Trump's Tax Reform, America vs. The Elites, Moore Wins Big

Gary Bauer

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Trump Tax Reform Revealed - President Trump flew to Indianapolis today to deliver an address making the case for dramatic tax reform. This morning, the White House released general details of the plan. Here's what we know so far:

• The existing seven tax brackets will be reduced to three brackets of 12%, 25% and 35%.
• The president is reportedly open to the possibility of a fourth bracket on the highest earners if it is needed to provide additional relief to the middle class.
• The standard deduction will be doubled to $12,000 for an individual and $24,000 for a married couple. This will dramatically simplify tax filing for the vast majority of Americans.
• Families will benefit from various adjustments to the per child tax credit, including a $500 credit for non-child dependents such as elderly parents.
• The tax code will be simplified by eliminating many deductions. The most popular deductions for charitable giving, mortgage interest, higher education and retirement savings will remain.
• The alternative minimum tax and the death tax will be repealed.
• The corporate tax rate will fall from 35% to 20%.
• Small businesses, which often pay the top individual rate of 39.6%, will benefit from a significantly lower 25% tax rate.
• The president's plan also calls for repatriating foreign profits held overseas by U.S. corporations due to high domestic tax rates. Most estimates suggest this could return $2 trillion to the U.S. economy.

Again, these are goals the president is advocating. On balance, I think they would do wonders for the economy. How much agreement he gets from Congress remains to be seen.

Fake News Alert - CNN recently reported that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a former Marine general whose son was killed in Afghanistan, opposed President Trump's comments about the NFL anthem protests. As usual, that was fake news from the Clinton News Network.

Kelly told CNN he was "appalled" by the protests, adding: "I believe every American, when the national anthem is played, should cover their hearts and think about all the men and women who have been maimed and killed. Every American should stand up and think for three lousy minutes."

America vs. The Elites - Listening to the chattering class and the political consultants on TV, it is easy to come away thinking that there is only one view of the NFL anthem protests and that President Trump is wrong and out-of-touch.

That may be the prevailing view of our cultural and media elites, but a new Reuters poll exposes the growing chasm between the elites and the rest of America.

The poll asked Americans whether they "almost always" stand in silence when the national anthem is played. Eighty-five percent said yes. Only 11% said they did not. And that got me thinking.

A recent Washington Post poll found that 8% of Americans have a "good or great deal of trust" in North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Last month, a Rasmussen poll found that 7% of the public felt that monuments to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson should be removed from the public square.

This roughly 9% of the population that doesn't stand for the national anthem and prefers Stalinist dictators over our Founding Fathers are the same people we see pulling down statues, wearing black masks and attacking conservatives at public rallies and who are preaching that America is an evil country.

In a country this free, that provides so much to its citizens, it seems that roughly one of ten people can hardly be called "Americans," they don't want to be Americans and they side with a foreign tyrant who assassinates his family members.

Back to that Reuters poll, by a whopping 25-point margin (58% to 33%), Americans felt that professional athletes "should be required to stand during the national anthem." It seems President Trump is much more in tune with the American people than our cultural and media elites are.

By the way, several NFL sponsors and small business owners are starting to take matters into their own hands. They are pulling player endorsements and turning off NFL games in their restaurants, bars, etc.

The public is with us on the flag/anthem issue. There isn't much on the GOP agenda that enjoys a 58% approval rating. Yet the GOP establishment, like a party of accountants, will fight to the death for lower marginal tax rates (which I support), while it ignores the cultural issues that already have broad public support. This controversy is a great opportunity, but only Trump seems to appreciate that.

The left is relentless in its assaults on our country and our values. Sadly, America does not have a party that is committed to fighting back in defense of faith, family and freedom. But hopefully that is changing.

Moore Wins Big - Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore won big in last night's Senate runoff election. Moore defeated incumbent Senator Luther Strange 55% to 45%. I am both happy and sad about these results.

I am happy that Judge Roy Moore won. I endorsed him and urged our Alabama supporters to vote for him.

As you know, Moore ruffled feathers as a state official by defending the Ten Commandments with as much vigor as left-wing officials defended same-sex marriage and ignored laws on the books against it. They were hailed as heroes.

Moore not only got flak from the left, but he also took hits from many on our side because he didn't do what the GOP establishment too often does -- back down from a fight.

I am sad because by most estimates $30 million raised by the party establishment was wasted trying to defeat Moore. I wouldn't be surprised if the Democrats simply take many of those anti-Moore ads and use them in the general election against him.

But if the goal of spending $30 million was to help elect more Republicans, just imagine what $10 million in each state would do to help flip Democrat-held Senate seats in Indiana, Montana and North Dakota.

President Trump said that even though he endorsed Luther Strange, he would be strongly supportive of Judge Moore if he won. True to his word, the president called Moore last night to offer his help.

On a somewhat related note, news broke yesterday that Tennessee Senator Bob Corker is retiring. Sen. Corker is a nice man but clearly part of the GOP's establishment wing. Tennessee is a conservative state. I am optimistic that we can "upgrade" this seat with a solid conservative candidate.

I am committed to doing everything I can to support Roy Moore and conservative fighters like him. GOP moderates prevented us from repealing Obamacare. They are standing in the way on a host of other issues. We need more conservatives in Congress.
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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