Letter to the Editor: GOP tax plan bashed by area reader of O-Record

To the Editor:

The GOP tax plan will crush the middle class, and it will decimate students’ educations. Cathy McMorris Rodgers won’t even address the bill with her own constituents. She certainly won’t address education because of the damage she is inflicting on our next generation. Currently, student loan interest deduction allows students to lower their taxable income by $2,500. Cathy supports a tax bill that will take away all student loan interest deductions. One student illustrated how, with the current plan at 15%, her yearly tax would be $4,192.80; under the new Tax Cut and Jobs Act the tax bracket will be 25%. Her yearly tax will now be $19,338, a 461% increase. We have excellent public colleges in the Fifth District, from WSU, with over 30,640 students, to Eastern Washington Univ., Spokane Falls CC, Spokane Community College and Walla Walla Community College. Thousands of students won’t be able to attend public colleges and receive an education for their, and our, futures, as it is now unaffordable. Graduate students will see a 400% increase if they want to attend grad school, as the tax plan will now count tuition waivers as income. It will become almost financially impossible to earn a PhD.

Cathy and the GOP are clearly attacking our youth and all of our futures by denying thousands the opportunity to attend public colleges. It is time we use our voices and tell McMorris Rodgers she will not have our votes in 2018: 509-353-2374/ 202-225-2006.

Pat Bates

Clarskton