According to Jack Turban in Scientific American, “The model of social value orientation, humans can be placed into three rough categories – 60 percent of people are pro-socials, meaning they prefer resources to be distributed equally among everyone; 30 percent are individualists, meaning they are primarily concerned with maximizing their own resources; roughly 10 percent are competitive, to them, the most important outcome is that they have more than other people.”
This model is supported by the current National Geographic survey of where people are happiest: Denmark, Singapore and Costa Rica. The conclusion of this survey is happiness is the result of all three nations having programs to remove the three greatest economic threats to the average citizen – education, medical expenses and economic safety nets.
So what is the GOP up to with their current tax proposal? We know they are willing to suffer incredible humiliation at the hands of Trump, have no sympathy for their (new) “forgotten man” voting base, no hesitancy to sell their souls to the wealthy, eliminate medical coverage for much of America, whore their basic premise for revising the federal tax act by loading the national debt with $1.5 trillion.
Let’s just look at one “payoff” item. The ‘pass through taxation’ was a tax incentive for small business. Now, it’s extended to corporations and billionaire hedge fund owners. Guess who’s money is passing through?
So why are they so dogmatically pursuing these changes? I think the basic driver/premise is to reverse the New Deal/Great Society act’s that created a “minimal floor” of care and economic support for the American people.
Given the GOP’s three pillars – God, guns and veterans – it’s more of a DNA/religious vs. ideological and philosophical thing. But let’s be more basic, which of these dictums best matches the GOP? “Nature (society) is the realm of laws, stern and unbreakable vs. morality, that of humanism and freedom.”
So what’s the likely outcome of the new GOP tax bill? the conscious sacrificing of America as a great nation, it’s super-power status, economic leadership, meritocracy, ending separation of church/state and beacon for human rights to achieve their vision of a “pure” America.
I’ll bet the only thing they really respond to is the next lobbyist with money for their vote!
Dave Blake
Chromo
