How can these damned Republicans live with themselves? They've passed a devastating tax scam law that cuts taxes for 80 percent of all Americans, including 91 percent of the middle class, while bringing America's strikingly uncompetitive outlier of a corporate rate in line with the rest of the developed world. And as a result, companies are passing down their anticipated and significant benefits to employees, customers and shareholders. In other words, it's an ongoing waking nightmare. And the frightful details keep washing ashore, tormenting the American people with each passing hour. For instance, here's a major power company announcing that it will provide tax reform-inspired vouchers to help lower customers' costs:
Pepco says it will lower electric bills for almost 300,000 ratepayers in D.C., largely because its corporate tax rate was slashed from 35 to 21 percent in GOP tax bill. pic.twitter.com/St9Vym5ILF
— Martin Austermuhle (@maustermuhle) January 9, 2018
Similar business decisions are spreading throughout the industry, from Maryland to Oregon to Illinois to Utah. Sounds like a lot of blue state residents who despise Republicans are going to benefit from their legislative achievement nonetheless -- in addition to their reduced tax burden. House Speaker Paul Ryan's office is touting these developments, showcasing how real people across the country are going experience real savings on their monthly bills because the cost of doing business is going down. A specific example of dollars and cents:
"Last week, Baltimore Gas & Electric announced it was passing approximately '$82 million in annual tax savings to customers, resulting from federal tax cost reductions.' This means the average BGE residential electric customer can expect an estimated $2.31 decrease on their monthly bill, while the average residential combined natural gas and electric customer could see an estimated $4.27 monthly reduction. For families living paycheck-to-paycheck, every dollar counts."
Katie alertly contrasted these GOP policy outcomes to President Obama's stated agenda. Bear in mind that higher energy costs and utility bills are highly regressive, disproportionately hammering poor and working families who have the least disposable income sitting in their bank accounts:
Obama 2008: Under my plan, your electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket ---> https://t.co/gHy01R5sdE
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) January 9, 2018
Trump 2018: Electricity companies are slashing electricity rates thanks to tax cuts ----> https://t.co/vvz9t82RJx
Yep, he really said that, completely in context:
Meanwhile, a recently-acquired American company that was planning to move to Bermuda has decided to remain in the United States, explicitly because of the new tax law. This news comes in addition to other big corporations repatriating billions in assets with an eye toward making new investments in their businesses. American jobs:
Assurant Inc. ( AIZ ), a provider of risk management solutions, and Warranty Group, a provider of protection plans and related programs, as well as a portfolio company of TPG Capital, said they have amended the structure of their $2.5 billion transaction, previously announced on October 18, 2017. Under the revised terms, Assurant will acquire TWG Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries, and remain a Delaware corporation. This change follows recently enacted U.S. tax legislation and allows Assurant to simplify the overall deal structure as well as optimize the transaction financing mix.
Adding insult to injury in this parade of horribles -- forced upon an innocent public by the worst legislation ever passed -- yet another business is doling out tax reform bonuses to both full-time and part-time employees. Add these poor victims in Ohio to the more than one million Americans who've now pocketed more income as a consequence of Armageddon:
New: Western & Southern giving tax reform bonuses of $2,000 for full time employees; $1,000 for part time employees https://t.co/RUJA5pN2z8
— John Kartch (@johnkartch) January 8, 2018
Also, in case you missed it amid all the positive economic news -- on GDP growth, on jobs, on stocks -- the country's overall employment outlook is peaking:
Americans' optimism about finding a quality job averaged 56% in 2017, the highest annual average in 17 years of @GallupNews polling and a sharp increase from 42% in 2016. #jobs pic.twitter.com/vUKaQcKt18
— STEW ?????? (@StewSays) January 9, 2018
Not all of this is President Trump or Congressional Republicans' doing, of course, and the tax bill is not some cure-all panacea with zero drawbacks. But the astounding volume of rank misinformation and scare-mongering about the GOP law requires honest observers to compare objective reality with the Left's shrill, dire predictions. Based on what we've seen thus far, if the sky is falling, let it fall.