The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the most sweeping comprehensive tax reform in American history since Ronald Regan’s Tax Reform Acts of 1981 and 1986. However, it is clear that everyone will not have the privilege of benefiting from this bill. The rich and corporations are the chosen ones, while people who are at or below the poverty line (one out of eight Americans) will be left out.

The corporate tax rate will go from 35 percent to 21 percent. It’s the largest tax cut for corporations in history. In addition, people with incomes over $500,000 will receive a 2.6 percent tax cut, while folks who make $12,000- $19,000 a year will get no cut and some people could see an increase in their taxes, according to The Washington Post’s analysis of the plan.

The law also entails getting rid of the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act. The individual mandate was put in place to stabilize the health market to reduce subsidy costs. By not requiring folks to be insured it will increase subsidies in the future for families.

All in all, we saw the true intentions of those who supported the bill. We know that they are not focused on reducing poverty; in fact, they are actively working to dismantle programs like Medicaid and SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) as they did when they let funding run out for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

With the law containing $1.5 trillion dollars in tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, it’s a play straight from the Reaganomics play book, and it won’t work. It never has. Unfortunately, we will find ourselves fighting for the aforementioned programs again this year.

— LeAndre Blakeney

Salisbury