How the Trump Republican Tax Cuts Are Helping Montana

Montana is benefiting greatly from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted by congressional Republicans and President Trump:
109,350 Montana households are benefiting from the TCJA’s doubling of the child tax credit.
Every income group received a tax cut. Nationwide, a typical family of four received a $2,000 annual tax cut and a single parent with one child received a $1,300 annual tax cut.
455,490 Montana households are benefiting from the TCJA’s doubling of the standard deduction. Thanks to the tax cuts, nine out of ten households take the standard deduction which provides tax relief and simplifies the tax filing process.
19,770 Montana households are benefiting from the TCJA’s elimination of the Obamacare individual mandate tax. Most households hit with this tax made less than $50,000 per year.
- Taxpayers with AGI of between $25,000 and $49,999 saw their average tax liability drop from $2,777.24 in 2017 to $2,417.81 in 2018, a 12.9 percent reduction in federal tax liability.
- Taxpayers with AGI of between $50,000 and $74,999 saw their average tax liability drop from $5,563.07 in 2017 to $4,844.34 in 2018, a 12.9 percent reduction in federal tax liability.
- Taxpayers with AGI of between $75,000 and $99,999 saw their average tax liability drop from $8,612.29 in 2017 to $7,287.73 in 2018, a 15.4 percent reduction in federal tax liability.
- Taxpayers with AGI of between $100,000 and $200,000 saw their average tax liability drop from $16,879.90 in 2017 to $14,679.53 in 2018, a 13.0 percent reduction in federal tax liability.
- Taxpayers with AGI of over $1 million saw their average tax liability drop from $731,934.88 in 2017 to $708,856.00 in 2018, a 3.2 percent reduction in federal tax liability.
Lower utility bills: As a direct result of the TCJA’s corporate tax rate cut, Montana residents are saving money on utility bills. Lower electric, water, and gas bills help households and small businesses operating on tight margins. For example, NorthWestern Energy (see below) passed along its tax reform savings to its customers.
Thanks to the tax cuts, Montana businesses of all sizes are hiring, expanding, raising pay and increasing employee benefits:
Rod’s Harvest Foods (St. Ignatius, Montana) – 3-5% pay raises; base wage raised to $11 per hour; bonuses up to $500:
We are happy to share with our employees the anticipated tax saving for 2018 realized by the Tax Reform bill recently passed by the US Congress and signed by President Trump. We are excited about the benefits it will provide for our country’s economy, our store, and our employees. As a result of the tax savings expected in 2018, we will be passing this savings on to our employees. We will be raising wages 3-5% and entry wage to $11 an hour (non-student). Also, please accept this bonus as a gesture of appreciation for your hard work and loyalty to Rod's Harvest Foods. You are our most valuable resource! – Rod Arlint, Rod’s Harvest Foods, note to employees
Westland Seed (Ronan, Montana) - hiring new employees:
Businesses such as Westland Seed in Ronan — another stop on Gianforte’s tour — said they are hiring more employees because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. - May 4, 2018, Daily Inter Lake article excerpt
Lewis & Clark Brewing Co (Helena, Montana) - hiring new employees:
At Lewis and Clark Brewing Co., Pigman expects to save $25,000 this year because of the provision in the tax reform that he said brewers like him have been working to get for three years.
The money is going to hiring — an employee was brought on last week and Pigman is looking for two more full-time positions each in production and sales. - May 6, 2018 Helena Independent Record article excerpt
TrueNorth Steel (Billings, Montana) - Creating 35 new jobs.
Catalyst Opportunity Funds (Bozeman, Montana) -- The company is investing in a workforce-attainable apartment complex:
Catalyst Opportunity Funds has launched its first three investments. The projects are located in Salt Lake City and Bozeman, Montana, and represent a total investment of $28 million. The projects include Industry SLC and Pickle and Hide in Salt Lake City, which will transform outdated industrial properties into creative office and retail, and in Bozeman, Catalyst is investing in a 60-unit workforce-attainable apartment complex.
“We positioned the fund to be an impact investment fund that is focused on getting market-rate or even better than market-rate returns for investors while identifying opportunities where our investment can have an impact in the low-income communities where we are investing,” Jeremy Keele, managing partner at Catalyst, tells GlobeSt.com. “The thesis is to identify markets throughout the country that have historically been under invested and finding high-impact projects that are supported by the local community.”
