Page 30 - The Economist

30 United States The Economist December 9th 2017
2 cuts to individual income taxes are to be notreversed.In2013,underBarackObama, The tax bill could yet change as the
phased out after 2025, to keep the costs theyweremostlymadepermanentbyabi- House and the Senate negotiate. For exam-
down. What is initially a tax cut for most partisan deal, although taxes on top earn- ple, one partoftoday’staxreform isits abo-
lower- and middle-earners will turn into a ers went back up. It is possible that, come lition of the deduction, from federally tax-
tax increase, because of changes to how 2025, Congress will implement a similar able income, of money used to pay state
taxbrackets will be adjusted forinflation. extension of the Trump tax cuts. If it does, and local income taxes. Republicans tried
Republicans last passed temporary tax their long-term costs will be greater. If it and failed to eliminate this deduction in
cuts under George W. Bush in 2001 and doesnot,theeffectoninequalityoftoday’s 1986, but it was spared by the efforts ofrep-
2003. Like the law of 1981, these contribut- bill will be worse, because its business tax resentatives ofhigh-tax states such as Cali-
ed to growing deficits. However, they were cuts are permanent. fornia and New York. Both the House and
the Senate billsscrap it(while keeping a de-
duction for local property taxes in place).
Public lands
Republican representatives from Califor-
Shrinking ears, smaller stairs nia are mounting a last-ditch attempt to
preserve the deduction, up to a limit.
“There’s a lot of things that Californians
WASHINGTON, DC are working on,” said Kevin McCarthy, the
The presidentshrinks two national monuments. More mayfollow
House majority leader. In November, 11 of
N THE sere wilderness ofsouthern virulently opposed the creation ofBears the 14 House Republicans from California
IUtah, green highlands retain and filter Ears. The Antiquities Act, passed in1906, supported the tax bill. If they switched
waterfrom storms, providingsustenance gives presidents the powerto declare sides, they could potentially block it in the
forplants, animals and people. The Nava- parcels offederal land containing“ob- final vote.
jo, who lived in the region longbefore jects ofhistoric orscientific interest” That remains unlikely, because Repub-
Europeans set foot on the continent, refer national monuments. Presidents have licans are desperate for a legislative
to such areas as nahodishgish—places to used it to create more than150 national achievement. But the threat demonstrates
be left alone. They sit at the centre of monuments, most out West, where the how difficult it is to take away tax deduc-
Bears Ears—a1.35m-acre reserve teeming federal government owns nearly half the tions once they are granted. Reagan’s re-
with archaeological, paleontological, land. Many Republicans feel presidents form managed it in part because ofbiparti-
and natural wonders that BarackObama have overused that power; Rob Bishop, a sanship: the bill was introduced in the
designated as a national monument on Republican congressman from Utah, House Ways & Means Committee by a
December28th 2016. introduced a bill this autumn that would Democratic chairman, and ended up pass-
On December4th President Donald dramatically curtail it. ingthe Senate with 74 votes. IfRepublicans
Trump shrunkBears Ears by 85%, splitting Some see the president’s action as a succeed in passing a tax bill by Christmas,
the remainingroughly 200,000 acres into particulargift to Orrin Hatch, Utah’s as Mr Trump wants, and without any
two separate, discontiguous monuments. 83-year-old seniorsenator, who is consid- Democratic votes, it will at least be an act
He also shrunkthe nearby1.9m acre eringretirement. MrTrump wants him to ofimpressive political discipline. 7
Grand Staircase National Monument, run again next year. Ifhe were to leave
created by Bill Clinton in1996, and split the Senate he would probably be suc-
its remainingroughly1m acres into three ceeded by Mitt Romney who, like Mr Alabama’s special election
separate monuments. It was the single Hatch, is a Mormon Republican deeply
biggest undoingoffederal land protec- popularin Utah, but, unlike him, is no fan Less is Moore
tions in American history. ofthe president.
The move delighted conservative Conservationists immediately sued,
lawmakers, particularly Utah’s, who arguingthat the Antiquities Act and
subsequent legislation authorise a presi- WASHINGTON, DC
dent to declare national monuments, but White turnout, notblack, is the path to
not to undo previous declarations. They victoryforDoug Jones
fearnew drillingand mining, which is
permitted on federally owned land but LABAMA has seldom been of much in-
not in national monuments. They also Aterest to pollsters. No Democrat has
feareconomic harm: jobs, personal held statewide office since 2010, or been
income and population have all grown in elected to the Senate since 1990. Expecting
the Grand Staircase region since 2001, another snoozer, pollsters largely ignored
thanks to tourists and businesses that the special election to replace JeffSessions,
serve them. Opponents argue that na- now the attorney-general, to be held on
tional-monument declarations are no December 12th. That changed after the Re-
more bindingon future presidents than publican nominee, Roy Moore, a Bible-
otherexecutive orders. thumpingformerjudge, wasaccused of of-
This will not be an isolated fight. Ryan fences ranging from sexual harassment to
Zinke, MrTrump’s interiorsecretary, assault decades ago by eight women
issued a report examining27 national (many of whom were teenagers at the
monuments created since1996. It recom- time). Mr Moore, who has strenuously de-
mends boundary revisions to two more nied the allegations, saw his polling num-
monuments—Cascade-Siskiyou on the bers plummet as prominent Republicans
Oregon-California borderand Gold Butte withdrew their endorsements and opti-
in Nevada—and management changes mistic Democrats sent a flood of money to
that could allow more fishing, tree-cut- his opponent. Since then MrMoore’s num-
Not so monumental tingand vehicles in sixmore. bers have stabilised. Nearly 90% of Repub-
licans in the state approve ofthe president, 1