Crowd Leader: I can’t be distracted by $1,600! And I sure as hell can not be bought for $1,600! Will you be bought for $1,600?

Crowd: (Shouting) NO!

Rep. Reed’s Facebook response: Last night a group of extreme arrogant liberals protested outside of our office and chanted that they would not accept a tax cut for hardworking families. I know their values do not represent our district and that our hardworking families desperately need tax relief. Like and share if you support tax cuts.  Reported in an November 30 Facebook post.

The above  quote came from a 45-minute rally, sponsored by the Citizens for a Better Southern Tier, at a public park near Rep. Tom Reed’s Corning office. The rally was recorded by a member of Rep. Reed’s campaign team, and was edited down to a 15 second sound bite. I was there. What was edited out included comments by retired Ministers, health care workers, labor leaders, health care patients, retirees, current workers, Teachers and more. They were talking about how the GOP Tax Plan would negatively affect the people of the NY23rd.

Rep. Reed jumped on this quickly! He does not want his supporters (aka Base) to hear other ideas than his own. He wants to have his constituents (2018 voters) focus on the higher income we will be seeing in our paychecks. The crowd leader is telling us not to be distracted by $1,600. What she is referring to are the details of the GOP Tax Plan:

• “The large increase in the deficit will inevitably lead to calls for greater spending cuts, which are likely to include dramatic cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and other important programs serving older Americans.”–AARP

• “The bill will increase many homeowners’ monthly housing costs by scaling back deductions that allow them to reduce mortgage interest and property taxes.” New York Times

• “Homeowners in high-tax states  New York,  New Jersey and California, could be losers, particularly if they have high property taxes. Our ability to deduct our local property and state income taxes from their federal tax bills is now capped at $10,000. ” New York Times (The following are the other high tax states:  Oregon, Minnesota,  Iowa, Vermont,  District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Wisconsin)

• “GOP lawmakers prioritize tax cuts over children’s health program.” MSNBC

• “Employers would no longer be able to deduct from their taxes the cost of providing parking or transit passes worth up to $255 a month to workers.”–CBS

• Repealing the individual insurance mandate is expected to make average insurance premiums on the individual market go up by about 10 per cent reportedly up to 25% in rural areas). All told 13 million fewer Americans are protected to have health coverage to the Congressional Budget Office.”–New York Times  (Note our insurance companies will calculate next year’s (2019) prices in October, 2018.)

• “By increasing the federal tax burden on individuals, advocates worry that states, counties, and school boards will have a tougher time raising money for schools, which gets most of their resources from state and local taxes.”–Washington Post (Also our insurance companies will calculate next year’s (2019) prices in October, 2018.)

• “For starters, 10 million children under 17 in the lowest-income working families–who already receive only a partial Child Tax Credit or no credit at all–will receive either no improvement or a token increase of $1 to $75.”–Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

• “Eliminates personal exemptions: Today you’re allowed to claim a $4,050 personal exemption for yourself, your spouse and each of your dependents. Doing so lowers your taxable income and thus your tax burden. The GOP tax plan eliminates that option. For families with three or more kids, that could mute if not negate any tax relief they might get as a result of other provisions in the bill.”–CNN

• “This bill treats affiliates of American companies in Puerto Rico as if it is a foreign country and imposes a 12.5 percent tax on intellectual property”–New York Times

Yes, according to Rep. Reed and the GOP Talking Points, we will receive a tax break. They are hoping we will begin to see it in our February paychecks and we will praise them for their efforts.  Most of us look forward to a refund after we file our taxes. Don’t be surprised if  we see a much smaller refund  for the 2018 taxes.

We can not be distracted by focusing on the increase in our 2018 paychecks.  We  need to understand how the new Tax Plan affects our family’s financial future.