All of the projects will work to revitalize blighted communities, ensuring the social impact component of the opportunity zone legislation is met. “The first three projects are all in the mountain west, and all three really focused on workforce affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization,” says Keele. “We are taking dilapidated, rundown, industrial neighborhoods and working with sponsors that know the neighborhoods well to create product that is geared toward bringing the neighborhood back to life through investment and infrastructure.” -- February 10, 2020 GlobeSt.Com article
Anchor Electric (Wye, Montana) - Expanding business operations, hiring additional employees:
At Anchor Electric, Rosendale said company owner Paul Lindstrom told him that the tax reform package allowed him to expand his businesses and hire about 10 additional employees. - August 9, 2018, Missoulian article excerpt
AT&T -- $1,000 bonuses to 686 Montana employees; Nationwide, $1 billion increase in capital expenditures.
Loenbro (Great Falls, Montana) - Increasing worker benefits, enhancing training programs, purchasing new equipment:
“Other Montana businesses are making investments thanks to tax reform. Loenbro, a Great Falls industrial construction and manufacturing firm that employs more than 600, said the tax reform immediately added 15 percent to their bottom line. Tax reform is leading them to increase worker benefits, enhance training programs, and invest in construction equipment that will create more jobs. - June 19, 2018, Rep. Greg Gianforte statement on U.S. House Floor
Billings Flying Service (Billings, Montana) - Purchasing new equipment, investing in research:
“Billings Flying Service credits the full expensing provision for its decision to purchase new equipment. The company is also investing in new research and development for enhanced firefighting equipment.” - June 19, 2018, Rep. Greg Gianforte statement on U.S. House Floor
Rock 31 (Billings, Montana) - The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zones are estimated to bring 95 new jobs to the city:
Under President Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, downtown Billings was able to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce of $2 million as the area qualifies as an Opportunity Zone.
Opportunity Zones are given grants in an attempt to spur economic development by giving tax incentives to investors in economically distressed communities nationwide.
The Opportunity Zone for this project is the Montana National Bank located on 201 N Broadway. The bank will be renovated to house Rock 31 Connect Build and Grow which will provide technical assistance, skills training, hiring resources and more to those embarking on new business ventures.
"This is really designed for people who are taking a big risk and jumping into developing their product, their service any type of early stage high growth company know that this is a space you can come learn from our mentors, learn from our Rock 31 team and connect with like minded individuals," says Program Manager Kevin Scharfe.
Rock 31 is projected to foster nearly two dozen business startups which are expected to create 95 jobs and generate $6.6 million in private investment which would bring change to the community. Dec. 3, 2019, KULR article.
NorthWestern Energy (Butte, Montana) – The utility is passing tax reform savings to its customers:
The tax savings stem from the Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Congress passed in December and was signed into law by President Donald Trump. Federal corporate tax rates fell from 35 percent to 21 percent.
Regulated utilities like NorthWestern cannot pocket the savings, which must be shared with ratepayers, who also pay the utilities' taxes. NorthWestern has about 345,000 customers in Montana.
NorthWestern is proposing that its natural gas customers receive direct refunds for the entire $3.154 million in tax breaks associated with the utility’s natural gas business. The company’s electric customers would receive half of the $10.8 million in tax breaks associated with NorthWestern’s electric business. Half the money would be spent removing hazard trees that pose a fire or outage risk.
“With what we proposed, for a natural gas customer, it would be about $1.18 a month. An electricity customer would be 67 cents per month,” said Butch Larcombe, NorthWestern spokesman. – April 3, 2018 Billings Gazette article excerpt
U-Haul (Many locations in Montana) – $1,200 bonuses for full-time employees, $500 for part-time employees.
Walmart - Montana employees at all 14 Walmart stores received tax reform bonuses, wage increases, and expanded maternity and parental leave. Walmart employees who adopt children will be given $5,000 to help cover expenses.
Dollar Tree, Inc. (Montana locations in Billings, Butte, Bozeman, Dillon, Great Falls, Havre, Helena, Kalispell, Miles City, Missoula, Whitefish) -- Base wage increases and enhanced employee benefits including maternity leave.
Home Depot - Six locations in Montana, bonuses for all hourly employees, up to $1,000.
Best Buy - Three locations in Montana; $1,000 bonuses for full-time employees; $500 bonuses for part-time employees.
Lowe's -- 700 employees in five stores in Montana. Employees will receive bonuses of up to $1,000 based on length of service; expanded benefits and maternity/paternal leave; $5,000 of adoption assistance.
Ryder (Billings, Montana) -- Tax reform bonuses for employees.
Starbucks Coffee Company (36 locations in Montana) – $500 stock grants for all retail employees, $2,000 stock grants for store managers, and varying plan and support center employee stock grants. Nationally, 8,000 new retail jobs; an additional wage increase this year, totaling approximately $120 million in wage increases, increased sick time benefits and parental leave.
