November 4th,2016, a day many of us will never forget as Donald Trump won the presidential election. Whether you are a supporter or non-supporter I believe many were shocked. Those in support of Trump were ecstatic he won and began celebrating the idea that he would carry out man of his campaign promises. For the people who opposed his election, fear set in as the thought of his campaign promises could soon become a reality. In any election a candidate seeks to gain support from people through advocating for change. In 2016 Donald Trump followed that tradition but what happens when those promises for change are seriously feared? Though it is hard to predict how Trump’s presidency will affect America it should be noted: He is a republican president supported by a republican house of representatives as well as a republican senate in congress. It is safe to assume future policies will align with the views of republicans which take a conservative stance on issues.
Those within the Republican party often support ideas that the government shouldn’t play a big role in the lives or its citizens. In addition, many Republicans favor lower taxes, while this can be beneficial a solution to create tax laws to aid all hasn’t been proposed yet.
From time to time, officials within the government plan a systematic view of issues challenging the country. This is necessary because while doing so plans to improve our current state are presented. Currently issues surrounding taxes are the most prevalent in our government. For years American citizens including business owners, families and individuals have received the short end of our current tax laws that have delayed economic growth. The continuous call for change prompted the latest act of self-reflection which concluded in late December 2017 with a new law set in place to improve America’s issues. This event was identified as focusing on “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” The purpose of this act is to make changes to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, an act that is over 30 years old.
Below is a timeline to the events leading to it being sign into law December 22,2017
Notable points of this act include; the reduction of tax rates for businesses and individuals, the elimination of personal exemptions which makes it less beneficial to itemize deductions, limitation of deductions for state and local income taxes and property taxes; further limiting the mortgage interest deduction; and repealing the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
Larger businesses and those who have high income as well as wealthy people will benefit from the Tax Cuts and Job Act the most, however, those with low income will be adversely affected. In my opinion I believe this act will bring greater inequality. The income gap between Americans is rising, the Republican tax plan will ultimately make the rich richer and the poor and middle class poorer. Not only will working people and the middle class suffer, but so will our whole country.
Economic equality is found within the various measures of economic well-being among individuals in a group, among groups in a population. Economic inequality sometimes refers to income inequality.
It is clear the points presented in this act were proposed to advance one group of individuals, the upper one percent. When it comes to the dollar benefits of this tax plan, the benefits that the top are incomparable to what those in the middle-class would receive. On top of that, as the years go by, the cuts for these families shrink, while the cuts for the richest families go up. It is predicted that over the next ten years those who receive a lower income will end up up getting a tax hike and not a cut.
In addition to helping those at the top wealthy, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would also make the wealth divide amongst racial groups worse than it already is. This is because the bill disproportionately benefit white households. While non-Hispanic whites account for about 62 percent of the nation’s population, they make up about 80 percent of those in the richest one percent and .01 percent. By comparison, African-Americans and Latinos—which account for more than 30% of the population—make up just 3.2 percent and 4.7 percent of those in the top one percent. At the other end of the income spectrum, the opposite of this dynamic is true, as Black and Latino households are over represented among the poorest fifth of Americans.
When implemented this act will:
There are many aspects of this bill that prove its impact on further inequality however, I don’t believe each point is essential to convincing someone of its inequality. I am a graduating college senior who works in the healthcare field. Without question issues surrounding student loan debt and healthcare have plagued our country for years. With the passing of this act both fields take a detrimental hit.
How healthcare works in America can be confusing for its citizens and even from people around the world but it is a social service which is highly relied on. Citizens in need may receive insurance through various ways but ACA, Medicaid and Medicare programs will be directly affected by this bill. The Affordable Care Act makes insurance affordable to more people. The law provides consumers with premium tax credits that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. However, in this act there is a clause which requires citizens to have a health insurance policy or face a $695 fine.
Medicare and Medicaid are two separate, government-run programs that were created in 1965 to allow older and lower-income Americans to buy private health insurance which previously wasn’t possible. Medicare, is a federal program which provides insurance coverage to those 65 and above, have a severe disability, the eligibility of this program isn’t determined by income. Medicaid is a state (and federal) program that provides insurance coverage if you have a very low income.
A major proponent against healthcare in this new bill is the removal of the penalty for not having health insurance. While the removal of the fine seems beneficial in the long run it isn’t. Yes the mandate forces individuals to have health insurance but the cost of care without being insured is greater than just enrolling. The removal of this mandate will result in thirteen million people dropping their health insurance.
This means those who feel they don’t “need” coverage, these people will include healthy and younger individuals. In my opinion I believe the removal of the mandate s a trap to a worse problem. Just two years ago my mom , a healthy middle aged woman, was hospitalized for two weeks. The bill ? Higher than my student loan debt over the course of 4 years. Now if she didn’t have insurance she would have been responsible for thousands of dollars, money that we don’t have. I assume many across the country can and will face the same problem and because they made a decision to “save money” they fall into a bigger crisis.
As a result of thirteen-million people dropping their insurance, those who are elderly and extremely ill will pay the price as premiums increase to make up for the lost enrollees. It is estimated that premiums would rise 10 percent more per year than they would without this change.
The tax bill doesn’t include specific medicare changes but it may trigger future laws to be passed. If the federal budget deficit is increased then federal programs will be cut as stated in the 2010 law, known as Pay As You Go . Currently Federal health care programs account for 30% of the federal budget. Medicare would be the largest program affected, with a potential $25 billion a year, cut to its budget. To cut expenses this could mean a change in who can qualify. For Medicare, this could include increasing the age from 65 to 67 or beyond , caps on spending per beneficiary.For Medicaid, reforms would likely lead similarly to fewer people covered and reduced benefits.
There is one special thing about health care de-stimulus, however, that may not be true of other spending cuts. This involves health care’s effects on population and worker health. The scientific literature demonstrates a strong link between having health insurance and health status. So reducing the numbers of insured Americans — and reducing the generosity of public programs — seems likely to reduce the health of affected Americans. And, in fact, studies have already shown health-status improvements among low-income Americans newly insured through the expansion of Medicaid under the ACA. These improvements would be at risk if Medicaid is cut.
Health insurance is and will continue to be a concern in America
The consequences of a political system that is tilted to the corporate elite is seen in this tax bill, which should shock anyone who believes in caring for those who need a hand, in equality of opportunity. We should all be fearful that this tax bill will make our country so much more economically unequal.
In short, whether you are republican or belong to another party we must come to a consensus, America requires change. However, change should not come at the expense of the people who are considered the backbone of the country. Hopefully in the coming years a new reform will be presented that will decrease inequality while implementing fairness, however, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 doesn’t do either.