CMR’s Magical Economics and the Inflation Reduction Act
McMorris Rodgers sends out a “Weekly Newsletter”. The one I’ve pasted below arrived in selected constituents’ email folders on August 12. Clearly, McMorris Rodgers’ targeting of her “Newsletter” is imperfect: this was forwarded to me by one of my readers who received it and was understandably outraged.
The same day, Friday, August 12, Orion Donovan-Smith covered the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act through the U.S. House in a front page article that appeared in the Spokesman the next morning (the Saturday Spokesman is online only). In it, Donovan-Smith writes:
The bill’s 15% minimum tax applies only to corporations with at least $1 billion in annual revenue, which limits the requirement to about 200 of the country’s biggest companies. It also adds a 1% excise tax on corporate stock buybacks and gives $80 billion to the Internal Revenue Service, which has seen its budget and staffing fall by about 20% over the past decade, to help crack down on tax evasion by big companies and wealthy Americans.
Donovan-Smith quoted Republican U.S. House Representatives in the article. Their claim is tortured, twisted, doublespeak: walking back a part of the blatant corporate tax cuts of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” of the Trump administration would raise “your” taxes. Just how is this supposed to happen when the plain language of the bill says otherwise?
Donovan-Smith goes on to explain (the bold is mine):
Sticking to a Biden campaign promise, the bill doesn’t raise taxes on anyone who earns less than $400,000 a year. But Republicans, who universally opposed the bill, argued it would effectively raise taxes on all Americans because corporations will pass on higher taxes to consumers in the form of price hikes.
First, the assertion made by McMorris Rodgers that the Inflation Reduction Act will raise your taxes is a bald-faced lie (unless your AGI [adjusted gross income] is more than four hundred grand a year). To whom does she think she’s writing? Second, the assertion that establishing a minimum corporate tax of 15% will necessarily raise prices for the common man is one of those Republican magical economic tropes born of “trickle down” economic theory. The “trickle down” theory (See P.S.) has been convenient Republican orthodoxy since Reagan. The proposition is whatever further enriches the wealthy will “trickle down” to the commoners, and, conversely, any tax of the wealthy is really a tax paid by people of modest means. In this theory the generationally wealthy and corporations are seen as “job creators”, benevolently keeping the economy humming purely FBO their economic lessers. Anything that cuts into the profits of wealthy is twistedly seen as inflationary.
McMorris Rodgers, apparently confident that her selected email audience is sufficiently deluded by the “trickle down” cult, simply lies with a straight face, “Democrats Just Voted to Raise Your Taxes,” then descends to every Democrat-demonizing, Republican-tested trigger phrase she can find. She must assume, perhaps correctly, that her readers will accept her analysis as gospel, that they won’t ever peek out of their news silo to see what The Inflation Reduction Act (or even what its called) actually does or to understand that the Act pays for itself.
The worst part: McMorris Rodgers is so bought in to this economic cult that she probably believes her own lie.
It is time to vote this woman out of office this November. We should be tired of her divisive lies, her climate denial, and her pandering to militant right supporters.
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry
P.S. “Trickle Down” economics was once known as “Horse and Sparrow” economics, referring to the Sparrows eating the oat seeds that had passed through the digestive tract of the horses. That was back when people understood what “trickle down” economics really was as a theory: horse manure.
Here is CMR’s August 12 Newsletter (BELOW) The pictures of a smiling CMR sitting around tables with people in small towns have been removed to reduce the KB of this Substack missive. Click here to access her lying, divisive, vacuous speech as Ranking Member (leader of the Republican contingent) on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Democrats Just Voted to Raise Your Taxes
President Biden’s economic recession, record-high inflation, surging energy costs, looming blackouts, higher health care costs, and empty store shelves are making it harder to get by in America. Families all across Eastern Washington are stretching their budgets just to buy groceries and keep the lights on, and it’s still too expensive to fill up gas tanks.
Yet despite this frightening reality, earlier today, House Democrats voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. This bill will spend an estimated $740 billion by raising taxes on the American people in an attempt to implement price controls on prescription drugs, allow the IRS to hire 87,000 new agents, and spend billions on Green New Deal initiatives.
Let me be clear: This legislation will do nothing to reduce inflation. As the Democrats continue to double down on making life harder for people in Eastern Washington, I will be working hard to produce tangible solutions that will eliminate the record-high inflation that is threatening to destroy our way of life.
I had another exciting week traveling across Eastern Washington to sit down with so many different inspiring groups in our communities. I always enjoy meeting all the incredible individuals who work hard to make Eastern Washington the best it can possibly be and learning more about the issues that matter most to you! Here’s what I’ve been up to this week:
Disability Inclusivity at WSU
I kicked off my week meeting with representatives of WSU’s ROAR(Responsibility Opportunity Advocacy and Respect) program. I learned so much more about the incredible work they’re doing to ensure students with disabilities are getting the most out of their time on campus. The work this program does for the disability community continues to inspire me every day. Go Cougs!
A Great Discussion with Pullman’s Local Leaders
My next stop was to the Pullman Regional Hospital where I met with an incredible group of local leaders, including hospital CEO Scott Adams, Mayor Glenn Johnson, Cat Amortegui with WSU, Whitman County Commissioner Tom Handy, and more! We had a great discussion about the progress being made to improve the Pullman-Moscow Airport, and we shared ideas about how we can work together to continue expanding access to health care in rural communities.
Meeting with Colfax Community Leaders
Later, I traveled to Colfax for a roundtable discussion with Port of Whitman Commissioner Tom Kammerzell, Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers, Mayor Jim Retzer, and other community leaders. We talked a lot about our shared passion to save the Lower Snake River dams, some of the most pressing issues facing our country today, and how we can continue our work to ensure Whitman County remains one of the most productive agricultural countiesin the world.
In case you missed it, I announced this week that the City of Spokane Valley will receive nearly $21.7 million in RAISE grant program fundingto support the Pines Road/BNSF Grade Separation Project. This is a project I’ve supported for a long time, and I’m thrilled to have been a part of making it happen.
In addition to the award to the City of Spokane Valley, the City of Pullman and Spokane County will also receive funding for critical infrastructure projects that will improve our communities. You can learn more about these projects and the funding announced this week here:
