Letters to the editor for Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017

Sticking points for congressional tax bills

I am writing on behalf of Concerned Voters Douglas County, a nonpartisan group of citizens. We are concerned that the tax bills being pushed through Congress are being completely misrepresented to us the taxpayers.

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, these bills will add at last $1 trillion to the deficit. The concept that jobs will happen and the economy will improve sufficiently to cover these additions to the deficit has no support from past experience.

If you do not believe the experts, you may check the experiences of the economy after tax cuts by Reagan, George W. Bush and currently in Kansas after tax cuts which have left the state with a huge budget shortfall.

In the words of Dean Heller in 2011, “As our national debt grows, the dollar is weakened and Americans have to work more so they can buy less.”

Let’s take these lessons to heart. We believe that true tax reform requires serious and difficult bipartisan discussions about taxation, expenditures, priorities, and the best possible options for all Americans, rather than just the rich and privileged.

We hope that our representatives to Congress are listening.

Donna Weidner

Gardnerville