We're Not in Kansas Anymore? More Like, We Will All Be in It Soon Enough.

By Dan Rather, Dan Rather's Facebook Page

21 December 17

he headlines and many of the news writers are calling this big tax bill a "win" for President Trump and the Republicans in Congress. I suppose it is, as far as it goes. That is if you define wins and losses solely in vote tallies and Presidential signatures. But is it a win for America? Or even the long-term political fortunes of the Republican party?

That seems to be a pretty short-termed assessment. This bill is unpopular - very unpopular. The Republicans say they can sell it to the public, but they are having a hard time just explaining it to themselves. If you can't get a simple narrative in order, that usually suggests there is something wrong with the underlying policy.

The truth is that according to most non-partisan economic analysts who have studied the bill, this tax "cut" is really a handout to the rich and powerful. And it will almost assuredly enrich individual members of Congress - and almost definitely the President and his family. Of course we would know a lot more about that if he released his tax returns. This tax bill also explodes the deficit (all those deficit hawks seemed to have long since fled the aerie for the green pasture of donor dollars)

Perhaps all the naysayers will be proven wrong. But I sense that this will be a rallying cry for diverse constituencies who really don't like to think that they are being played for suckers by Washington lobbyists, Wall Street and cynical elected representatives. There is a state model for what is happening here. It's Kansas, and if you want to google it the results aren't pretty. We're not in Kansas anymore? More like, we will all be in it soon enough.

Thankfully laws are written on paper and not in stone. A new Congress and eventually a new President could lead the way to fiscal sanity. But damage, perhaps a lot of damage, could lie in its wake.

Perhaps this is a teaching moment about the idea of a Pyrrhic victory.