As for tax reform, it was little more than a tax cut for the rich. The largest beneficiaries were the wealthiest North Carolinians who saw their tax rates fall dramatically. In contrast, the working poor saw their taxes go up when the Republicans ended the earned income tax credit. Most of those in the middle saw little change in their income taxes and certainly haven’t felt much. As they file their taxes, they are feeling the pain.

The most misleading of the GOP claims, though, is that they’ve helped small businesses. In fact, they gave those still-struggling businesses a big increase by taxing the first $50,000 of income, an exemption they passed when the recession first hit. According to the fiscal research division of the legislature, almost 60% of small business–that’s about 390,000 people–will see an increase in their taxes. At the same time, they’ve reduced the corporate income tax so big corporations will pay less.

The pattern that’s emerged is clear. The jobs that excite the Republican leadership don’t excite the people who are forced to take them. They’re not as good as the ones that disappeared and do little help families that have been left behind in the recovery. The GOP tax reform put big money into the pockets of people who have recovered fastest and got the hurt the least while taking money out the pockets of the small business and working class families that are the backbone of the state.

4 Comments

  1. Mike Leonard

    I’ve lived in several states (been in NC for the past 7) and do find the electorate here to be extremely apathetic compared to the others.

  2. cosmicjanitor

    It defies common logic and reason to believe that the NC. voters are foisting these republikan brown shirts on themselves; the only probable explanation for improbable republikan electoral victories is ‘cheating’ – something republikans excel at doing. Who is verifying the electoral vote tabulations openly, why is no one looking art the easiest and simplest way to steel elections?

    • Mary Jones

      They don’t need to steal. They’ve done such a good job of gerrymandering voting districts and passing the most repressive voting rules. Add to that the unbelievable apathy and ignorance of the public who want nothing to do with politics or current events and don’t bother to vote and the fact that it
      is the most marginalized people who are the least likely to vote even if it is in their best interest and you have the perfect storm for Republicans.

  3. Someone from Main Street

    NCGOP cares nothing for the middle class, as exhibited by their regressive policies. Too bad NC voters keep propping up these destructive politicians. When NCGOP accomplishes their goals, there will no longer be a middle class in NC – just the few ultra rich and the large numbers of the very poor.

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