T.J. Maxx – 6 stores in Montana – Tax reform bonuses, retirement plan contributions, parental leave, enhanced vacation benefits, and increased charitable donations:
“The 2017 Tax Act benefited the Company in the fourth quarter and full year Fiscal 2018. The Company expects to continue to benefit from the 2017 Tax Act going forward, primarily due to the lower U.S. corporate income tax rate. As a result of the estimated cash benefit related to the 2017 Tax Act, the Company is taking the following actions:
Associates
- A one-time, discretionary bonus to eligible, non-bonus-plan Associates, globally
- An incremental contribution to the Company’s defined contribution retirement plans for eligible Associates in the U.S. and internationally
- Instituting paid parental leave for eligible Associates in the U.S.
- Enhancing vacation benefits for certain U.S. Associates
Communities
Made meaningful contributions to TJX’s charitable foundations around the world to further support TJX’s charitable giving” – Feb. 28 2018, The TJX Companies Inc. press release excerpt
U.S. Bank (25 branch locations in Montana) – $1,000 bonuses for employees; base wage raised to $15 per hour; increased charitable contributions.
“We believe that tax reform is positive for the U.S. economy because it provides an immediate opportunity to benefit our employees, our communities and our customers.” – Andy Cecere, President and CEO, quoted in a Jan. 2, 2018 U.S. Bank press release
Taco John’s (21 locations in Montana): All full-time and part-time crew members received a $200 after-tax bonus:
Taco John’s International, Inc. announced today that in response to the 2018 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, the company gave part of its projected tax savings to its restaurant crews, general managers, corporate staff and CORE (Children of Restaurant Employees).
On Friday, Feb. 23, Taco John’s International, Inc.’s employees received a one-time bonus, as follows:
- Every restaurant crew member - full-time and part-time - received $200 (after taxes);
- General managers and employees at the Taco John’s Franchisee Support Center in Cheyenne received $1,000 each; and,
- The Executive Council of Taco John’s International, Inc. (Vice Presidents and above) donated their $1,000 bonuses (a total of $10,000) to CORE, a national not-for-profit organization that grants support to children of food and beverage service employees who are navigating life-altering circumstances.
“At Taco John’s International, our team is our family, so sharing the financial benefits that were a result of the recent tax reform legislation only makes sense,” said Jim Creel, CEO of Taco John’s International, Inc. “We encourage other restaurant brands to follow our example and give a portion of their savings to the people that are at the heart of what we do and to great organizations like CORE that support our crew. One hundred percent of CORE’s funds directly benefit children of restaurant employees who have been afflicted with life-threating conditions.”
“We are so grateful to the Taco John’s team for their generous donation to our CORE family members,” said Lauren LaViola, executive director of CORE. “Donations like theirs help us provide for our food and beverage service families experiencing loss, illness and other life-changing circumstances, and help us get closer to our goal of helping even more families across all 50 states in 2018.”
The total amount that Taco John’s International, Inc. gave exceeded $150,000.00. – Feb. 28, 2018 Taco John’s International, Inc. press release
FedEx (Multiple locations in Montana) – Accelerated and increased compensation; pension plan contributions:
FedEx Corporation is announcing three major programs today following the recently enacted U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:
- Over $200 million in increased compensation, about two-thirds of which will go to hourly team members by advancing 2018 annual pay increases by six months to April 1st from the normal October date. The remainder will fund increases in performance- based incentive plans for salaried personnel.
- A voluntary contribution of $1.5 billion to the FedEx pension plan to ensure it remains one of the best funded retirement programs in the country.
- Investing $1.5 billion to significantly expand the FedEx Express Indianapolis hub over the next seven years. The Memphis SuperHub will also be modernized and enlarged in a major program the details of which will be announced later this spring.
FedEx believes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will likely increase GDP and investment in the United States. -- Jan. 26 2018, FedEx press release
McDonald’s (45+ locations in Montana) – Increased tuition investments which will provide educational program access for 400,000 U.S. employees. $2,500 per year (up from $700) for crew working 15 hours a week, $3,000 (up from $1,050) for managers, and more:
McDonald’s Corporation today announced it will allocate $150 million over five years to its global Archways to Opportunity education program. This investment will provide almost 400,000 U.S. restaurant employees with accessibility to the program as the company will also lower eligibility requirements from nine months to 90 days of employment and drop weekly shift minimums from 20 hours to 15 hours. Additionally, McDonald’s will also extend some education benefits to restaurant employees’ family members. These enhancements underscore McDonald’s and its independent franchisees’ commitment to providing jobs that fit around the lives of restaurant employees so they may pursue their education and career ambitions.
The Archways to Opportunity program provides eligible U.S. employees an opportunity to earn a high school diploma, receive upfront college tuition assistance, access free education advising services and learn English as a second language.
