These analysts are available for interviews about the tax bill just passed by the House of Representatives and the implications of such legislation:

MICHELE McGEOY
Michele McGeoy is the CEO of RH Solutions and a member of Responsible Wealth, a national network of affluent Americans working for fairer and more effective economic policies. She said: “Wealthy people like me, I’ve discovered over the years, tend to find we have ‘friends’ we never knew existed. My newest friends sit in Congress. They must really like me. With all the problems in the world today, they’re worried that I’m not rich enough… The so-called budget surplus that congressional leaders want to spend on tax breaks is largely the product of past and future cutbacks on everything from Medicare to bridge repair.”

MATT GARDNER
A policy analyst with Citizens for Tax Justice, Gardner, said: “The House has decided to gut the estate tax, which is only levied on 1.6 percent of the highest-valued estates. And the House made it a priority to substantially reduce tax rates on capital gains; more than 90 percent of the benefit will be enjoyed by the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans. (Capital gains is income from the sale of stock and other property.) And the bill still includes billions in ‘corporate welfare’ for multinational corporations.”
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DEAN BAKER
An economist with the Preamble Center, Baker said: “The Republicans want to cut capital gains taxes at a time when almost every serious economist in the country thinks the stock market is already hugely overvalued. What is the point of making the bubble even larger? Many of the other tax cuts make about as much economic sense. By eliminating the inheritance tax, are we trying to give people an incentive to die? The claim that these tax cuts will help the economy is ridiculous on its face. The cuts are simply a way to give more money to the wealthy, which is not at the top of most people’s priorities just now.”
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CHUCK COLLINS
Chuck Collins is the co-director of United for a Fair Economy and co-author of Shifting Fortunes: The Perils of the Growing American Wealth Gap. He said: “This is Robin Hood in reverse. Low- and middle-income Americans will lose more than they gain — through the health, education, and other budget cuts required to pay for these tax windfalls for the already rich… This legislation would only exacerbate income and wealth inequality in the U.S., presently at its greatest point since the 1920s.”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020 or (202) 332-5055; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167