House Speaker Paul Ryan and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady visitedthe Dallas headquarters of Southwest Airlines this week to promote the tax reform law — which has slashed the overwhelming majority of Americans’ tax burdens and directly benefited millions of American workers. Earlier this year, the airline announced $1,000 bonuses for all of its employees, in addition to a seven-figure charitable investment, attributing both developments to the GOP-passed law:
I’m proud to report we are rewarding our Employees with a $1,000 bonus with the anticipated savings from the tax reform legislation, we are contributing an additional $5 million in charitable donations, and we are making investments in our fleet and our business. pic.twitter.com/h4GVqRrXzX
— Gary Kelly (@gary_kelly) January 2, 2018
Many on the Left have sought to downplay the positive impact of tax reform, which has indisputably helped individuals, families and businesses, while fueling a surging US economy. They’ve dismissed four-figure bonuses and tax breaks as “crumbs” and gleefully cited polls showing that many Americans haven’t noticed the impact of their tax cuts. Setting aside the fact that the law’s popularity has soared as newly-implemented realities have systematically debunked Democrats’ dishonest attacks, and that President’s approval rating on the issue has spiked considerably post-passage, it is important for Republicans to keep beating the drum on the issue. GOP lawmakers and their allies need to continue drawing attention to the new law’s tangible successes, including by urging taxpayers to check their pay stubs. During Monday’s visit, a parade of Southwest employees stood up to thank Ryan and his colleagues (none of whom were Democrats) for passing tax reform. One by one, they shared their personal stories of how they used their bonuses; it turns out that “crumbs” can do a lot of good in a lot of regular people’s lives. Ryan’s press secretary tweeted some of the examples:
Wow, @SouthwestAir employees now sharing what they did with their #taxreform bonuses:
Woman paid off condo
Woman bought new washer/dryer
Man put toward daughters’ college ed
Woman put toward flight training
And my favorite: Man put toward a ministry in Kenya to feed people.
— AshLee Strong (@AshLeeStrong) April 2, 2018
Here’s video of the event, with the words of appreciation starting around the 13-minute mark. The final example Strong flags, featuring a man who works in the company’s supply chain and repairs division, begins just before the (16:00) mark. He read a moving statement he prepared with his wife:
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