It’s true. Peter Roskam thinks you’re an idiot. Yes, you. Why else would a Republican who votes with Trump 93.5% of the time advertise here on Daily Kos?
Because Roskam, a Republican who hasn’t held a public town hall in his district in over 10 years, is so out of touch he thinks you’re an idiot.
Roskam’s latest ad, run right here at Daily Kos, goes like this: Roskam is a champion for the middle class who fought tooth and nail for a giant middle class tax cut that he’s hugely proud of achieving. But be afraid, because if you vote for a scary Democrat like Sean Casten he’ll raise taxes on the middle class! Pete would never ever do that! Oh, the humanity!
Like I said, Roskam thinks you’re an idiot.
I’m guessing what Roskam is talking about is the Republican tax scam he voted for and pushed from his Chairmanship on the House Tax Policy Subcommittee. Yup, the guy not only voted for the Republican tax scam, he’s the chair the subcommittee that drove it.
And just like Roskam won’t hold a public town hall, the Republican tax scam had no public hearings as it was written in secret:
WASHINGTON — Almost no one on or off Capitol Hill has seen the tax overhaul bill that Republicans are drafting behind closed doors. Congressional staff members have not settled on many key details. Yet party leaders are preparing to move ahead on a timeline even more aggressive than their unsuccessful attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Why let the public see a major piece of legislation? Because sneeky-Pete probably thinks the general public are idiots too.
Roskam wants to play on the manipulated numbers that were set up to show the majority of people get a tax cut under the Republican tax scam. Thanks to millionaires getting huge tax cuts, the average cut looks pretty good. However, a typical middle class family in affluent DuPage would average out to less than $900. Still on average, a nice, but completely misleading, sum.
In reality, a typical middle class family in Roskam’s home town of Wheaton Illinois, an affluent suburb of Chicago, could end up owing more due to limits on state and local tax deductions in Roskam’s Republican tax scam. Where once residents Roskam never meets with could deduct all of their property and state income taxes, now they are limited to a max deduction of $10,000. That’s not good news in most of DuPage county, especially affluent Wheaton.
Although the average home value in Wheaton is $341,000, it’s not unusual for property taxes for such a home to approach $10,000 a year. But that average is skewed due to the affluent nature of the area. Homes in the desirable locations are closer to $800-900,000 with property taxes closer to $20,000 a year — half of which is no longer tax deductible thanks to Roskam’s Republican tax scam. Add to this Illinois state income tax which when added to property taxes will no longer be deductible, and Roskam’s home town constituents are most likely going to be paying more:
A middle-class family that itemized in 2017 mostly due to their SALT deductions also won't experience much of a tax cut, if any he added.
Cash-strapped homeowners could also get pinched. "If you've been living on the edge and someone yanks away your ability to fully deduct your property taxes, that could mean that if you are used to deducting $20,000 and can only take $10,000, that is [more than $800] a month you are losing in deductions," said Bill Smith, managing director at CBIZ MHM National Tax Office.
Roskam thinks you’re an idiot, and he thinks his constituents in places like affluent DuPage County are idiots who can’t figure this out too.
But I’m sure thanks to their 40% tax cut that Roskam gave them, corporations are creating jobs for the middle class. Only, they’re not:
The $1.5 trillion GOP tax cut is a major boon to corporations. It slashed the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, reduced the rate on corporate income brought back to the United States from abroad to between 8 and 15.5 percent instead of 35 percent, and exempted American companies’ foreign income from US tax.
[...]
But companies have been eager to put the savings they’ve reaped from the new tax law into their shareholders’ pockets.
A Bloomberg analysis found that about 60 percent of tax cut gains will go to shareholders, compared to 15 percent for employees. A Morgan Stanley survey found that analysts estimate 43 percent of tax cut savings will go to stock buybacks and dividends, while 13 percent will go to pay raises, bonuses, and employee benefits. Just Capital’s analysis of 121 Russell 1000 companies found that 57 percent of tax savings will go to shareholders, compared to 20 percent directed to job creation and capital investment and 6 percent to workers.
And Roskam thinks you’re an idiot because guess which tax cut is permanent — it ain’t the one for middle class taxpayers…
But here's the thing: After 2025, all individual tax cuts are set to expire. At the same time, corporate rate cuts are made permanent under the bill.
Oh wait, there is. The guy's name is Sean Casten and he's running to unseat Roskam in IL-06. Sean and I could use your help retire Republicans like Roskam who think their constituents are idiots.
Please help us get rid of Roskam...