Raise Taxes on the Rich? Why Dems Need to Think Bigger

Plus, Trump preparing plan to allow drug imports

Trump Administration Drafting Plan to Allow Drug Imports from Canada

The White House is working on a plan to allow U.S. consumers to import drugs from Canada, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told CNBC Tuesday. The goal is to allow Americans to “get the benefit of the deals that pharma themselves are striking with other countries,” Azar said, though he offered no details on how the plan would work.

Although some states allow it, it is currently illegal at the federal level for Americans to import drugs from other countries, where prices are typically lower than those in the U.S.

Canadian officials are reportedly concerned about available supplies and possible price increases driven by a surge in demand from the U.S., Reuters reported in June. A government briefing in April stated, “Canada does not support actions that could adversely affect the supply of prescription drugs in Canada and potentially raise costs of prescription drugs for Canadians.”

Raise Taxes on the Rich? Why Democrats Need to Think Bigger

As they head into their second round of primary debates tonight, Democrats are having the wrong argument about taxes, argues Monica Prasad, a sociology professor at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research and author of “Starving the Beast: Ronald Reagan and the Tax Cut Revolution.” In a Politico piece, Prasad writes:

“When Republicans come into office they cut taxes for everyone, although more for the wealthy, and when Democrats come into office they raise taxes on the wealthy and sometimes cut taxes for everyone else. Overall, this long-term American tax policy is to continuously cut taxes on the middle class and the poor, while intermittently asking rich people for more money. …

“One way of looking at it is that the Democrats, by consistently raising taxes on the wealthy, but cutting taxes on the middle classes, have defeated Ronald Reagan: They have ensured an American commitment to tax progressivity. But this win has come at the cost of abandoning an increasingly important argument — that someone has to pay the taxes, and that taxes are, in Oliver Wendell Holmes’ words, the price we all pay for civilization. And in that sense, since what he really wanted was ‘small government,’ Ronald Reagan and his tax cut-focused fiscal policies have won.”

Prasad argues that Democrats need to break this cycle and make the case for taxes necessary to finance government programs that can contribute to a growing 21st century economy:

“If you care about the fate of government, the thing to listen for in the Democratic debates isn’t just proposals for taxing the wealthy, it’s whether any candidate has the ability to explain how taxes benefit everyone, individually and collectively, and why government programs can be the foundation of economic growth.”

Read her full piece at Politico.

Why You Won’t Be Using the Postcard Tax Form Next Year

As they pushed their tax overall package in 2017, Republican leaders would sometimes display a tax form printed on a postcard as proof that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would simplify life for millions of Americans. President Trump boasted that the postcard would enable Americans “to file their taxes on a beautiful, little sheet of paper," but critics savaged the smaller form when it was unveiled last summer, with one tax expert calling it “just silly – and wasteful.”

One problem was that the smaller tax form — which was not the size of a postcard — required the use of as many as six additional forms, creating new layers of complexity and opportunities for mistakes while still requiring the use of an envelope. On top of that, about 90% of taxpayers file electronically, sharply reducing the need for a new form.

Heeding the complaints of individual filers and tax preparation professionals, the IRS has decided to retire the new form. The tax agency released a draft of the replacement earlier this month, which you can see here. It looks a lot like the Form 1040 that was used prior to the new tax law taking effect.

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) said he had always doubted the viability of the postcard. “We never believed that it would be a postcard. Never. Not for a moment,” Neal told Bloomberg News. “I heard that over and over again during my time and career and I think that makes more for a good photograph than it does for a good policy.”

Support for Medicare for All Slips: Poll

As Democratic presidential candidates continue to debate Medicare for All, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds that support for the idea has fallen slightly since April, from 56% to 51%.

Kaiser finds that a majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they prefer health care reforms that expand coverage by building on the Affordable Care Act (55%) rather than replacing the law with a Medicare-for-All system (39%).



Nearly two-thirds of Americans now favor a public option, a government-run insurance plan that would be available to all and compete with private insurers. Support for a public option swings considerably, though, depending on what arguments are presented to those being polled:

As Kaiser’s Larry Levitt notes, the poll results show why the Democratic debate is important — and risky: “People have a favorable view of Medicare. They also have a favorable view of employer-provided health insurance and Medicaid. That's why it's so politically perilous to mess with the status quo in health care.”

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Navy’s $13 Billion Carrier Can’t Move Munitions to Its Deck

The $13 billion USS Ford, the first in a new class of high-tech aircraft carriers, has experienced well-publicized issues with its magnetic launching system, propulsion system and weapons elevators. In January, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer told President Trump that he could fire him if the Navy couldn’t get the elevators working by July. It looks like Spencer is going to miss his deadline.

Rep. Elaine Luria, a Democrat from Virginia who served as surface warfare officer on two aircraft carriers over the course of a 20-year career and who now sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told Bloomberg News that only two of the ship’s 11 weapons elevators have been installed, rendering the ship useless as far as real-world operations are concerned.

“Essentially, the ship can’t deploy. It can’t carry ammunition,” Luria said.

The “advanced weapons elevators” on the world’s most expensive warship were supposed to be installed and fully functional by May 2017. Due to the ongoing problems with the elevators and other ship components, the carrier’s testing sea trial phase has now been extended into the fall, though it’s unlikely that the elevators will be fully installed even by then, let alone working properly. “I don’t see an end in sight right now,” Luria said.

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