How Republican Tax Cuts Transformed Americans and Communities from Assets to Liabilities
The American people are the most important asset our country has. However, with their policy choices Republicans show that they view most of our people as a liability that should not be invested in or respected. And Republicans certainly don’t see a need to take on more liabilities via immigration. This liability attitude is reflected in the Republicans opposition to: free school lunch, veterans benefits, expanding health care, forgiving college loans, voting rights, etc.
I’m a retired Agricultural Scientist and not an Economist. For 40 years I have traveled to field research sites across America. The first step in the scientific method is observation. What I have observed, as many have, is that the factories and offices that anchored communities have steadily been closed. These were once valued assets. They were continually updated and expanded as needed. Facilities are useless without skilled staff, so staff were treated as the valuable assets they were. The company offered training to improve skills at their cost. The companies, prodded by unions, also offered pay and benefits that reflected how valuable employees were including pensions, health care, paid time off for illness and vacations. The stock value and success of these companies was based on these assets and capabilities. All this happened with high corporate tax rates.
Corporate tax cuts, championed by Republicans, changed this completely. Emphasis shifted for corporations from the above assets to next quarters income and profit. The generous tax write offs for your physical factories and offices were not needed to offset higher tax rates. It became the same for skilled staff. To the MBAs running things the staff and facilities became viewed as liabilities.
Over the years I watched the towns and cities that hosted both staff and facilities become collateral damage. The staff that is now a liability were what supported the department stores. There is no ladder to climb so there is no need to dress for success and buy business attire. The story is similar for all the boarded up businesses down town.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/21/2278360/-How-Republican-Tax-Cuts-Transformed-Americans-and-Communities-from-Assets-to-Liabilities