Dear editor,
This is in response to Kevin Hermening’s Feb. 2 opinion letter in which he said my Jan. 31 opinion letter was full of inaccuracies and falsehoods, and that I should disclose that my opinion piece was a work of fiction.
The main thrust of my opinion letter was that most of us aren’t feeling as though the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act helped us.
Much of the information and statistics used for the letter is from a Forbes article, “Five Good Reasons it Doesn’t Feel Like the Trump Tax Cut Benefited You,” by Teresa Ghilarducci, an economics professor who focuses on retirement security and jobs.
Media Bias/Fact Check rates Forbes as being right-center biased, based on story selection that tends to favor the right. They are rated mostly factual in reporting, rather than high, due to some misleading or false stories related to climate science.
Other sources were a Newsweek article, “U.S. Deficit Skyrockets 26 Percent Since 2018, Economists Blame Trump Tax Cuts for Massive Spending Gap,” by Benjamin Fearnow, and “Republicans Passed Tax Cuts — Then Profited,” by Peter Cary, published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates betrayals of public trust, in partnership with Vox. Newsweek is rated left biased based on story selection that favors the left and mixed for factual reporting. Vox is rated left biased and mostly factual for reporting.
In pointing out that I am spreading falsehoods, Mr. Hermening writes: “Ms. Larson states that: The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) benefited only the wealthiest Americans (those earning more than $421,000 nationally, or those in the 1%…or $350,000 in Wisconsin).”
That “quote” does not appear in my Jan. 31 letter.
I stand by all the information and statistics in my letter as being from reliable sources.
There is not room in this limited space to address all Mr. Hermening’s criticisms. Please read the sources listed, read my opinion, and then read Mr. Hermening’s opinion. I believe you will agree that my opinion is based on facts, and from those facts you will conclude that the 2017 TCJA was bad tax policy that exacerbates inequality and deficit problems, it should be repealed, and that we need to elect politicians who will pass anti-corruption laws to prevent such blatant self-enrichment as took place with the passage — with support by Republicans only — of the 2017 TCJA.
Jeanne Larson of Phillips
Editor’s note: Larson’s Jan. 31 letter to the editor can be read here.
Hermening’s Feb. 2 letter to the editor can be read here.
Editor’s note: Wausau Pilot & Review gladly accepts letters to the editor from residents, officials, and candidates for local offices. The views of our readers are not necessarily the views of Wausau Pilot & Review. To submit, send to [email protected].
