Even though the midterm election season just got underway, Democrats have been running a campaign of rolling back the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ever since it was signed into law in December of last year. Many on the left, rather, everyone on the left has relegated the Republican-led tax overhaul to a gilded prize for America’s wealthiest citizens, leaving the other 99 percent to fight over scraps in the streets. However, as they have their heads in the sand, what Democrats have apparently not seen are the record stock market increases, hundreds of companies raising minimum wages, record-low unemployment numbers, and bonuses given to million of workers around the country – all which would not have happened with a progressive-laden congressional agenda.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12), who excoriates her own party because of their distrust and displeasure of her, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, “the worst bill in the history of the United States of America.” Such end-of-the-world rhetoric has shown just how out of touch they are, considering the tax cuts have been widely popular and has caused a revitalization in the U.S. market.
Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (VA-10) commented on this reasoning in an opinion piece in the Winchester Star recently, wherein she explains, quite sardonically, “people might list the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 or Jim Crow laws as ‘the worst’ in U.S. history.”
Comstock explained, “So, it’s telling that Pelosi, and her Democrat colleagues, reserve this kind of contempt for a bill that increased the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2000 (and made it refundable for lower-income families), doubled the standard deduction, lowered business taxes by 40 percent, gave death-tax relief to family farmers, and has resulted in bigger paychecks and bonuses for millions across the country.”
Virginia’s Tenth Congressional District is vastly economically diverse. It is made up by the highly-paid federal employees in the Washington suburbs of Fairfax and Loudoun in the eastern portion of the district, and the western side bordering West Virginia packed with farmers, factory workers, and small business owners. Although Comstock represents a wide dichotomy of interests, the federal tax overhaul has helped everyone flourish.
“Here in the Valley, Thermo Fischer Scientific in Middletown was among those companies that provided bonuses ($500) for their employees,” Comstock said, explaining that businesses both small and large have benefited immensely from the tax cuts. When it comes to larger employers like retail giant Walmart – with 138 stores statewide – the tax plan allow corporate to instill wage increases, bonuses, and an expansion of parental leave programs. The congresswoman also said, “Walmart employees who adopt children now will receive $5,000 to help cover expenses in addition to the adoption tax credit in the tax bill!”
Wages are growing at their fastest pace since 2008, with more than four million Americans having already received bonuses due to renewed economic growth. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta shows that increases in hiring are occurring in all industries across the board, and as the labor market tightens, employers will also begin attracting potential employees with higher starting wages and better benefits packages.
To spur innovation and employee benefits throughout their 430 locations in Virginia, McDonald’s has increased tuition investments for employees of $2,500 per year – up from $700 – for crew working 15 hours a week, and $3,000 per years – up from $1,050 – for managers. They have also cut the amount time needed to be with the company to receive the tuition benefits from nine months to only three.
Another big employer in VA-10 and across Virginia, with 264 locations, is Wells Fargo, which has raised their base pay from $13.50 to $15.00 per hour, per the tax cuts. Starbucks has provided $500 stock grants to employees. Fed-Ex increased employee compensation and pension contributions. U-Haul provided $1,200 bonuses for full-time employees and $500 bonuses for part-time employees. Home Depot and Lowe’s have also provided bonuses up to $1,000. These are just some of the many businesses Comstock cited that have flourished in the booming economy, and have given back to their employees.
The non-profit National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reports that small business optimism hit its highest level in 45 years, with 15 percent of all NFIB-related business owners reporting higher nominal sales in the past three months compared to the prior three months. Furthermore, 62 percent of owners have reported capital outlays in the forms of new equipment, vehicles, and expanded facilities.
“All of this and much more means The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is making our economy boom and improving the lives and opportunities of hard-working taxpayers,” Congresswoman Comstock said.
In the seven months since the signing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the National Association of Manufacturers reported manufacturing optimism has skyrocketed. In June, a study found that 95.1 percent of manufacturers have a positive outlook for their companies, an all-time record throughout the 20 year history of reporting figures.
This provides an astounding figure to the economy that is shown in many forecasts to exceed four percent growth during the second financial quarter this year. “We are adding jobs more quickly than previous forecasts predicted — instead of adding 166,000 jobs per month like the Blue Chip forecasters projected, the economy has actually added 207,000 jobs per month,” Comstock stated, as over one million jobs have been created in 2018 alone.
Democrats are “campaigning on the economy” as one of their midterm priorities, which has may scratching their heads due to the fact that tax increases would terminate all growth that has happened since December. Of course, those on the left need to raise taxes to pay for all the programs designed to be deliberate overreaches by the government, for example, Senator Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) Medicare-X.
Comstock’s Democratic challenger, State Senator Jennifer Wexton (D-Fairfax), has admitted time and time again that she will get rid of all the tax and deregulatory reform championed by the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress. While Wexton campaigns on a sentiment of resistance, Comstock brings a proven record of in-district work that includes being an integral part of the growing economic successes in Northern Virginia and the Valley.
“This is only the start of even more good things to come,” she said. “We [Republicans] are continuing our work to build on this momentum to keep our economy moving forward, while Democrats are proposing to take all this progress away and instead impose a trillion-dollar tax increase on American families and businesses by increasing taxes on businesses once again with a 40 percent increase and adding taxes on our farmers and small businesses, and erasing the tax relief for families and thus, reversing the booming economy.”
