Jon Ellingson: It’s time for government to work for all of us again, not just the billionaires

We founded our country upon the “self-evident” principle that we are all created equal. Abraham Lincoln reaffirmed this at Gettysburg when he asserted that our government should not be directed to the benefit of a ruling aristocracy, but should be a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

These principles differentiate our republican form of government from the autocratic monarchy from which our immigrant settlers fled. At its core it means that each of us, when born, is blessed with the same political rights as the next one; that none of us is born with more political rights than the other. These rights manifest themselves with the right to vote: just one vote per person. This was a radical idea in 1776.

But its meaning is broader than just political. The principle implies that each of us has an equal right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” This right cannot be lost or transferred to another. It is an essential element of our citizenship. The social implications of this right are profound. Every one of us should be able to start life’s journey at roughly the same starting point and no one is entitled to a head start because of their ancestry. The war of  independence was a revolution against an aristocracy based on inherited wealth where your social standing and future opportunities were established at birth.

How far have we strayed from these ideals? The latest Trump tax cuts tell the tale.

The Penn Wharton Budget Model assessed the total scope of the Republican tax plan including the reductions in federal support for Medicaid, food stamps (SNAP) and other programs that help pay for the tax cuts. These programs directly affect the poorest. When the full impact of the tax plan is measured, people making between $17,000 a year and $51,000 a year will actually lose $700 each year in after tax income. The after tax income of folks with incomes more than $4.3 million a year, the top .1%, will have $389,000 a year more to spend on their mansions, yachts, fine wine and caviar.

This is truly a government program that serves only the wealthy, while it ignores the needs of the rest. Moreover, it demonstrates dramatically that control of our government has fallen into the hands of the rich and powerful who now direct it to serve their selfish interests first. Montana’s Republican delegates to Congress have recently bragged about how good this tax cut will be for middle income Montanans. Write and tell them to stop lying to us. The truth needs to be told.

Our democracy cannot survive when a handful grasp for more wealth than they could ever spend while the rest of us struggle to pay for life’s necessities. The Trump tax cuts enrich those who already have more than they need at the expense of those who do not have enough. Let us reclaim our democracy and rededicate it to the service of all of us.