this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2024
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

That's all correct, just want to add that the political motivation cannot be understated. Blue states tend to have better employment, higher average wages, and a more educated workforce. As such, they pay more in taxes than their Red State counterparts, both state and federal tax. Plenty of red States under Republican leadership have tried to eliminate most of their state taxes so that they rely even more on federal tax revenues to subsidize their shitty state economies by paying for minimum basic services.

Blue states don't want minimum basic services, they want good services; good schools, good state roads, a modern and competent law enforcement and justice system, a strong system of public higher education and high quality flagship state university, maybe throw in some free in-state tuition, and many other things.

Red States have thrown in the towel on all that stuff, gutted public services and institutions, sold it out to private equity, in the name of lower state taxes.

By limiting the federal deduction for taxes paid to a state, citizens of blue states are once again taxed moreso than citizens of red states. That is the intented consequence of this move by Trump and the Republicans. Just as with their COVID response, their political calculation was that it would harm their political opponents moreso than their own constituents. Since that's the only qualification for Republicans to support a particular policy, Trump enacted it into law. I wouldn't call it treason per se, since tax policy can hardly be considered an act of war or revolt, but it's certainly treasonish in its disdain and contempt for the American people.

"In America there is no us and them, there is only us."

There was so much shit during his presidency, that people have amnesia about all the harm he did.