Shame. Shame on the House. Shame on the Senate. Shame on the President. But most of all, shame on all of us.
Shame, because we sit by while the Washington swamp prepares to enact tax reform legislation, otherwise known as The Lawyers and Accountants Relief Act of 2017. It purports to cut taxes and simplify the tax code, but do not doubt it will contain all sorts of hidden goodies for corporate and wealthy special interests. We are told the ‘gators are working hard to keep the cost from adding more than $1.5 trillion (over 10 years) to the national debt. And that the cuts will pay for themselves.
First, no one in or out of Washington can predict next week with any assurance, much less the next 10 years. And $1.5 trillion is an unimaginable sum for most of us. Plus these projections surely omit small numbers such as the added billions in interest. So the figure itself is a chimera worthy of Larry the Cable Guy (42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot). Shame on us for buying into these fictions.
But most of all, shame on us for allowing tax cuts to be paid for with borrowed money, knowing the debt will fall on our children, and on theirs. To all the parents who have mouthed platitudes about wanting their children’s lives to be better than their own: don’t forget to thank your children as you pocket this political payoff disguised as a tax cut. Perhaps a bit of your good fortune could “trickle down” to them, along with some sound parental advice about living thriftily, and saving and investing for the future.
Better yet, perhaps there is no need to thank them. With luck, they’ll follow our example, and kick an even larger “can” down to their children and grandchildren. And our shame will become theirs. A legacy to do any parent proud.
Shame.