[ad_1]
Something strange and unknown has taken root in Washington, DC in recent days. Between the passages on the last imprescriptible crime of Donald Trump, the Republican intransigence in the face of the cataclysmic closure of the government, and whatever the worldliness of the day on the front page, the cable TV shows took the time to talk about proposals honest policies to God.
Specifically, we find ourselves in a national conversation about marginal tax rates. Here is how we got here: A rising star of the Democratic Party has sought to present itself to the American people by extolling the virtues of charging its fair share to the richest of them for the good of the country.
There was a time in a very prosperous America – an America that developed a middle class, an America in which working families were gaining better and better, generation after generation – where the highest marginal rate was well over 50 %, "She said. defending his call for a thorough re-examination of the federal tax code, which has been the subject of several Republican sabotage rounds in recent decades.
And yes, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was also talking about marginal tax rates. But the quotation above does not come from the youngest representative of Congress. Rather, it comes courtesy of the new presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). This remark took place last July, during an interview with a disbelieving CNBC host.
Warren's entire political career was largely built on a carefully crafted tax policy platform, particularly his fixation on the means by which lawmakers could reduce the growing income inequality and its effects.
And yet, Warren's decades of experience in the fields of consumer credit and law have recently failed to generate a fraction of the buzz that a single sentence from the 15-minute segment of the market. Ocio-Cortez on 60 recent minutes [19659008] via Google Trends "/>
But this is not a reflection on Warren or Ocasio-Cortez Economists of all kinds are capable of divergences thoughtful and motivated about the advantages and disadvantages of a marginal tax rate of 70%, but it is undeniable that it is a perfectly healthy fiscal policy, rich in historical precedents, and not a frightening Communist communist expropriating the incomes and put them back in the state
No, the big difference in public reaction to the comments of Elizabeth Warren from there six months ago compared to the comments of. Ocasio-Cortez six days ago Bear is entirely due to the fact that the latter has gained an involuntary ally and a powerful secret weapon: the Republican Party.
The 60-minute interview had not even been fully aired before the Conservatives began shouting at Ocio-Cortez's proposal regarding a new installment of taxation, which would impose a marginal tax rate of 70% on employees earning more than $ 10 million a year. . The most troglodyte of them focused on the age of Ocasio-Cortez (and, of course, on sex) to portray her as a naive and uninformed star who blindly gushed from socialist topics of discussion. Those who managed to control their sexism simply suggested that his proposal was radical or extreme. But most of them could not help taking pictures of the new legislator.
In doing so, they only amplified his message. On Monday morning, his comment was everywhere. On Tuesday, the reactions of his economists, politicians, historians and pollsters on his commentary multiplied on the Web. But if the Republicans hoped that their amplified signal would expose Ocasio Cortez, discrediting it under the ruthless gaze of public opinion, they again miscalculated.
A poll commissioned by The Hill / HarrisX soon after Ocasio Cortez's commentary was aired, he revealed that a solid majority of voters – 59 percent – agreed his proposal. Southern voters favored his plan by a margin of 14 points; rural voters approved by 12 points. Even self-identified Republicans have been relatively attentive to the plan, with 45 percent of respondents agreeing to Ocasio-Cortez's tax proposal. Conservative commentators and lawmakers, convinced that the public would join them in overtaking Ocasio Cortez, instead have pushed his support to his direction, going in the direction of raising taxes for the wealthiest Americans. a way that few liberals could accomplish. [19659015] All your base (are) belongs to us ? https://t.co/brwNKJ8wrh
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) 19 January 2019
This should not make us forget the efforts of Ocasio-Cortez herself. From the moment she stepped in after overthrowing the fourth-strongest Democrat in the House at the June primary, AOC played her conservative foes like a violin. Every time Fox News tries to qualify her as radical, she calmly triggers Instagram and organizes from her kitchen an impromptu town hall meeting the moral imperative of universal health care or affordable higher education. Whenever a Republican lawmaker tries to embarrass her on Twitter for speaking badly, she uses the same platform to soak them up with such ease and such ruthlessness that it's a miracle that They do not delete their accounts on the spot.
The Republicans would have been much better if they had simply ignored Ocasio-Cortez. You did not hear so much about Elizabeth Warren's similar comments on marginal tax rates this summer, because the conservative media has slugged them down. Now, the entire Democratic primary field in 2020 is going to be questioned about the increase in tax rates on higher income earners. As this week's polls show, this conversation will be beneficial overall.
