Trump and Gillespie Seek to Reprise Kansas' Failed Tax Plan

In 2012, Kansas far right GOP governor Sam Brownback of Kansas signed a massive tax cut into law.  Brownback and his GOP allies promised that the massive tax cuts would boost the state's economy.  Among his goals, Brownback and the Kansas GOP he hoped to eliminate individual income taxes entirely.  Brownback's administration claimed the bill would create 23,000 jobs by 2020, and would lead 35,000 more people to move to Kansas.  Saying that the promised economic benefits never materialized would be far too kind.  The state was nearly left bankrupt, essential services, including highway maintenance, were slashed and public education funding dropped to far below 2008 levels, triggering significant program reductions in schools across the state. Class sizes have increased, teachers and staff members have been laid off, essential services for at-risk students were eliminated, some schools were forced to reduce the class week to four days. Now we have Donald Trump, Paul Ryan and other toadies of the likes of the Koch brothers seeking to take the Kansas disaster national.  Meanwhile, here in Virginia, GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie is seeking to mimic the failed Kansas model with his promise of an across the board tax cut (Virginia already has a relative low tax rate).  A piece in Politico looks at how Democrats are pushing back against this ready-made disaster.  Here are excerpts:

In a warning shot to Republicans crafting landmark tax legislation, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday that Kansas’ experiment with tax cuts foreshadows what can happen if the GOP relies on “fake numbers” to support its effort.

Speaking on CBS’ "Face the Nation," Schumer rebutted assertions by the Trump administration that the president’s tax plan is not designed to cut taxes for rich Americans.

“It's completely focused on the wealthy and the powerful. Not on the middle class,” Schumer said.

The New York Democrat also attacked Republicans’ assertion that the tax plan won’t add to the deficit. Kansas’ 2012 tax cuts led to a budget deficit that forced the state to cut funding for schools and infrastructure, Schumer said. Facing a major budget deficit, Kansas lawmakers in June approved legislation that rolled back many of Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cuts.

“This idea that cutting taxes on the wealthy, this trickle-down economics which the Republican Party loves, does not create growth,” Schumer said. “It never has."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was dubious of the idea that the plan wouldn't overwhelmingly benefit the rich.

"For Trump to go on television that, oh, this doesn't benefit the wealthy is absolutely outrageous," he said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Of course, it benefits the wealthy. And of course it benefits large multinational corporations."  . . . "We are living in a moment of massive income and wealth inequality. The very, very rich are getting richer. Middle class is shrinking."

Republicans' trickle down lies have never worked.  Despite the proof of objective reality in Kansas and elsewhere the lie persists.  Hopefully, Virginians do not fall for this lie next moth in our statewide elections.