Democracy Doesn't Just Cost Lives – It Costs Billions in Lobbying

Which Kinda Defeats the Purpose of Democracy

As new tax legislation that will benefit everyone except middle income hard working Americans gears up the pigs are at the trough.

WASHINGTON — The sweeping tax rewrite unveiled by President Trump and Republican lawmakers this past week leaves many of the details to Congress, but two sentences in the nine-page framework have Washington lobbyists salivating over a payday that some industry experts predict could top $1 billion.

So what are the lobbyists concerned about? Getting fair treatment for the regular folks? Hardly.

Tucked away on Page 8, the sentences refer vaguely to plans to repeal or roll back “numerous” exclusions and deductions, and to “modernize” tax rules affecting specific industries “to ensure that the tax code better reflects economic reality and that such rules provide little opportunity for tax avoidance.”

That language has prompted concerns among a wide range of businesses and industries about the prospect of losing valuable tax breaks — from preferential tax treatment for insurers to credits for renewable energy to a prized tax treatment used by the commercial real estate industry.

Now no one knows the details of the tax plan that will ultimately be enacted, including those responsible for writing the legislation and voting on it. But we do know from what has been presented that a middle income family might get a few hundred dollars in tax relief if they are lucky, while those industries battle over billions.

Sounds fair to us.