Dingell hosts town hall meeting with other elected officials to discuss Republican tax plan

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-12th District), along with state and local elected officials, hosted one of many planned town hall meetings Saturday to discuss resident’ concerns about the newly enacted Republican tax plan.

Stephanie Leiser, a lecturer on economic and tax policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said the new tax plan will result in a $1.46 trillion tax cut over the next 10 years.

“While economic growth is estimated to offset $385 billion of the deficit, there will still be $1.1 trillion that will either increase the deficit or result in cut spending,” she said. “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have broad impacts on families and businesses, but it was passed by Republicans with almost no public discussion. We all deserve an opportunity to understand and discuss these changes so that we can decide for ourselves whether they reflect our values and priorities.”

Ted Lutz, financial secretary for the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights Local No. 1045, said he doesn’t think that the tax plan will create jobs and that it will actually cost taxpayers $1.5 trillion.

“At minimum, this tax bill will cost us $1.5 trillion and it won’t create any jobs,” Lutz said. “I don’t know about you but I look around and I can think of a few things we could do with $1.5 trillion. I see roads we could repair, bridges we could build, and good jobs we could create through investments in infrastructure and education rather than a handout to CEOs who have already admitted that this tax bill won’t create any new jobs.”

Dingell made her feelings on the tax plan very clear.

“Today’s town hall was about giving people the opportunity to ask questions, share concerns, and hear from local officials and policy experts,” she said. “Everyone knows where I stand – I voted against the Republican tax bill because it added trillions to our debt, promotes offshoring of jobs, kicks 13 million people off their health care, and puts corporations over working families. Now that the bill is law, we must ensure that working men and women have an understanding of the tax bill so they can plan for the future. My top priority continues to be putting working families first and fighting to protect the programs the American people rely on.”

Dingell said she is more than willing to work with Republicans and President Donald Trump for nonpartisan matters that affect everyone, regardless of party affiliation.

“It is my job to work with everybody,” Dingell said. “We have to do whatever we have to do to work for you. Everybody has a right to quality, affordable health care and living.” State Rep. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) said her concerns are geared toward self-employed people who receive 1099 tax forms.

“Contract workers or employees that receive 1099 forms can’t receive worker’s compensation or unemployment insurance,” she said. “I’m very concerned that this could affect what tax brackets certain people fall into; depending on if they get a raise, even the slightest change can put them in a different grouping that could really affect their income. I’m concerned about the itemizations as well, and I think that with the deficit that would grow our biggest fears should be that they’d cut funding for programs our citizens have been working and saving their whole careers for, like Social Security and Medicare, or cut funding for public safety and education. There are a lot of concerns that this plan raises.”

State Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D-Taylor) said he learned a lot from the town hall event. “I’m amazed at how many people came out in the cold to this event,” Hopgood said. “It’s great to see so many people in our communities that are concerned and staying aware of these types of changes and actually engaging in the conversation and asking questions and voicing their concerns. I think having experts here with us really helped teach everyone a lot about the long-term effects of this tax plan.”

Taylor Mayor Rick Sollars said he agrees the town hall event was educational for residents.

“I think there is a lot of confusion, especially with the politics involved,” he said. “However, I think overall this event was very helpful. I’d like to do more of these events in Taylor moving forward. We had guests from as far out as Livonia and Ann Arbor, Taylor is a good central location and I would really encourage more people to attend the next of these events and do as much research as possible. With so much going on in social media, not all information is correct and it can be really confusing to people who might not understand the ins and outs of how this affects health care as well, so these town hall meetings are critically important.”

Maggie Randolph, senior research analyst for the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation, said one of the things people should be concerned about is what the tax plan changes will do to their health care and insurance options.

“Because of the mandate being repealed and citizens no longer having to pay a penalty for not having health insurance,” she said, “we could start to see premiums go up 10 percent every year, and it could cause insurance companies to back out of the marketplace and inevitably offer much fewer options for service providers.”

State Rep. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown Twp. ) said he is very scared for the people of his district.

“I’m afraid that with this tax plan will come eventual cuts to Social Security and Medicare, which would have a tremendous impact on my district and ultimately result in a higher poverty level of people over 65,” he said. “It’s very concerning.”

Dingell said she also is concerned about the programs that could end up losing funding due to this new tax plan.

“I am very concerned about the long-term impact,” she said. “We need to be investing in education and emergency services and it’s already been stated that funding for Social Security and Medicare would be first to be depleted. But what does this also mean for our emergency services and education for our children? I’m very concerned about jobs as well. There are a lot of unknowns and a lot of concerns with this. It is no secret that I voted against this, but I have said it over and over and I will continue to say it. ... I am more than willing to work with Republicans and President Trump to develop a fair, nonpartisan plan for everyone. It’s our job to work together and I am willing to work with anyone for the benefit of the people I represent.”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was based on tax reform advocated by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. It includes reducing taxes for businesses and individuals by means of increasing a standard deduction and family tax credits. It also limits personal exemptions, making it less beneficial to itemize deductions. This will also limit deductions such as state and local income tax, property taxes, limiting mortgage interest deductions, reducing the alternative minimum tax for individuals and eliminating it for corporations, and also repealing the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, which means individuals can no longer be penalized for not having health insurance.

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