Screwed

by | Jul 16, 2013 | Editor's Blog, NC Politics, NCGA, NCGOP, NCGov, Tax Reform

Well, Pat McCrory lied again. This time it’s the tax bill. McCrory said that he would insist any tax reform be revenue-neutral and this one cuts revenue extensively over the next few years. McCrory and company are calling it “tax reform” which really makes him a liar yet again since there is almost no reform of the tax code itself.

But, to be fair to McCrory, in Republican speak, “reform” means “cut.” Hear “education reform,” think “education cut.” Hear “Social Security reform,” think “Social Security cut.” Hear “Medicaid reform” think “Medicaid cut.” You get the idea.

That’s what’s got Republican so tied up in knots that they keep unsuccessfully trying to repeal Obamacare. They hear “Health care reform” and they think it’s going to cut health care, which makes them happy. When they learn that it actually expands access to health care, they try to repeal it–over and over and over again.

But I digress. Back to the tax plan. Let’s be clear. This plan is a huge give away to the rich at the expense of the poor and middle class. A family with a median income of $44,000 will get a tax cut of about $600 a year. That’s enough to take the family out one extra night a week and feed them off the dollar menu at Hardees. It won’t make a bit of difference in their quality of life.

A family making $200,000 a year will save about $3,500 each year. A family making $500,000 gets about $10,000 a year. In addition, the state’s wealthiest families get a huge tax break with the elimination of the estate tax, a tax that only applies to estates valued at more than $5 million.

To pay for this plan, we’ll see drastic cuts in public education, from Pre-K through the university system. A whole lot of poor kids will be denied early-childhood programs. Public schools will lose teachers and teacher assistants. Community colleges will see tuition increases and the University system would be required to cut at least $50 million, enough to severely harm the quality of higher education at public colleges and universities.

So let’s recap. Pat McCrory’s a liar. He lied about protecting a woman’s right to choose. And he lied about going to the Moral Monday protests. And now he’s lied about only signing a revenue-neutral tax plan. If you’re already doing pretty well, you’re about to do a lot better. If you’re poor or middle class, the GOP hopes they’ve given you enough to ignore the fact that you just got screwed.

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