Tipsheet

Double Down: Pelosi Repeats 'Crumbs' Dismissal, as Number of Workers Receiving Tax Reform Bonuses Tops 3 Million

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  January 25, 2018 1:05 PM

Yesterday, we covered tax reform-related developments at Disney, Starbucks, Verizon and JP Morgan Chase.  It's time to add another prominent name to the lengthy and growing list of American companies who are investing part of their tax windfalls back into their workforce, as many liberals confidently predicted would never happen.  As the slogan goes, that's the power of the Home Depot:

Home Depot announced on Thursday it will pay its U.S. hourly workers a one-time bonus of up to $1,000 tied to President Trump’s tax reform. "This incremental investment in our associates was made possible by the new tax reform bill," Craig Menear, Home Depot chairman and CEO, said in a statement...The Home Depot bonus will be paid in addition to retailer’s existing bonuses. It employs more than 400,000 associates.

Nancy Pelosi was one of the Hill's most hysterical critics of the GOP tax plan, calling it "Frankenstein," the "worst bill" ever considered, and an "armageddon"-style "end of the world." Again, she was talking about a tax proposal. Ever since the law's benefits started to instantly manifest themselves upon passage, leading to a remarkable spike in public support, hapless Pelosi-ites have been reduced to shrugging off the good news as insignificant and questioning whether companies are distorting the facts about what motivated their business decisions, in order to manipualte public opinion in favor of the law. Setting aside the absurdity that famously liberal companies like Apple and Starbucks would be rushing to make President Trump look good, the sheer elitism of sneering at $1,000 bonuses for working people as "crumbs" is staggering.  The numbers speak for themselves:


Having been raked over the coals for her tin-eared aloofness and schooled by a knowledgeable CEO, the San Francisco multimillionaire doubled down on her statement, once again using a 'crumbs' analogy to wave away the significance of four-figure bonuses:


But as Charles CW Cooke previously noted, Pelosi's messaging isn't just tone deaf and obnoxious; it's also contradictory. During the Obama administration, Democrats made a big deal about the significance of preserving a tax cut that amounted to $40 per pay period for average Americans. If they argued back then that "$40 is real money for working families" back then, they cannot argue that $1,000 is peanuts today.  And yet, Pelosi's insanely counter-productive line seems to be catching on.  By all means, please go with this, Democrats:


Meanwhile,  Mitch McConnell gave a floor speech focusing attention on the wide range of businesses experiencing a tax reform boost, from large national employers to small businesses:

Every day, more evidence piles up that tax reform is already working for the American people. The headlines are full of major employers announcing pay raises and bonuses for workers, as well as new investments. For example, Brown Forman — a global spirits company headquartered in Louisville that employs more than 1,000 Kentuckians — announced yesterday that tax reform will help the company to start a new charitable foundation for community investment and commit $120 million to fund employee pensions. Soon, thanks to tax reform, a Main Street small business owner will finally be able to realize her dream to expand into the vacant shop next door. Of course, that’ll mean hiring more help. Soon, thanks to tax reform, a father-and-son manufacturing plant will be able to afford the new equipment they’ve been eyeing and give their workers new skills in the process. Stories like these may not make waves here in Washington. But believe me, they will be front-page news in communities all across America.

It's true:

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I'll leave you with this (admittedly early) deep dive from Jim Geraghty, who thinks that the Democrats' path to a House majority, while certainly plausible, isn't quite as easy as many have come to believe. A strong economy powered by tax cuts that are helping families while disproving Democratic lies surely wouldn't hurt the GOP's chances, either: