Dēmos has measured the comparative effectiveness of five leading fiscal proposals. We evaluate the plans in eight categories: jobs and public investment; health care affordability; Social Security income; education; defense policy; fair and adequate revenues; and long-term debt reduction.
Washington DC – In an important hearing today on the future of America’s middle class, Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee made the case for greater public investment, fairer tax policy, and better job creation to stimulate economic growth and support working Americans. Demos, a national public policy research and advocacy center, supports the effort, as families continue to reel from the recession and high unemployment.
In a fair tax system, everyone pays their fair share, no one pays more than they can afford, and the government raises enough money to fund public goods that benefit us all, like education, housing, transportation, and health care. But the current tax code is inequitable.
Today, congressional Republicans are pushing tax reform proposals that would cost the country over $5 trillion and would likely widen the racial wealth gap and slow economic growth.
Lowering the corporate tax rate will cost the country at least $522 billion over 10 years, money that should be invested in public goods that benefit us all, not further enriching the already wealthy.
Our Taxes Explained series aims to make tax policy clear and accessible. We want people to know what’s at stake and understand how Trump’s tax cuts are designed specifically to benefit the ultra-rich and corporations.
Behind the GOP's populist facade lies a tax plan that would benefit corporations and wealthy households while cutting programs like Medicaid and SNAP. Read more to learn how their tax plan could actually impact working people.
Public goods exist because we invest in them together, and when they are implemented properly, they expand freedom, dignity, and opportunity for all of us. That is how paying taxes becomes an act of care for our community.
What would a truly equitable tax code look like? Dēmos breaks down the congressional proposals that could shift resources away from billionaires and toward everyday people.
