Re: I don't get it
The source quoted in the article says "increasing overall average after-tax income by 2.2 percent", and yet the entire article is full of snarkiness about how great is it for the companies. Isn't having 2.2% more income great for EVERYBODY?
See that bit you quoted about it being an average of 2.2%?
It isn't distributed evenly. It's distributed unevenly at first. Later on, some provisions expire and then it will be distributed very unevenly. There are also other provisions that are set to expire that will redress the balance somewhat, but the Republicans in Congress have all cheerily admitted that those "temporary" provisions will stay in place as long as they have control, because they'll keep renewing them.
Oh, and there are tax cuts for the rich. Big tax cuts. But if you're rich because you own companies rather than rich because you run companies, you get even bigger tax cuts. So they're not giving an incentive to the CEOs, they're giving incentives to the parasitical major shareholders. If you work your balls off running a big company you get a tax cut. The guy who owns the company and does fuck-all gets a much bigger tax cut.
Oh, and the property/state tax thing adversely affects those in states with high property/state taxes. They won't be able to write off as much of those against federal taxes. Big John and bombastic bob will be along to say that's a good thing, because why should people in Shithole, Alabama subsidize people in New York? Except. New York pays more in federal taxes than it receives (as do most Democratic states). Alabama receives more in federal taxes than it receives (as do most Republican states). So New York already subsidizes Alabama, but now New Yorkers are going to subsidize Alabamians even more.
Oh, and the estate tax thing affects only the incredibly rich.
So yes, it's 2.2% on average. Right now, but not in future years. And the vast bulk of that will end up in the pockets of 0.1% if the population.
Do you get it now?
How about Senator Bob Corker saying he was going to vote against the bill because it would balloon the deficit and Corker is very much against increasing the deficit. Then a provision got added to give more breaks to real estate companies. Then Bob Corker changed his mind for no discernible reason and voted for the bill. It's pure coincidence that he owns a very big real estate company.
Do you get it now?
The maths behind saying the bill will only add $1.5 trillion to the deficit is based on a very unrealistic assumption for growth that sane economists everywhere (and even some of the insane ones at the Chicago School of Economics) say cannot happen.
Do you get it now?
It was written in secret and rammed through Congress with almost no debate, because if the public had chance to learn the full implications they'd have been hanging Congresscritters from lamp posts.
Do you get it now?