Déjà vu: The recurring nightmare of US trickle-down tax policy

The Billionaire's War Against the Rest of Us

In November and December 2017, I presented at two public forums regarding tax policies. The picture (above) was taken after my presentation to a Public Forum held at the Lewis and Clark Public Library. I was a strong vocal opponent of the Trump Billionaire giveaway in 2017 (and 2018). As a non-partisan political activist, there are few opportunities to weigh in on political issues publicly. Tax policy is one of my areas of expertise. I am a former Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner. I passed the CPA exam before graduating with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of Montana. Reagan’s massive tax “reforms” in 1987 radically changed our income and estate tax laws under the guise of “trickle-down economics.” Now, I knew enough about economics and tax policy to know Reagan was pushing a bill that would eventually destroy the middle class. I feared the United States would revert to the conditions that led up to the Great Depression.

You see, capitalism cannot survive without a means of redistributing the wealth extracted from the earth and workers. I knew extreme economic inequality was incompatible with democracy. I also knew that extreme economic inequality threatens the freedom and financial opportunity offered by capitalism. I worked with small businesses for decades.

Extreme economic inequality limits small businesses' access to crucial financing. At the same time, monopolies seek to ruthlessly stifle competition by creating barriers to entry and by using their superior financial resources to crush smaller competitors. Whether you voted for Trump or not, Trump has no concern for small businesses or the working class. He has no respect for Main Street businesses. He is driven primarily by greed and a lust for power. Here is an excellent publication from the Senate Small Business Committee about the impact of the 2017 Billionaire Tax Giveaway on small businesses.

As of March 18, 2017, the U.S. had 551 billionaires with a combined wealth of about $2.9 trillion. The wealthiest 1% owned half of the global wealth. The chart (below) from the Institute of Policy Studies illustrates the massive transfer of wealth that has occurred since Reagan destroyed the progressive income and estate tax structure that created the American middle class.

Presidents love to brag about the stock market, incorrectly inferring that the rise and fall of the stock market is “the economy.” It is NOT. The stock market may indicate how large, publicly traded companies are performing, but that is frequently much different from the real economy in which the majority of Americans live. Politicians and elected officials easily manipulate the economic data. They also manipulate job numbers and unemployment statistics. As wealth and resources are sucked to the top of the economic and power pyramid, the real “lived experience” of Americans is increasingly dystopian.

Notice how the transfer of wealth accelerates dramatically between 1992 and 2013. What happened then that has also fueled extreme economic inequality? The Citizens United SCOTUS decision (in 2010) granted corporations and mega-billionaires unrestricted power over our democracy. In December of 2011, the Montana Supreme Court issued an opinion upholding the state's ban on corporate independent spending in connection with elections, observing that Montana had a history of “rough contests for political and economic domination,” and that “[c]learly Montana has unique and compelling interests to protect through preservation of this statute.” American Tradition Partnership (ATP), which had sued several state officials to overturn the ban, then asked the Supreme Court to review the case and sought a stay until the Court could issue a ruling. Montana lost that case, and the rest is history… a state that was reliably a Purple State is once again exploited by wealth out-of-state interests (just like it was during the days of the Robber Barons).

Since the Citizens United decision, both political parties represent their wealthiest, largest donors. Political candidates justify spending a great deal of time calling and catering to the needs of their largest donors. Yes, Bernie Sanders helped the Democrats learn how to raise significant funds from small-dollar donors. Still, most Democrats (especially the party’s top leaders) have given in to the demands of the billionaires. Both parties have cooperated in transforming our democracy into a plutocracy or oligarchy - rule by the wealthy and powerful.

We now find ourselves living under the power of a fascist regime. In simple terms, fascism is an authoritarian ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. It emphasizes strong national identity, often at the expense of individual liberties and rights, and frequently promotes militarism and expansionism. It is not accurate to use “far right” to describe fascism because it is NOT about liberals versus conservatives. Fascism is not conservative. Liberal or conservative movements can be fascist.

In political and social contexts, being a conservative generally means favoring the preservation of traditional institutions, customs, and values. Conservatives often emphasize social order, stability, and historical continuity. They may also favor limited government intervention, particularly in the economy, and advocate for individual responsibility.

While liberalism and fascism are contradictory in their core principles, fascist tendencies can emerge or find support within liberal societies, particularly when addressing economic hardships, social unrest, or perceived threats to traditional values. Stalin rose to power as a proponent of communism, a system in which resources are shared equally and the benefits of labor are distributed among all members of society, thereby eliminating social classes and private property. We can see this tendency towards fascism, or at least authoritarianism, in the history of the expansion of Presidential powers since World War II. Obama was a liberal President, but he resorted to using unilateral executive power (executive orders and non-judicial drone assassinations) in ways that undermined our democracy.

This morning, the United States House of Representatives and the Republican cowards passed a bill that will result in mass deaths and tremendous cruelty. Additionally, it represents another intentional transfer of wealth from those who struggle to survive to those who hoard power and money. This Big Death Bill is murderous, and a number of the Republicans voting for it know that it is what it is. The most vulnerable members of our society will suffer the most. The Republican Party is the equivalent of the Nazis party, they are lining up and saluting “Heil Trump.” Meanwhile, the Democratic Party leaders pretend that everything will change after the 2026 midterms. Senator Murkowski has created her own personal hell. How can she sleep at night, knowing she voted for this bill?

My United States Representative is Cliff Bentz. He is incapable of representing the people of Central Oregon. Yes, I know Republicans are a majority in Central Oregon. However, if you consider that most voters (of both parties) spend very little time investigating the candidates and the issues, too many people vote along a party line, following their parents’ lead. Our two-party duopoly has corrupted our communities and families. Cliff Bentz is a follower (of a fascist wannabe dictator), not a leader. Today, he voted for the Big Death Bill and Massive Wealth Transfer, a bill that will have a devastating impact on residents of rural Oregon. He may have represented his top corporate and PAC owners, but he certainly does not care about the vast majority of people who reside in his district.

Mark my words. The Big Death Bill passed by the followers of Fuhrer Trump is the worst piece of legislation passed since Reagan. People will die. And we, the taxpayers, will be expected to pay our taxes to support the concentration camps, torture, and deaths. We will be expected to pay more so that the billionaires who are exploiting and dividing for profit, the billionaires of terminal capitalism, the billionaires that are playing a game of winner take all economics, the billionaires who are purchasing vast expanses of remote land and building compounds to protect themselves (from us, and from the impacts of the destruction they are committing to the environment).

Our Federal Government needs major reforms, but this regime will destroy the United States of America, the Constitution, the Rule of Law, and millions of lives. We need to overcome the loyalty of both political parties to billionaires.

I believe it is time for mass strikes, boycotts, and continued nonviolent protests. We need to utilize every tool in the nonviolent resistance toolkit… and hopefully even invent a few new ones.