The GOP Tax Scam was supposedly meant to help working- and middle-class Americans. We all know it didn’t do that. However, one provision in the bill was supposed to be set aside especially to help low-income Americans instead of feed Trump’s #CultureOfCorruption.
“Opportunity Zones” were supposed to be designed to increase investment in “economically distressed” areas by offering tax benefits to developers. But, like most things in Trump’s tax bill, they turned out to be scam.
In reality, the tax bill was written to leave a door open for wealthy investors and developers to take advantage of the opportunity zone designation—with little to no benefit for the people who need the help. And guess who walked through that door?
Trump’s son-in-law.
Jared Kushner’s family owns real estate on the Jersey Shore and poured an extra $13.5 million into their properties in the area after it was designated as an “opportunity zone,” likely making for a nice, tidy profit. Several Trump Organization properties and projects might also qualify. The legislation “includes no guarantees that the investments will benefit the community.” How convenient for Trump and Kushner.
There’s been nothing left untouched by Trump’s culture of corruption, but in the new Congress the free ride will finally end.
TRUMPIFYING THE JUDICIARY.
The GOP-led Senate made disgraceful history yesterday. For the first time in the history of the United States, a federal judge was confirmed to a lifetime position by a tie-breaking vote from the vice president.
Jonathan Kobes, nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, should have been soundly rejected.
Kobes received a “not qualified” rating from the ABA. He boasts a record that is extremely hostile to both women and the LGBTQ community. The ABA even commented that none of Kobes’s writing samples were “reflective of complex legal analysis.” That is a basic requirement for a U.S. Circuit Court Judge.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made it crystal clear: His main priority is helping Trump jam as many unqualified, offensive nominees onto the federal bench as possible, as long as they can be counted on to rule in favor of the Republican political agenda.
As McConnell tries to ram through a package of disturbing judges in an end-of-year sweep, the Senate must hold their ground and reject Trump’s quest to remake the federal judiciary in his own corrupt, unqualified image.