Remember all the attention Sen. Susan Collins got for her efforts to make the GOP’s “tax reform bill a little less dreadful for working people? You wonder if that was just a fig leaf for all the good it did, but did you notice that Rep. Bruce Poliquin had no problem stuffing his own pockets and he hardly got any blame at all? The tax cuts he supported are spending increases, just out of another pocket. These were designed to give huge gifts to the richest 1 percent — a group that includes him and most of Congress. Most people I talk to don’t know that the contributions we pay into Social Security are capped, so when once someone earns just under $130,000 a year, they don’t pay in anymore for that year. For the average run-of-the-millionaire, that’s usually around Valentine’s Day. If all income were taxed like yours is, the solvency of Social Security wouldn’t be in doubt.

From now until November, keep your eyes open. Watch how much Poliquin says we must cut spending to reduce the deficit. And while you’re at it, look at your pay stub to see if FICA taxes are withheld from your pay each payday. Register to vote, and when you go to the polls, remember that you can’t trust your future to a hedge fund manager. He’ll always make out much better than you.

Judy Judkins

Belfast

Copy the Story Link