Should-Read: Paul Krugman: Days of Greed and Desperation

Should-Read: Paul Krugman: Days of Greed and Desperation: “The House tax bill is wildly regressive; the Senate bill actually raises taxes on most families, while including a special tax break for private planes…

…In effect, the GOP is giving middle-class Americans a giant middle finger. What’s going on?… [Perhaps] many Republicans now see themselves and/or their party in such dire straits that they’re no longer even trying to improve their future electoral position; instead, it’s all about grabbing as much for their big donors while they still can…. This calculus is clearest in the case of House members representing the kinds of districts — educated, relatively affluent, traditionally moderate Republican—that went Democratic by huge landslides in Virginia. If 2018 ends up being anything like what now seems likely, these members will need new jobs in 2019 whatever they do—and the best jobs will be as K Street lobbyists…. Their future lies in collecting wingnut welfare, which means that their incentives are entirely to be loyal ideologues even if it’s very much at their constituents’ expense.

The Senate is a bit different; there aren’t a lot of obviously doomed Republicans. But… the next few months [may] be the last chance they have to deliver on their promises to the Kochs and suchlike…. So their incentive is to stuff everything the donors want, no matter how outrageous—tax hikes on most of the population, tax breaks on private planes—through the sausage grinder right now. I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming…