The 2021 Omnibus Repealer and Clawback Act A saving grace of 2017 — up until now — is that Trump and the GOP have been the Keystone Kops of Kleptocracy, consistently faceplanting in attempts at regressive domestic legislation. With the passage of the GOP tax bill, that all changes. Not only is it a massive giveaway to the corporations and the wealthy who least need assistance, it actually raises taxes over time over many if not most lower and middle class households. It also sends Obamacare into a death spiral by kicking out the individual mandate, ensuring that the pool of insureds gets sicker and sicker. Meanwhile, the hostage-taking of innocent children via the termination of SCHIP and DACA continues. To top it off, already I am already reading bits
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The 2021 Omnibus Repealer and Clawback Act
A saving grace of 2017 — up until now — is that Trump and the GOP have been the Keystone Kops of Kleptocracy, consistently faceplanting in attempts at regressive domestic legislation.
With the passage of the GOP tax bill, that all changes. Not only is it a massive giveaway to the corporations and the wealthy who least need assistance, it actually raises taxes over time over many if not most lower and middle class households. It also sends Obamacare into a death spiral by kicking out the individual mandate, ensuring that the pool of insureds gets sicker and sicker. Meanwhile, the hostage-taking of innocent children via the termination of SCHIP and DACA continues.
To top it off, already I am already reading bits from erstwhile young liberals like Matt Yglesias (with whom I generally agree) and Ezra “the only thing separating him from David Broder is six feet of dirt” Klein to the effect that the Democrats will only be able nibble around the edges of the corporate tax cuts when they next return to power.
Nonsense.
I want to give you one little ray of sunshine: all of this can be undone, and it can be undone in one fell swoop. The very fist thing I expect, indeed demand, from the next Democratic Congress and President, is The 2021 Omnibus Repealer and Clawback Act, to en masse repeal all Acts and regulations which will have taken effect since January 20, 2017. It should be passed via discharge petition in the House (to prevent it from getting tied up in committees) and via nuking what is left of the filibuster in the Senate if necessary — although the parts that reverse what the GOP is passing via reconciliation should presumably be possible with 51 votes anyway.
Further, there is nothing preventing a complete clawback of all of the tax revenue lost via this bill. The prohibition against Ex Post Facto laws only applies to criminal acts. Taxes can be and have been made retroactive.
If the GOP tries to cement their hold on the Judiciary by increasing the number of Federal judgeships, the Omnibus Act should immediately add another identical number in 2021.
If there are unexpected hardships or snafus, the Executive can be given the power to delay enforcement of any parts of the repealer for, say, 180 days while the Congress works out the kinks (say, by eliminating the debt ceiling entirely). Otherwise, once the laws have been reset to January 2017, we can go to work improving them.
Even in case DACA children are deported, they should be encouraged to keep their paperwork, so that they can be re-admitted in 2021.
For now, just remember that almost all of this horrible stuff is reversible, and if elected Democrats have their feet held to the fire, it can be reversed in toto and immediately.