Robert Reich's commitment to resist Trump again and again

"I don't know about you, but some days I feel like a hamster on a wheel. Again and again, Donald Trump and the Republicans are making us run through the same motions, just to prevent disaster. 

Just look at this week. Republicans are about to hold a vote to repeal Obamacare—again. They've voted to repeal Obamacare more than fifty times since the bill was signed into law.1 It's infuriating and exhausting that "winning" in the Trump era often means preventing something awful from happening.

I'm mad as hell—and I'm ready to take back power. Now.

But there's a problem: Congressional elections are still pretty far off—and, while we wait, there are urgent fights every day that need our attention. At the same time, there are big things that we can do right now to build progressive power and lay the groundwork for victories in the 2018 and 2020 elections.

Which is why I'm making a commitment to you to do two things:
I will fight the Trump Republican agenda every step of the way (even though it's exhausting and repetitive and infuriating.) I will work my heart out to take back power in the 2018 and 2020 elections—so that we can start undoing the damage and actually make progress for a change.

And I hope that you'll do whatever you can, too. Keep calling Congress. Show up in person at your lawmakers' offices. Stay active online and on social media. Get involved in elections.

We're just 103 days into Trump's presidency, and so far, the resistance's efforts are working. We are winning. On health care (Obamacare is still the law of the land). On the budget (where Trump basically gave up and got almost nothing he wanted). Against the Muslim ban. Even on Trump's involvement with Russia (we're keeping the story in the news and driving down Trump's popularity, while forcing his corrupt cronies to recuse themselves).

Together, the resistance is rising to meet the challenges we face. And I couldn't be prouder of what we've accomplished together already.

MoveOn and I are committed to fighting like this for the long haul. To spring into action as Republicans—once again—try to take away our health care, or build the wall, or pass another Muslim ban, or pass tax cuts to benefit the 1%. To win back power one election at a time. To make videos that expose Trump's total and very dangerous ineptitude. And to speak out, again and again.

During Trump's first 103 days, we proved that the resistance is powerful, when we give it our all. Now, we have a harder challenge: proving that we can keep it up.

Together, I believe that we can."

–Robert Reich

Former Secretary of Labor 

1. "Reminder: The House Voted to Repeal Obamacare More Than 50 Times," TIME, March 24, 2017

Note from Desktop Activist Tucson: I am not with the MoveOn organization, but I appreciate Robert Reich's efforts on the resistance and post his insights on this page. I regularly sign MoveOn petitions. Feel free to follow the link to find out more about them.

MoveOn.org Civic Action, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization focusing on education and advocacy, providing civic engagement tools to the public, and building the progressive movement by encouraging and supporting the development of more grassroots leaders. Learn more about MoveOn.org Civic Action here.

URGENT! What you need to know about Trump's tax reform plan before it's too late!

 Robert Reich's statement is a "MUST READ!"

Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, former hedge fund manager and Goldman Sachs partner, calls it the “biggest tax cut and largest tax reform in the history of our country.”

In reality, it’s the biggest declaration of class warfare – Trump’s and Mnuchin’s class against average Americans -- in history.

Trump won’t just cut corporate taxes from 35 percent to 15 percent – a huge boon to the shareholding class (remember, the richest 10 percent of Americans holds 80 percent of the entire value of the stock market). He’d also cut the individual taxes paid by partners in hedge funds, private-equity firms, and real estate empires like, um, Trump’s — from 39.6 percent to 15 percent. This is a giant windfall to the richest of the rich.

And he’d repeal the estate tax – paid by the richest 2 percent. Oh, did I say that Trump is now proposing another repeal of Obamacare that would save America’s wealthy another $300 billion a year in taxes?

The biggest winners: Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Robert Mercer (Steve Bannon’s funder at Breitbart) and his daughter Rebekah, who is bankrolling a super PAC airing pro-Trump ads, along with Steven Mnuchin and all the other billionaires Trump brought into the his administration, including Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson, and Betsy DeVos, as well as others on Wall Street and in corporate suites.

The biggest losers: Average working Americans -- many of whom voted for Trump -- who will now have fewer government services, and whose taxes will be paying more interest on a higher federal debt (much of which is owed to the rich, like Trump, who hold some of their fortunes in government bonds).

Trump has just declared class warfare against the people who voted for him, and most of the rest of us, too. It's our responsibility to sound the alarm far and wide.

More information:

Washington Post article

New York Times article 

Or if you prefer to listen, here's the Young Turks take. 

Please, share! Everyone needs to know what's going on.

President Trump’s tax reform plan highlights

Click to make it larger

This morning the Whitehouse announced President Trump’s tax plan for a 15% tax rate for corporations and businesses. This is how it would pan out...

*The corporate tax rate would be slashed from 35% to 15%―saving the six largest U.S. banks a combined $12 billion annually.

*Banks that stash huge profits offshore would be allowed to bring those profits home at a fraction of the price―saving the six largest U.S. banks an estimated $25 billion in taxes.

*Hedge fund managers and Wall Street CEOs would see a two-thirds cut in their individual tax rates―equaling a $1.5 trillion tax giveaway mostly to Wall Street billionaires and the richest 1 percent.

- compiled by Daily Kos

They announced that they would be simplifying tax forms. The only deductibles would be mortgage interest and charitable contributions. 

Nina Ozlu Tunceli of the Arts Action Fund wrote:

This afternoon, the White House released highlights of President Trump’s tax reform plan (see above). The proposal would reduce tax rates on individuals and businesses. It would also double the standard deduction for individual taxpayers, which would reduce the number of people who itemize their deductions. The plan also states that it would close many of the deductions available to itemizers, except for the home mortgage interest deduction and the charitable deduction. Above is a copy of the plan’s summary that was passed out at the White House briefing today.

More details about the plan will continue to evolve along with Congressional proposals for tax reform. While the charitable deduction is preserved in the current proposal, its impact could actually be weakened by the fact that many middle-class taxpayers would no longer be able to itemize their deductions, like charitable contributions, because of the larger standard deduction. While the standard deduction assumes that taxpayers make charitable contributions, there is no specific incentive nor requirement to prove charitable donations were made.

To get the latest on other tax proposals and their impact, as well as Americans for the Arts “Statement on Tax Reform and the Charitable Contribution Deduction,” please visit the Arts Mobilization 
Center.

Watch The Young Turks thoughts here.

Read former secretary of labor Robert Reich's thoughts here.