Republicans’ No-Good, Very-Bad Week: As Republican Senator Tells Truth About GOP Tax Scam For the Rich, More Evidence Piles Up That The GOP’s Corporate Giveaway Is Overwhelmingly Flowing To The Pockets Of CEOs And The Wealthy – Not Working Americans

Senator Ruio’s comments criticizing the GOP tax bill didn’t just make waves inside the Beltway. Watch the video below for a sampling of local coverage from across the country:

REPUBLICAN SENATOR TELLS THE TRUTH: THE GOP TAX SCAM IS A GIVEAWAY TO THE RICH, “NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER THAT THE MONEY’S BEEN MASSIVELY POURED BACK INTO THE AMERICAN WORKER.”

Associated Press: Sen. Rubio: Corporations Aren’t Investing Tax Cuts In Jobs. “Sen. Marco Rubio says big businesses aren’t investing much of their windfall from President Donald Trump’s tax cuts into their workers despite GOP promises during last year’s debate. ‘There is still a lot of thinking on the right that if big corporations are happy, they’re going to take the money they’re saving and reinvest it in American workers,’ Rubio, R-Fla., told The Economist in a story release Monday. ‘In fact they bought back shares, a few gave out bonuses; there’s no evidence whatsoever that the money’s been massively poured back into the American worker.’” [AP, 4/30/18]

Vox: Marco Rubio Says There’s “No Evidence Whatsoever” Republican Tax Cuts Are Helping Workers. “The Republican tax cut bill has found an unlikely critic in its giveaways to big corporations: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). The 2016 Republican presidential candidate — who voted for the legislation in December — is openly doubting it’s actually benefiting American workers and says it is instead resulting in a boost in stock buybacks that benefit shareholders. In fact, he says, there’s ‘no evidence whatsoever’ that American workers are seeing a big tax cut boost.” [Vox, 5/1/18]

Politico:  Rubio Says GOP Tax Law Benefits Corporations Over 'The American Worker.'  “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he thinks big corporations — not American workers — are shaping up to be the chief beneficiaries of the tax law Republicans muscled through Congress last year. ‘There is still a lot of thinking on the right that if big corporations are happy, they're going to take the money they're saving and reinvest it in American workers,’ Rubio told The Economist in an interview published Monday. ‘In fact they bought back shares, a few gave out bonuses; there's no evidence whatsoever that the money's been massively poured back into the American worker.’ The Florida Republican's unexpected criticism reflects an awkward break with his party's preeminent talking point ahead of November's midterm elections. The GOP is fighting to maintain control over both chambers of Congress in part by trumpeting tax breaks and bonuses to middle-class employees they say were facilitated by the law.” [Politico, 4/30/18]

THE EVIDENCE CONTINUES TO PILE UP: REPUBLICAN TAX SCAM FOR THE RICH IS NOT WORKING AS PROMISED

*Based on closing price on the day share buyback was announced. 

CBS Moneywatch:  Guess Where The Corporate Tax Cut Money Is Flowing.  “With public companies on track to shower a record $1 trillion on investors through dividend increases and share buybacks, Sen. Marco Rubio's recent suggestion that workers weren't getting much benefit from corporate tax cuts may sound truer than ever… The GOP tax law drastically cut taxes on U.S. businesses, slashing the corporate rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, yet expectations that companies would increase their investments in labor or business expansions are not panning out. At least not in contrast to the rewards being heaped upon investors. For the current quarter, ‘buybacks are expected to increase, potentially setting a new record for the year, with total shareholder return [of buybacks and dividends for the S&P 500] topping $1 trillion for the first time,’ Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, wrote Monday. Rubio's take is ‘basically correct,’ David Santschi, director of liquidity research at TrimTabs Investment Research, told CBS MoneyWatch. Winston Chua, an analyst at TrimTabs, added that ‘U.S. companies are spending much more on cash mergers and stock buybacks than they are on hiring and pay increasings, benefiting top management and investors far more than the average worker.’” [CBS, 5/2/18]

CNBC:  Companies To Return A Record $1 Trillion To Investors This Year In Form Of Buybacks And Dividends, Estimates S&P.  “Publicly traded companies in the U.S. could do something they have never done before. Through the end of April, S&P 500 companies are on track to give back a record $1 trillion to investors through dividend increases and stock buybacks, according to data compiled by Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. … In the note, he pointed out that 169 S&P 500 members hiked their dividends in the first four months of the year, while no company in the index cut its dividend. That's ‘an event not seen since at least 2003 (when my records begin),’ Silverblatt said. He also said, citing initial reports, that buybacks ‘produced an outrageous 72% gain due to a few significant issue level increases, but even excluding those buybacks they are up between 25% and 42% depending on the exclusions.’” [CNBC, 5/1/18]

