The upper middle class got totally suckered by the Republican Party

One percenters couldn't get tax cuts through ObamaCare repeal, so now the upper middle class is going to pay

House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

Republicans are planning a tax "reform," and as usual this is code for a gigantic handout to the rich, in the form of a huge corporate tax cut and elimination of the inheritance tax. Somewhat unusually, they are at the moment attempting to partially pay for it by soaking the upper-middle class — limiting some tax benefits which the upper-middle class relies on, including the mortgage interest deduction and the deduction for state and local taxes.

It's just one more example of how the upper middle class is being played for fools by Republicans — and by the entire idea of tax subsidies. If they had any sense, they'd sign up with Bernie Sanders-style universal programs and get back at their real enemy: the top 1 percent.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.