Jim Jordan, in an apparent attempt to bolster his tax cut bona fides, has suggested he would support raising the cap on the state and local tax deduction. This would cut taxes by about $50 billion, mostly for the affluent, but even some Republicans are unimpressed:
Senate Finance GOPer Tillis called this “the worst possible concession”
“My gosh, so what we’re saying is we’re basically going to buy votes for a tax policy that I can’t imagine he actually supports?”
“Find it surprising coming from a fiscal conservative,” he added https://t.co/RKS4guBelz
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) October 18, 2023
Thom Tillis may find this surprising, but he should know better. Republicans haven't been fiscal conservatives since the Reagan era. They are in favor of tax cuts, higher defense spending, and cuts in social spending. That's it. The net result of all this has always been higher deficits, exactly the opposite of fiscal conservatism.
Since every tax rate of every kind can only be analyzed in conjunction with the entire system, ANY limit on the S&L deduction, let alone the current Trump one, is only, ever, one thing: a blatant F U to California, NY, and other blue states which only have high state taxation to make up for the Federal dollars their populations sends to Red states to keep said Red states above water so said Red states don't immediately turn into the shitholes they would certainly be without the Blue state excess dollars.
I hadn’t thought of it this way. Sounds like there is truth there.
Plus he's countering Reaganism here big time, and Trumpism. One of the few maybe-genuinely-populist things Trump did was raise taxes on rich people in CA and NY, and now Jordan is saying "nevermind”.
As a Californian, I didn't mind the S&L cap so much, because I'm a liberal after all. However, I'm pretty sure that the R's lost 3 or 4 House districts in CA because of it.
For many of the "Orange County Republicans" the main thing that R's do for them is keep their taxes low. If they don't, what good are they?
This is a fascinating thing to watch play out.
A few NY Republicans said lifting the SALT cap was the price for supporting Jordan. Apparently threats weren't enough to persuade them, and now Jordan is trying to cut a deal. Ha. A few problems with that. There aren't enough NY Republicans to put Jordan over the top, and he'll probably lose more votes than he gains. R's are not going to pass tax code changes to benefit blue states. Nohow. Not to mention, Jordan's "support" hardly means it would pass in an R majority House.
I think the news is less about hypocrisy and more a sign of desperation.
Love this. Jordan thinks bloviating is all that’s required. He’s about to learn a harsh lesson. As the world watches.
Exactly, he is only trying to get a few votes from the so called NYS moderates, and it is extremely unlikely he can get it enacted (has Gym Jorden every sponsored legislation that was actually enacted?)
Maybe he can get my Rep, Mike Lawler (NY 17th) to vote for him in exchange for support on a SALT increase, and give him something to counteract the stink if he supports good old Gym. Lawler has tried to become the poster boy for the so called moderate Republicans. Tying to keep his job next year in the very "purple" NYS 17th.
Republicans have never been fiscal conservatives. Ever. They've always been anti-tax crusaders.
Never is a long time. I'm probably older than you. I remember very well when we ran a slight deficit some years and a slight surplus some years. If you don't remember, check the graph at the top of this page:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSD
This is just the kind of thing that sounds like 'government stuff' that might play among elected Republicans, but it's nothing like anything he's actually good at, which is psychotic horseshit.
He should really try building on the strengths that got him there, propose a new army of only-patriots who can go around executing and arresting imaginary enemies.
If you don't vote for him you might be first on the list. Thoughts to think with.
Hmm. That goes beyond what I've been suggesting recently: that when Jordan goes around "whipping the votes", maybe he'll use an actual whip.
Hah! dear god,
Cornel West Gets Max Money From GOP Megadonor Harlan Crow,
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/cornel-west-donation-harlan-crow-1234857237/
“My gosh, so what we’re saying is we’re basically going to buy votes for a tax policy that I can’t imagine he actually supports?”
That's an odd complaint. The whole point of a deal, any deal, is that each person gives/does something they wouldn't otherwise give/do.
"They are in favor of tax cuts, higher defense spending, and cuts in social spending."
It's simpler than that. It's just more money for our voters. Tax cuts are more money for the affluent. Higher military spending is corporate welfare to benefit their stockholders. Cuts in social spending is less money for people who don't vote for them.
This simplifies the understanding of a lot of other policies. No worries about deficits? T-bills are held by the affluent. Support for Israel? They get billions in foreign aid, which are actually payouts to US military contractors. Opposition to regulation? More money for business at the expense of customers. Opposition to infrastructure? That's money for labor unions, not them. Hatred of mass transit? Their voters don't use it. Denial of climate change? Reworking the energy system means less money for established fossil fuel companies and more for renewable startups, who aren't their voters.
None of these are popular policies, so they use religious and cultural grievances to cover up their fundamental motive.
" It's just more money for our voters."
It is not "our voters". It is "our clients", the rich people that bankroll them.
Good list! And "freedom!!" means "total lack of responsibility."
Back in the day, the dogwhistles were so that "mainstream" voters didn't understand the racism, etc. These days, they're primarily to pull the wool over the eyes of the maganuts who give them their votes.
Did Gym forget that the SALT cap was designed specifically to punish Democrats in coastal elitist cities and towns?
Of course not. But he was talking to Republicans from states that got punished. And he reasonably thought that this might appeal to them. And it might! It's a tough sell, explaining to your red-county constituents in your blue state that you voted to raise their taxes because your party wanted to punish the entire state to get at the blues the next county over.
Several CA Republicans lost close races after the SALT thing. Probably those NY Republicans would have been glad to raise the SALT cap. Though, as it turns out, not so glad that they'd support this creep to get it.
t-Rumpinista's can lie, not exaggerate but down right lie, about anything, any time and any day of the week.
> They are in favor of tax cuts
"They are in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy."
Fixed it for ya.