One of the finest ideas I've ever heard from the Hard Right
So today I was working on the very, very Republican weekly we print, and I found this lovely little piece on the Editorial page:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-tax-on-robocalls-makes-plenty-of-cents-11553727899
Condensed version: because everyone hates robocalls, President Trump (yes, it pains me to type those words) should implement, and take credit for, a one-cent tax on every phone call made in America. The intent will be to make robocalling so expensive that no one will do it any more.
So...let's look at just how wonderful of a thing this tax would be.
First, it won't do shit to the robocall industry. I would be VERY surprised if any robocalling company was located inside the US; if any are, it wouldn't take much for them to pick up and move. You couldn't levy a tax on a call originating outside the US, so any robocall firm in, say, India or Nigeria would be automatically exempt.
It WILL whack the hell out of legitimate businesses in the US. Places like hospitals and hotels live on the phone. If a corporation makes ten thousand calls a day across all its branches, they'll have to come up with an extra $26,000 a year just for the taxman.
Local governments will also get raked over the coals with this tax.
It will also do a real number on the elderly. Life Alert bracelets call the company frequently. Granny's on a fixed income guys, she ain't got an extra ten bucks a month for taxes.
And let us not forget our Millennial population. Those folks live on the phone. An extra $20 or $30 per month may not sound like much to you, but that's a couple of meals to them.
All to stop something (or not stop it, more than likely) that's not much more than a nuisance.
So...why is this such a fantastic idea? Because if Trump does anything this stupid, especially after passing the "Trump got his tax cut, GFY" bill, it will pretty much guarantee the GOP will get its asses handed to it next November.
