I was listening to a Sunday morning talk show on the radio, the guest was a Congressman Kelly. Today we have some idea of what is in the tax reform plan put forth by the Republicans in the house, but on Sunday we really didn’t know anything. The interview are asked Congressman Kelly why there had not been more public discussion about some elements of the plan, especially those upon which there was a lot agreement or that might be very appealing to a large portion of the public. Congressman Kelly gave what has become a stereo typical political answer. It’s indicative of why I think so many people hate politicians and our federal government in particular.

Congressman Kelly said that as a member of the Ways and Means committee he had attended over 40 committee hearings in the last six years in which testimony was heard from private citizens and representatives of corporations. It was his opinion that those hearings had given him and his fellow representatives a pretty good idea of what the populace wanted in tax reform. He said that they have listened to us and are trying to come up with a plan that would work to meet our desires and keep the federal government running. There is so much wrong with his answer.

Let’s assume that the Ways and Means committee has conducted 40 hearings over the last six years in an attempt to listen to us and respond accordingly. What have they done in the last six years in response to what these private citizens and representatives of corporate America have told them? Were there tax cuts implemented in the last six years that I missed? Did companies start bringing back money to the United States because the tax policies here and become more favorable? No. These hearings were nothing but window dressing designed to make it look like our elected officials were listening to us and valued our opinion. And based upon much of what is in the tax reform bill that was revealed late this week, they haven’t been listening at all.

It’s kind of like saying they cannot get an agreement on repealing Obama care, yet seven times during the Obama presidency they were able to pass a bipartisan bill which was of course vetoed by Pres. Obama. They were able to get agreement on the bill those times. It was just more window dressing.

I think the political elite are running scared because they see to their power base in Pres. Trump and his popularity with the American people across all spectrums. In case you missed it, there has been more good news regarding our economy in the last couple of weeks. Jobless claims are at their lowest level since 1973; 1 ½ million people were moved off of welfare and into jobs this year alone; we’ve had two straight quarters of 3% economic growth; real unemployment is falling drastically; wage growth is starting again; and as we saw yesterday the president’s policies are bringing companies back to America. These things are being done by the president without the help of Congress and that has them mad as hell.

But we, the American citizens, need to keep their feet to the fire. We must call, write, or email our representatives, especially the leadership in the House and the Senate letting them know we support Pres. Trump’s actions and that we want the swamp drained. There are elements of the tax reform bill that need to be changed to provide relief to every segment of our society; health insurance “reform” needs to be scrapped; and the federal government needs to get spending under control.