The Bernie Sanders Republicans

On the campaign trail, President Trump unveiled a series of populist ideas, which according to reporting by Bloomberg, included eliminating taxes on tipped wages, overtime pay and Social Security benefits. He also called for making car-loan interest deductible and raising

the $10,000 cap on state and local tax write-offs, provisions that appealed to voters in battleground Michigan and competitive House districts near New York City.

Those ideas were not only good politics, but they also had desirable, targeted economic benefits as well.

However, there is a subset of Republicans in Congress that are so ignorant of economics that we sometimes despair for the future of the political party that our ancestors helped found and have served in positions from City Hall to the White House.

The latest display of GOP economic folly is the idea circulating among Republicans in Congress that to “pay for” eliminating the federal income tax on tips there should be a new “millionaires’ tax.”

Will the ghost of Milton Friedman please call GOP lawmakers to remind them the cost of government isn’t what it taxes, it is what it spends.

Nor is the cost of government fixed.

Although Big Spenders in the Washington Uniparty would like us all to think so, they could and should align spending on those purposes set forth in the constitution with the taxes citizens are prepared to contribute.

And the message voters sent in the last election was pretty clear – they want taxes and spending cut.

Not only that, but the spending outrages uncovered by Elon Musk and DOGE have created the moment when voters will enthusiastically support major cuts in federal spending.

And we’re talking about real reductions in the federal budget, not the fake reductions in the rate of growth that Washington always claims are spending “cuts.”

However, in the tradition of the GOP being the Stupid Party, our friend Stephen Moore has revealed that he’s hearing Republicans in Congress and some economic advisers in the White House want to raise the highest rate to 40% (or even slightly higher) to punish the rich. Apparently, they've been attending Bernie Sanders rallies, observed Steve.

If this were to happen, Republicans would be raising the income tax rate higher than did Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

And Steve Moore isn’t the only one reporting that the folly of raising taxes has gained currency among some of the less politically astute members of the DC GOP.

Bloomberg reported under consideration is raising the top tax rate, currently set at 37% for incomes greater than $626,350, to 39.6%. That idea, first reported by Axios, means the top rate would revert back to what former President Barack Obama signed into law.

What we find interesting in these reports is that so far, they are all based on off the record, unnamed sources – meaning that their advocates, if they even exist – are unwilling to take ownership of these bad ideas and are probably planning a midnight bill drafting session as the tax bill moves through Congress.

Given that Democrats draw a large percentage of their base support from voters earning more than $200,000 there’s a certain amount of schadenfreude in the idea of raising rates on the enemy.

And, at least according to some polling, it would be politically popular. NewsNation reported roughly 6 in 10 (58%) Americans say tax rates on household income over $400,000 should be raised, according to Pew Research. Most Democrats (74%) support the idea, while Republicans are more divided. A plurality of GOP respondents (43%) were in favor, while 28% thought the rate should be unchanged and 27% wanted it lowered.

The problem is that such a tax scheme perpetuates the fallacy that federal spending can’t be radically reduced.

And we know it can be reduced.

If the government would simply go back to pre-COVID spending levels our back-of-a-napkin calculation is this would reduce federal spending from $6.8 trillion back to $4.4 trillion, or even adding in Bidenflation the federal government would only be allowed to spend $5.368 trillion. That reduction of $1.5 to $2 trillion in spending would be more than enough to “pay for” eliminating the tax on tips, Social Security and the other middle income tax breaks President Trump proposed.

The Capitol Switchboard is (202-224-3121), we urge CHQ readers and friends to call their Senators and Representative TODAY to demand they cut spending and that they should pass on the idea from the Karl Marx – Bernie Sanders wing of the GOP that taxes should be raised on anyone as a form of political punishment.

• 2024 Election

• millionaires tax

• MAGA Agenda

• Consumer Prices

• Trump economy

• inflation rate

• Consumer price index

• COVID

• energy index

• energy prices

• food prices

• prescription drug prices

• core inflation

• tariffs