Unlike response to Obama, GOP silent on debt and deficit
I would like to bring your attention to GOP's latest corporate welfare plan, which they are portraying as tax cuts. This is not a tax cut for corporations, but this is a massive government Supplemental Nutritional Program for Corporations, and where is the money coming from? It is coming from middle-class pockets going into the pockets of top 1 percent of wealthy people. The GOP tax plan will increase taxes for those making less than $75,000 per year.
One provision is to tax graduate students for the money they never saw! Their waived tuition will be considered as income. I came to this country as a student and realized the reason America is the No. 1 country in the world is because of the innovation fueled in university dorms and garages. And Donald Trump is trying to destroy the engine of American innovation.
This is exactly how Russia would like to destroy America! This is the most stupid proposal ever thought of in this country. What is perplexing is that none of the highly paid presidents of universities are vocally talking about this proposal. Why am I not hearing from University of Arkansas President Donald Bobbitt or University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz? I have heard more talk about the future Razorbacks football coach from university officials than on this do-or-die situation for graduate students! How sad is this?
I would also like to bring your attention to the bogus Tea Party activities that took place in the first quarter of 2009. That year, when the first African-American became president of this country and all of a sudden the conservatives were talking about fiscal discipline, debt and deficits and the pretense of a grassroots people's movement. What it was, was a systematic effort to destabilize the first term of first black president of this country. Before 2009, these conservatives didn't talk about the fiscal deficits and debts when Iraq was fought on borrowed money for a fictitious reason. More Americans died in Iraq war than on 9/11 terrorist attack. This phony war added trillions to debt, but conservatives never bothered about debt during Bush years. But as soon as a black young man became president conservatives started talking about debt and deficits.
Why are conservatives not talking about debt and deficits that will be added by this corporate nutritional supplemental program, i.e. corporate welfare? Because now a white person is occupying the White House instead of Barack Obama, who was a black and son of an immigrant? When Trump and his cronies are pushing for this corporate welfare program, the conservative media is keeping its mouth shut on debt and deficit. Even mainstream media is silent. Nobody is asking Tea Party mushroom outlets that sprung out in 2009 about their silence.
This is beyond disgusting.
Ani Marathe
Bentonville
Commentary on 12/04/2017