Today, let’s talk about the IRS.
The Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Which benefits working class people many ways, in fact here’s 10:
Allows Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices
Caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for older adults
Prevents higher health care costs
Cracks down on Big Pharma’s greed
Cuts carbon pollution dramatically
Lowers energy costs
Creates American jobs
Invests in communities that suffer the most from environmental and health hazards
Helps build a fairer tax code
Cracks down on wealthy tax cheats
Let’s talk about that last one; the Inflation Reduction Act gives $80 billion to the IRS.
You might have heard about the make believe, crazy version of this from Senator Grassley (R-IA):
I can’t believe I have to clarify this but TO BE CLEAR the IRS is NOT arming 87,000 people to “shoot small-business people in Iowa.”
Here’s what actually is going to happen:
The money is going to be broken down to enforcement, operations, technology modernizations, and other allocations.
Why? Probably because according to this headline from 2018 “The GOP Gutted the IRS — and the Rich Made Out Like Bandits.”
That resulted in the IRS being underfunded and understaffed. According to the National Taxpayer Advocate, the IRS has a backlog of 21.3 million unprocessed paper returns, an average phone wait time of 29 minutes and refunds have been delayed by months.
And if you think the IRS is going after regular, taxpaying Americans, that’s not it. Hopefully, this IRS funding will help them crackdown on the top 1% because according to this Washington Post article, the richest 1% dodge taxes on more than ⅕ of their income!
In fact, if the richest 1% paid their taxes, it’s estimated to be from $200 billion to $1.75 trillion dollars over the decade! That’s money that could fund universal healthcare, public education, investing in our future or soooooo many things!
So if you see Republican officials trashing the IRS, it’s not about helping us out. It’s about protecting the super wealthy from paying their taxes and ultimately screwing you!
YOU’RE PROBABLY (ALSO) GETTING SCREWED BY:
CORPORATE GREED
Things will stay expensive according to this must read article… The price of essentials like rent and medical drugs will never come down to pre-pandemic inflation levels if corporate greed goes unchallenged.
Also, did you know that US corporate profits have soared to the widest margin since 1950!!! This line says it all, unfortunately, “Business is passing on higher costs and then some, data show.”
LACK OF ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT
In case you’re not aware, we are living in a time of unprecedented mergers! The American Economic Liberties Project just released a great report on Why Merger Policy Matters! Hint: you’re getting screwed.
TAX EVADERS
It’s worth repeating, IRS sets the record straight: We’re going after tax evaders, not honest Americans. Here’s an op-ed from Charles P. Rettig, the 49th Commissioner of the IRS.
HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA
Health-care spending is rising around the world, but the U.S. is the worst performer. The United States accounts for more than 40% of all global health spending. We spend so much and get so little in return!!!
***If you have a healthcare story or see a healthcare story posted on social media that needs more attention, please comment below and we will reach out.
BEFORE YOU GO
Before you go, I need two things from you: 1) if you like something, please share it on social media or the next time you have coffee with a friend. 2) Ideas, if you have any ideas for future newsletter content please comment below. Thank you.
Standing Tall for All,
J.D. Scholten
I like the concept of this newsletter, but I think it'd be much more cohesive and impactful if you focused on just one topic with a little more depth each time.
Very informative newsletter, thanks. Given the urgent water shortages in the Western states, and chronic flooding in the Eastern and Southern states, please consider the development of a national water pipeline system. It would be a win-win for the entire country. Each time there was a terrible storm, the national water pipeline would siphon off some of the floodwater and move it to drought-stricken areas. It actually is quite feasible, both technologically and financially. The same equipment used in oil and gas pipelines could be utilized, and most of the distributed storage is already in place with the hundreds of reservoirs throughout the country. I know that states in the Great Lakes region are very protective about their water, but a floodwater-only plan would be a big environmental success story. Imagine Lake Powell and Lake Mead full of water from the recent tragic storms in Kentucky and Texas.