Staff Reports
In a recent debate that could only be described as a clash of titans, Vice President Kamala Harris pulled out her well-rehearsed playbook to accuse former President Donald Trump of pandering solely to the wealthy with his tax policies. This insatiable pursuit to paint Trump as the modern-day Scrooge may appeal to her base, but the reality is far more uplifting—unless one is actually against the idea of average Americans keeping more of their hard-earned money.
Trump’s crowning achievement, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, marked a seismic shift in the tax code that made it perfectly possible for Americans across the income spectrum to take a deep breath and watch their wallets swell a bit. Instead of keeping the tax burden heavy, the Trump tax cuts nudged it down, much to the dismay of the tax-and-spend gang on the left. The new tax rates aimed to put the brakes on government greed and allow citizens to enjoy the fruits of their labor rather than funding ever-larger bureaucracies.
Asked if she believed Americans are better off today than they were four years ago, VP Kamala Harris talked about her plans to help families and small businesses. She targeted Trump, saying he will provide a tax cut for "billionaires and big corporations." pic.twitter.com/c5xw9zSfKK
— islam Abdelnaser (@islam_naserr) September 11, 2024
Harris took to the stage claiming that Trump’s economic plan exclusively favors the wealthy and asserts that it would plunge America into a $5 trillion deficit hole. One must wonder if she’s ever looked at the numbers. While she threw around big figures, the Tax Policy Center—an institution not typically sympathetic to conservative policies—found that a whopping 80.4% of taxpayers benefitted from the tax cuts. Yes, those cuts included lower taxes for hardworking middle- and lower-income families as well, thanks in part to expanded child tax credits and a doubled standard deduction.
Despite Harris’s claims of fiscal catastrophe, even the Congressional Budget Office reported that extending the Trump tax cuts would lead to a deficit increase of $4.6 trillion over a decade—not exactly the Armageddon she describes. Tellingly, Harris’s own dilemma emerged as she attempted to reconcile her call to preserve tax cuts for those earning under $400,000 a year. That’s right: in a bold twist of irony, she would need to keep many of the tax cuts that she opposes in order to fulfill this promise. Talk about mixed messages.
Meanwhile, the policy arena heats up with both candidates throwing around proposals to eliminate certain taxes. While Harris wants to eliminate taxes for tipped workers, an idea that sounds all well and good, some experts fear that it could lead to service workers demanding tips instead of wages. Trump, on the other hand, has thrown his hat in the ring with even more sweeping tax cuts, proposing to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits and slashing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%. If one was looking for a contrast in economic visions, it’s hard to ignore who truly prioritizes the American worker.
With the stakes this high, it’s crucial to sift through the fog of debate rhetoric to see who champions real tax relief: the candidate who helped millions pocket more cash with tax cuts or the one throwing around deficits like a game of hot potato. The choice, while clouded by political posturing, is crystal clear for anyone who believes in leaving more money in the hands of hard-working Americans instead of letting it trickle into government coffers.
