Article: Rigged Rules

Paul Ryan
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I got a slick email yesterday from Speaker Paul Ryan's office about the GOP's scheme to cut taxes for billionaires and giant corporations.

It says:

"The rules are rigged ... You deserve a level playing field."

Are you kidding me?!?

Speaker Ryan is right: The rules are rigged. For decades, Republicans who control Congress have rewritten the tax laws so that the richest Americans pay a lower tax rate than middle class families. Tax loopholes have helped multinationals ship jobs overseas. Giant corporations stash money in the Cayman Islands and let small businesses here at home pay full freight.

Here's what Speaker Ryan won't tell you: The tax code is so tangled with exceptions and credits that, for some of the biggest companies, the effective federal income tax rate is zero. That's right: Not 45%. Not 22.5%. Zero percent.

And if Speaker Ryan and President Trump have their way, the Republicans' "tax reform" plan will hand out even bigger gifts to the giant tax dodgers -- while millions of middle class families and small businesses are left holding the bag.

Here's the deal: When the Republicans cut taxes for billionaires and giant corporations and when the rich and powerful don't pay their fair share, they then turn around and say, "Sorry! There's no more money."

There's no money to spend on fixing our roads and bridges that help our businesses thrive and put Americans back to work. There's no money to spend on Head Start or Pell Grants or refinancing student loans to give our kids a chance to succeed. There's no money to spend on medical and scientific research to create a big pipeline of ideas and build a future we've only dreamed of.

Yes, the rules are rigged -- and we are not fighting on a level playing field.

The corporate giants are lined up with their armies of lawyers and lobbyists to make sure Paul Ryan's tax changes tilt their way. The billionaire Koch brothers are whispering in his ear that if the Republicans want to keep control of the House in 2018, this is the price they'll pay. The billionaires want a return on their investment in elected Republican officials.

America's working families don't have zillion-dollar public relations teams to counter the false claim that corporations pay too much. Small businesses don't have zillion-dollar lobbying operation to fight back against tax giveaways for giant corporations.

They have you -- people in Massachusetts and all across the country -- who are willing to speak out and fight back against his gruesome tax plan. This is about more than economics -- it's about our values.

It's time to say as loudly as we can: Washington shouldn't work for the rich and powerful -- it should work for working families.

Thanks for being a part of this...