President Trump brought several employees on stage during his speech about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in Ohio on Monday. He asked them to share some details about what they plan to do with the money they’ll save from the novel tax cuts. One man said he plans to apply his $1,000 bonus to start a family. Another woman who receives a tax cut said it will assist her and her husband buy a house and pay for college for their children. She said it will assist them “make ends meet.”
MSNBC’s Katy Tur wasn’t so sure. She shared statistics on Twitter that challenged Americans’ hopeful expectations.
One man at a Trump event in Ohio said he planned to save $1,000 to start a family using his one-time bonus.
The average cost of having one baby in Ohio is $5,836.
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) February 5, 2018
The woman who just spoke said she plans to apply her $1,000 bonus and tax credit to buy a house and support her two children who are going to college.
In Hamilton County, Ohio (where they are located), the median home price is $277,582
Average cost of private college in the country ~35,000
Public $19,000— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) February 5, 2018
Almost immediately, Tur was criticized for her out-of-touch analysis.
This is some monumentally absurd, patronizing analysis.
If you were given $1,000 and decided to save it, it would definitely assist with a future purchase, starting a family, or your kids’ tuition. You don’t PAY for it and no one thinks you do. https://t.co/r4DX5l3ytf
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 5, 2018
“Tur probably thinks of this as a ‘fact check,’ but it’s really a reality check about her seemingly total ignorance of typical American household expenses.” – The Federalist he wrote.
To sum up their critique, isn’t a little assist better than none?
Unfortunately, Tur’s views are shared by Democratic Party leaders. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi continues to dismiss employee bonuses as “crumbs.” Perhaps that’s why she and her colleagues stayed in their seats during President Trump’s State of the Union address, as he touted the booming economy. The Republican National Committee is already making her pay for her choice to stay in her seats with a brutal film titled “Democrats: What Do You Stand For?”
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told WMAL radio’s Vince Coglianese that it’s no surprise that Pelosi can’t understand the average American getting a tax cut because she represents the elite.
“Well, Nancy Pelosi represents where the Democratic Party has come,” McDaniel said Tuesday. “Now they represent the elite — she’s a millionairess from San Francisco — who are completely out of touch with what a thousand-dollar bonus means to a lot of people in this country who live paycheck to paycheck.”
Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager, Robby Mook, admitted on CNN Monday that the bonuses will bring “some money” to the middle class, but it’s a diminutive gain compared to the benefits corporations receive.
