Like thieves in the night, 51 members of the U.S. Senate passed.a tax bill on Dec. 2 at 1:30 a.m that involves the largest ever transfer of the nation’s funds to corporations and to wealthy individuals. Americans overwhelmingly oppose the tax deal, because they understand that it is designed for multinational corporations and the super-rich.
This legislation is entirely about appeasing the donor class. It is fair to say the legislation would drastically increase our nation’s already severe economic inequality, fundamentally changing the character of our country. Plain and simple, it’s immoral.
{mosads}The House and Senate each have now passed their versions of highly detrimental tax plans. In the coming days, they will stitch together a single version both chambers can agree on.
While many details have yet to be figured out, one thing is certain about the bill they will come up with: It will not only increase the nation’s debt, but it will disproportionately affect low and middle-income Americans. To compensate for this debt increase, social safety net programs will either be ended, or cuts to their budgets will greatly diminish the services they provide — people will suffer.
The Senate bill will repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, make the Child Tax Credit temporary and insufficient, allow for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and further widen the massive gap between rich and poor. Moreover, the bill rewards corporate tax evasion, providing a discount tax rate for profits that companies have kept overseas and avoided paying taxes.
Most senators did not have time to read the 500-page bill, as they were given only a few hours between issuance of the bill and the vote itself. This “railroading” the bill through is a disgrace and an insult to our democratic system. It subverts the process by which these sorts of decisions are meant to be made. In the light of a new day, our response is one of grave disappointment, outrage and shame. Common sense and human compassion have been replaced by the greed and personal gain of those who have traded their vote to special interests and political power.
Our tax policies are a statement on the moral compass of our nation. As such, they should reflect our highest calling to take care of the most vulnerable and support a just, equitable society.
The 13th Century theologian and Franciscan St. Bonaventure tells us that how we choose and what we choose makes a difference — first in what we become by our choices and second in what the world becomes by our choices.
This current tax bill chooses to ignore these Christian moral values. Ezekiel 16:49 reads, “This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.” Things did not end well for Sodom.
Pope Francis reminds us, “We need to reject a magical conception of the market, which would suggest that problems can be solved simply by an increase in the profits of companies or individuals. Is it realistic to hope that those who are obsessed with maximizing profits will stop to reflect on the … damage which they will leave behind for future generations?”
Politicians have been promising for decades that tax cuts skewed toward super-rich corporations and individuals will magically “trickle down,” but their promise is a trick. Instead, corporations give CEO’s big bonuses and simply get richer, leaving middle class and poor families holding the bag. That’s immoral.
America is better than this. As the two chambers of Congress begin to reconcile the proposed tax plans, we all need to continue to work hard to advocate for a fair, equitable tax bill that will benefit the common good. We must continue to remind members of Congress that our faith demands us to prioritize compassion and justice for the poor. This basic moral tenet requires that we keep the social safety net intact, protect environmental safeguards, and ensure that hardworking Americans do not labor under unfair tax laws.
Patrick Carolan is a Catholic activist, the executive director of the Franciscan Action Network, and author of the Franciscan Activist.
Brian D. McLaren is a speaker, activist, public theologian and author of “The Great Spiritual Migration.”