Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

These Charts Show Why Republicans Who Planned to Run on Trump's Tax Plan in November Are Going to Need a New Plan

These Charts Show Why Republicans Who Planned to Run on Trump's Tax Plan in November Are Going to Need a New Plan
MSNBC

Yeah, that's not gonna work.

In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan proposed an idea that giving more money to the richest of Americans would ultimately benefit the poorest. The idea , intended to sell Americans on tax breaks for the wealthy during a poor economy, became known as Reaganomics.

No one bought Reaganomics by the end of Ronald Reagan's presidency, and George H. W. Bush paid for that failure, as did the American economy. But the failure of trickle down economics didn't stop it from being recycled as a selling point by the GOP in 2017.


But do Americans believe huge tax cuts for the richest of people and corporations benefit those lower on the income scale? Polling from the recent election in Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district seems to indicate they do not.

During an appearance on Morning Joe on MSNBC, President Barack Obama's car czar, broke down the numbers. Steven Rattner, who worked restructuring the auto industry in 2009 as Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury, is a renowned veteran Wall Street financier.

Ads touting the Republican tax cuts actually took public support away from the GOP candidate. These are numbers the GOP and President Donald Trump need to study leading up to the 2018 midterms.

Polls prior to the recent election, which saw Democrat Conor Lamb defeat Republican Rick Saccone, in a heavily red district, all indicated voter dissatisfaction with the GOP tax breaks.

The 18th congressional district is not the first district that favored Donald Trump in 2016 to flip blue. However it does seem to indicate a slight change in GOP strategy.

Early campaign ads and appearances praised the Republican tax plan, Donald Trump's signature achievement. But by the end of the Saccone campaign, no one as talking about it, including President Trump.

In his final appearance in Pennsylvania, stumping for Saccone, Trump spoke at length on his proposed tariffs, but failed to mention his former greatest achievement. Perhaps the facts that polls have been trying to convey finally sunk in.

The majority of American voters haven't forgotten Reaganomics. Trickle down theory failed in the 1980s and no one expects it to succeed now.

In addition, businesses made it clear where they will be spending their surplus money. It won't be on worker wages as the GOP claimed.

But will just not talking about their tax breaks for the wealthy help Republicans win in the 2018 midterm elections? We will see in November if a strategy of avoidance works for those members of the GOP who employ it.

More from News

Dr. Sandra Lee
TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle/YouTube

'Dr. Pimple Popper' Star Reveals She Suffered Stroke While Filming Series: 'I Had A Part Of My Brain That Died'

It's already scary to witness a younger person go through a life-changing medical diagnosis, but it's especially jarring to see a medical professional, who presumably knows best about how to care for themselves, go through the same.

Sandra Lee, known as "Dr. Pimple Popper" on Lifetime, is well-known for her bedside manner, medical knowledge and ability to share her knowledge in an accessible way, and, of course, her unique approach to dermatological care.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rob Schneider; Elizabeth Banks
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images; Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Rob Schneider Dragged For Criticizing Elizabeth Banks' 'Dangerous Rhetoric' After She Called Out White Female Trump Voters

After actor and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks—who played Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games—called out white women who voted for President Donald Trump, MAGA actor Rob Schneider lashed out against what he referred to as her "dangerous rhetoric."

Those who've read the book and seen the film adaptation of The Hunger Games know that Trinket—known for joyfully announcing, "Happy Hunger Games and the odds may be ever in your favor!"—is a mistress of propaganda for a hostile government that forces teenagers to fight to the death every year to intimidate critics and keep society's poorest and most vulnerable in line. Trinket eventually embraces the rebellion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kid Rock
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Offering Massive Discount To His MAGA Festival Due To Abysmal Ticket Sales

Musician Kid Rock has hitched his wagon to president Donald Trump for quite some time now, and it seems he too is in the "find out" stage of that particularly exercise in FAFO.

It seems that when the president you form your entire personality around craters to a catastrophic approval rating even for him, your ship starts to sink too.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dan Driscoll; Tammy Duckworth
Cheriss May/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Army Secretary Sparks Outrage After Shutting Down Army Social Media Accounts For Honoring Tammy Duckworth's Military Service

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is facing heavy criticism after he ordered that all accounts associated with the Army unit "Soldier for Life" (SFL) be shut down after the unit shared a post on social media celebrating Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth's military service.

Duckworth is a double amputee who lost both of her legs in combat in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tom Homan; Pope Leo XIV
Fox News; Vatican Media/Vatican Pool - Corbis/Getty Images

Trump's Border Czar Ripped For Hypocrisy After Telling Pope Leo To 'Stay Out Of Politics'

President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan was called out for hypocrisy after telling Pope Leo XIV to "stay out of politics" after he clashed with Trump over the widely unpopular war in Iran.

Last week, Pope Leo criticized the war and called on the world "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything."

Keep ReadingShow less