New York Times:  Investment Boom From Trump’s Tax Cut Has Yet to Appear.  “After years of costly layoffs and plant closings, things are looking up for the heavy-machinery giant Caterpillar, which forecasts solid global sales growth and increased demand this year. Yet despite the corporate investment incentives at the center of President Trump’s tax overhaul, the company’s executives have no plans to supercharge investment or expansion. Caterpillar’s plans for new investment remain low by historical standards. Instead, the company has started using cash to repurchase its own stock as a way to return cash to shareholders, something it hadn’t done since 2015. … But with roughly a quarter of the companies in the S.&P. 500 having reported first-quarter results, their spending on buybacks is even higher, up 43 percent from the first quarter of 2017, to $43 billion, according to data from Howard Silverblatt, an analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.” [New York Times, 4/30/18]

Business Insider: The Pay Increases That Were Supposed To Come From The Trump Tax Law Haven't Shown Up Yet. “The April jobs report, released Friday, showed a mixed outlook for the US labor market. But one number in particular stood out as a glaring weak spot that could be concerning for Republicans' electoral outlook later this year. According to the report, average hourly earnings increased just 0.1% from a month ago and just 2.6% year-over-year, both short of expectations. That keeps wage growth stuck in its sub-3% growth trend, despite a historically low unemployment rate that fell below 4%. Mark Hamrick, chief economist at Bankrate, said it was proof that the promised pay boost from the Republican tax law has not shown up yet. ‘Wage growth was less-than-stellar, putting the fears seen earlier this year of possible overheating inflation on the back burner,’ Hamrick said. ‘This also disrupts the narrative on the potential benefits of the tax cut where more generous pay had essentially been promised.’ Since the GOP tax law was implemented, Republican leaders pointed to one-time bonuses and wage-hike announcements as proof of the law's benefits for middle-class Americans. Corporate earnings and share buybacks are booming, but companies' gains don't appear to have trickled down to employees — at least yet.” [Business Insider, 5/4/18]

Charlotte Observer:  Large-Scale Wells Fargo Job Cuts Hit Home In This North Carolina County.  “Wells Fargo is behind one of the biggest job cuts in the state in the past five years, a move that will hit a small eastern North Carolina county especially hard. In March, the San Francisco bank disclosed plans to lay off 593 workers in Pitt County in Eastern North Carolina, the latest step in a consolidation push that previously impacted Charlotte and other U.S. markets. Wells said the changes are part of adjustments to its auto-lending operations that have faced regulatory scrutiny lately. While Pitt County will see jobs vanish, the bank has said employees will be offered the chance to relocate to Raleigh or three other states. The cuts were the largest the bank has disclosed in North Carolina through a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, notice in the past five years, an Observer analysis found. It was also among the largest layoffs disclosed by any company in the state during that period.” [Charlotte Observer, 5/1/18]

IT'S NO WONDER THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AREN’T BUYING REPUBLICANS’ SNAKE OIL TAX SCAM FOR THE RICH

Bloomberg:  Koch-Backed Groups Are Selling Trump’s Tax Cuts Door-to-Door Ahead of the Midterms.  “Landon Porter has barely uttered the words ‘tax reform’ before the door slams in his face. He stands on the front steps of the colonial-style home for a second. … Republicans have so far struggled to make the party’s signature achievement this cycle a winning campaign issue. Only 39 percent of respondents viewed the tax law favorably in an April Gallup poll. … And if the responses to Porter’s efforts on a recent Saturday are any indication, people are skeptical. ‘I don’t think my check has changed,’ says Linda Meredith, a 52-year-old bartender who was among those visited. Meredith says she supported the tax changes. Then she adds: ‘They’re going to benefit the rich.’” [Bloomberg, 5/2/18]

Business Insider: Even Republican Voters Are Starting To Lose Faith In The GOP Tax Law. “The signature legislative achievement of President Donald Trump's presidency remains unpopular, according to a new poll. In fact, even the GOP's own adherents are starting to cool on the measure. A new Monmouth University poll found that 40% of Americans support the Republican tax law, while 44% disapproved. That represented a slight shift from the 44% who approved and 44% who disapproved in a January poll. Perhaps most troubling for the GOP, however, is that Republican enthusiasm for the law appears to be waning. According to the Monmouth poll, 38% of Republicans strongly approved of the law. That was from 49% who strongly approved in January.” [Business Insider, 5/3/18]

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