by Mary Fahnestock-Thomas, Hamilton
That’s the title of an email message I just received from Senator Steve Daines. How thoughtful! He’s celebrating the fact that the Build Back Better plan is being obstructed in the Senate because it costs too much, and he thinks we should all celebrate.
We didn’t really want the Child Tax Cut to be extended, did we? Nor do we want any other government-supported help with childcare, eldercare, or healthcare … or support for affordable housing or free early childhood education and community college … or expanded Medicaid or Medicare … or reduced prescription prices and so on and so on (see https://www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better/).
That money should continue to go to subsidize fossil fuel companies and other big corporations, and it would be a shame to require Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to pay taxes, though it wouldn’t even dent their wealth or keep them from playing in space.
We ordinary Americans and our kids would rather continue to struggle and be “free” than support the government in what governments are supposed to do.
Sorry, Mr. Daines. My celebration is muted at best. The corporate tax cuts instituted in 2017 by the former, Republican, administration that you continue to support cost considerably more than Build Back Better, but hey, what’s important?
“How people think about the country depends on the stories they hear about it. Those maintaining the Big Lie that Trump won the 2020 election know that principle very well” (Heather Cox Richardson, 12/22/21). Mr. Daines is one of those people and encourages you to continue your devotion to Fox News. Fascism awaits.