The Republican coalition also stands divided.
“They don’t agree over how to pay for these tax cuts,” notes Clemente. “The deficit hawks don’t believe tax cuts should add to the federal debt. The hard-liners want tax cuts, deficits be damned. And then there are a few sensible folks who worry about the impact on working families.”
But even with these divisions, stopping tax-cut giveaways to the rich and the corporations they run will take all hands on deck.
“This will be harder to stop than the bad health care plan because the tradeoffs in health care were so direct, with 20 million people losing insurance,” Clemente reflects. “But if you care about inequality, this is your fight. If you care about Social Security, education, nutrition, rebuilding roads and bridges, this is your fight. All these flow from tax revenue.”
“If we lose this revenue now,” he goes on, “we aren’t going to be able to fund current levels of government nor will we be able to make investments over the next ten years to build an economy that works for everyone.”
Politically speaking, in other words, we’ve reached showdown time.
“Tax cuts have become the crown jewel of their agenda,” Clemente points out. “If we defeat the tax cuts, its all down hill for Trump and company.”
American for Tax Fairness has created a campaign website for the coming tax fight. See StopTrumpTaxCuts.org and check out the Talking Points as part of preparing for back-fence conversations with neighbors and family.
ATF is also encouraging other grassroots strategies, including the “Not One Penny” movement. Founded by resistance efforts such as Indivisible and the Tax March, Not One Penny is a pledge against “tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires and wealthy corporations.”
For more information on how to get involved, click to www.americansfortaxfairness.org.
Chuck Collins, a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, he directs the Program on Inequality and co-edits Inequality.org. His newest book is Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good (Chelsea Green, 2016).