Gaetana Drake: GOP ignored ‘reform’ that would really have helped us
If the GOP truly wanted to help us they could increase the amount of money we can have deducted pre-tax from our paychecks to use for un-reimbursed medical expenses (co-pays, deductibles, medical/dental bills that aren’t completely covered by insurance, etc). Currently the maximum deduction is $2,600 per year. Why not make it $4,000 or more? It reduces the tax burden on people who have chronic conditions and major medical expenses.
Instead, wealthy people can now deduct private school tuition, but college students can’t deduct student loan interest; and teachers can’t deduct the classroom supplies they pay for, nor can police officers and firefighters deduct the cost of their uniforms. Didn’t Trump say he loves police officers? He sure doesn’t know how to show it.
We learned the hard truth about the tax plan when Trump walked into a room full of millionaires at Mar-a-Lago and said “you all just got a lot richer.” He lied to his supporters and he’s shown that every day since his inauguration. Vote blue in 2018 and remove the elected representatives who approved this tax give-away to the wealthy.
Gaetana Drake, Modesto
This story was originally published January 3, 2018 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Gaetana Drake: GOP ignored ‘reform’ that would really have helped us."