AFT President Randi Weingarten on the Passage of the GOP Tax Bill

WASHINGTON—Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on the passage of the GOP tax bill:

“This isn’t tax reform; it is simply the largest transfer of wealth to those at the top in generations—at the expense of working and middle-class Americans. President Trump may have campaigned as a populist, but with his support Congress rammed through a tax plan in which 83 percent of the benefits will go to the top 1 percent by 2027, and where Americans earning less than $75,000 a year will be paying more for this tax cut to the wealthy.  That is why most Americans oppose it.

“America is supposed to be about lifting all boats and giving everyone a shot at the American dream. Instead, President Trump and congressional Republicans are creating a new Gilded Age that prioritizes the wealthy over wage earners. Not only does this bill give massive tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations at a time of record profits, and on a day the Dow opened to another high, but Republicans will pay for these breaks by raising taxes on working people and slashing the deduction for state and local taxes, which will cut funding for public schools, police, and fire services. They even use this tax bill to make it harder for the people of Puerto Rico to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria and build a vibrant economy on the island. And House Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. Marco Rubio and others already have said they will use the deficits they’re creating as an excuse to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

“Most Americans want tax reform—not tax largess and cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy. When Republicans fear their donors more than voters, it's time for voters to take matters into their own hands and put people in office who will bring lasting tax relief to the middle class."