Has hell frozen over? On the day before federal tax returns were due to be filed last week, the NYTimes ran a piece that admitted, rather belatedly, that PDJT’s tax reform package of 2017 resulted in lower taxes for the vast majority of Americans.
The reductions were broad-based and hit all levels of the middle class just as PDJT and the Republicans said it would. This is logical since the tax rate for middle-income earners was cut and the standard deduction was increased. Fewer than one in ten households across the entire spectrum of tax filers, rich and poor, actually saw an increase in federal taxes. And less than 2% of lower income filers were in this category.
Why the skepticism and even outright refusal to believe facts? Much of this can be attributed to the Democratic disinformation campaign (in other words, their outright lying about the potential effects). The Times called the campaign “sustained and misleading.” This has to be the understatement of the year. This campaign told the public that the reform package would raise taxes on the middle class while “giving tax breaks to the rich.” This was blatantly false and the Democrats knew it.
As dishonest as it was, this campaign, aided and abetted by a media being led around by the nose by the Democrats, worked. At the time that the package was passed, two thirds of all Americans and 75% of Democrats did not believe that their taxes would be lowered. At this writing, despite the facts, this has changed only marginally.
Peter Skurkiss over at American Thinker notes,
There are several major takeaway points from all this. First, it shows how inherently dishonest Democrats and their media accomplices are. They are of the left, and the left is devoid of any decency and scruples. These people will lie and cheat about anything and everything to satisfy their lust for power. Lying for ‘the cause’ is a badge of honor for them.
The second point is even more depressing. The Times story illustrates how powerful the mainstream media still is and how terribly gullible people are to its propaganda. The left-wing media is a clear and present danger to sound and honest government.
The Times is coming clean now that the damage of the Democratic propaganda has been done. Who knows how many Republican seats were lost in the House in 2018 because people believed the GOP increased their taxes?
I agree with Peter Skurkiss. A dishonest MSM is a clear and present danger to honest government. In fact, it is a clear and present danger to the continuation of this grand experiment in self-rule that our founding fathers gave us over two hundred years ago. Power corrupts and the Democrats are showcasing this axiom every day.