Tax cuts are all they can hope for when wages are stagnant. But when the vast bulk of the tax cuts favor the ultra wealthy, my tax cut doesn’t change the fact that my share of the tax burden has actually increased. How about instead of a tax cut you give me a big pay raise? Increase the taxes on the wealthy so they pay their fare share. Use the revenue to fix the highways and bridges, invest in clean energy so we can end our addiction to fossil fuels, fix the public education system to benefit everyone and stop diverting public dollars to fund private schools to benefit a few at the expense of the many. If we find ourselves with a budget surplus, use it to pay down the debt rather than for another tax giveaway benefitting the rich.
Take home pay is what matters. I had a friend who worked for JP Morgan Chase, somewhere below middle management. He loved whatever pittance of a tax cut he got from Trump. He mentioned once that his annual raise was limited to a max of 2%. After a quick Google search I told him I hoped he got the whole 2% because the cost of living went up 1.7% that year. Judging by the look on his face I gathered he might have fallen short of that 2%. I wonder how much Jamie Dimon’s compensation went up during the time my friend was employed there and how their tax burdens compared. What if my friend’s taxes had stayed the same but he got a 5% raise every year? I’ll bet he’d come out ahead, especially if it also means living in a community/country with better schools, better infrastructure, cleaner air and water, better public services, and a brighter future for the next generation(s).