This summer, six former U.S. Treasury secretaries (under D & R) said there is “$6 billion per year in unpaid taxes.” President Biden wanted to increase funding for the IRS to collect more taxes from wealthy tax cheats and corporations in order to help pay for the Infrastructure Plan, but Republicans fiercely fought against that, so funding for the IRS is out. Imagine that. They slammed the middle (working) class again.

Millionaires and billionaires have had their stealthy hands in our government for years. The GOP delusion of “trickle-down economics” for 40 years pretty much flowed to the top. Over those years, in a well-planned and coordinated effort “laws were put in place to devastate labor unions, rewrite tax law codes, limit voting and undo environmental protection.” Imagine that. Painstaking research done by American historian Nancy MacLean.

The latest Republican schtick is to rebrand the Republicans as “the party of the working class.” Wild! If only George Carlin was alive! Better wake up, reading is fundamental and not on Facebook.

Time and time again the GOP repeat the word socialism. Is it socialism to want a living wage? Is it socialism to want fairness in taxes? Is it socialism to want clean air and water?

In July, only 23 Republicans in our country voted for H.R. 2467 - “National Drinking Water Standards.” In Pennsylvania ALL Democrats voted YES. All Republicans voted NO except Brian Fitzpatrick. It was a NO for Dan Meuser. More evidence when Republicans have power they are a hazard to our health.

If the economic right gets control after Biden, lest you forget, the Republicans have a very long history of being against Social Security and Medicare (socialism) and plan to make permanent cuts or completely defund it. And if you don’t believe that, you are not paying attention to the leaders of your party.

That hate you have for “the other” might eventually come back to smack you right in the face.

Imagine that.

Debra Becker

RN, Retired

Effort