“Our commitment to education reinforces our ongoing support of the people who play a crucial role in our journey to build a better McDonald’s,” said Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s President and CEO. “By offering restaurant employees more opportunities to further their education and pursue their career aspirations, we are helping them find their full potential, whether that’s at McDonald’s or elsewhere.”
Accelerated by changes in the U.S. tax law, McDonald’s increased investment in the Archways to Opportunity Program includes:
- Increased Tuition Investment:
- Crew: Eligible crew will have access to $2,500/year, up from $700/year.
- Managers: Eligible Managers will have access to $3,000/year, up from $1,050.
- Participants have a choice for how they apply this funding – whether it be to a community college, four year university or trade school. There is no lifetime cap on tuition assistance – restaurant employees will be able to pursue their education and career passions at their own pace. The new tuition assistance is effective May 1, 2018 and retroactive to January 1, 2018.
- Lowered Eligibility Requirements: Increase access to the program by lowering eligibility requirements from nine months to 90 days of employment. In addition, dropping from 20 hours minimum to 15 hours minimum (roughly two full time shifts) per week to enable restaurant employees more time to focus on studies.
- Extended Services to Families: Extension of Career Online High School and College Advisory services to restaurant employees’ family members through existing educational partners Cengage and Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).
- Additional Resources: Career exploration resources for eligible restaurant employees to be available later this year.
- Creation of an International Education Fund: Grants to provide local initiatives and incentives in global markets to further education advancement programs.
“Since its inception, Archways to Opportunity was meant to match the ambition and drive of restaurant crew with the means and network to help them find success on their own terms,” said David Fairhurst, McDonald’s Chief People Officer. “By tripling tuition assistance, adding education benefits for family members and lowering eligibility requirements to the equivalent of a summer job, we are sending a signal that if you come work at your local McDonald’s, we’ll invest in your future.”
After launching in the U.S. in 2015, Archways to Opportunity has increased access to education for over 24,000 people and awarded over $21 million in high school and college tuition assistance. Graduates have received college degrees in Business Administration, Human Resources, Communications, Accounting, Microbiology and more. – March 29, 2018 McDonald’s Corporation press release excerpt
Comcast (Multiple locations in Montana) -- $1,000 bonuses; nationally, at least $50 billion investment in infrastructure in next five years.
Wells Fargo - 34 banks in Montana, raised base wages from $13.50 to $15.00 per hour; nationally, $400 million in charitable donations for 2018; $100 million increased capital investment over the next three years.
Note: If you know of other Montana examples, please email John Kartch at jkartch@atr.org
The running nationwide list of companies can be found at www.atr.org/list
More from Americans for Tax Reform
Dems Rushing Through Small Biz Tax Paperwork Mandate in Biden Spending Bill

Congressional Democrats are sneaking through new reporting requirements that will increase tax complexity for independent contractors, small businesses, and freelancers. They have included this proposal in the 200 page manager’s amendment to President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. This is another attempt by the Left to exploit the COVID-19 crisis by passing unrelated policy measures long desired by progressives.
The provision in question would lower the reporting threshold to $600 or more for 1099-K reporting and eliminates the transactions threshold. Currently, one is only required to report when there is more than $20,000 in sales and more than 200 transactions in a year. The proposal also extends the 1099-K reporting to "specified electronic payment processors."
This would impact freelancers and independent contractors including freelancers compensated via PayPal, Etsy sellers, Airbnb hosts, Uber and Lyft drivers, food delivery couriers, and others participating in the sharing economy.
This provision would end up harming low- and middle-income contractors, small businesses, and freelancers, many of which have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Implementing new, burdensome reporting rules will only do more damage. It is quite ironic that a provision like this may be included in the so-called “American Rescue Plan.”
The House plans to vote on the stimulus package today, so Democrats are trying to rush these provisions through with no debate or public scrutiny.
Democrats last enacted burdensome new 1099 reporting requirements in Obamacare, when they required businesses to send 1099 forms for all purchases of goods and services over $600 annually.
Soon after this provision was signed into law, the National Taxpayer Advocate raised concerns that these reporting requirements would cause “disproportionate” harm to small businesses and do little to improve tax compliance.
This provision was so unpopular that it was quickly repealed in 2011 with a bipartisan vote of 87 to 12 in the Senate and 314 to 112 in the House. The Obama administration even hailed repeal of the provision a “big win” for small businesses in a press release:
“Today, President Obama signed a law that removes the expanded ‘1099’ reporting requirement from the Affordable Care Act. This is a big win for small businesses.
The SBA and President Obama supported repealing this provision, which would have required businesses to send 1099 forms for all purchases of goods and services over $600 annually. With this bipartisan effort, we have removed a requirement that would have been an undue barrier to small business growth.”
This provision being rushed through today is eerily similar to the Obamacare reporting requirement.
We should not make the same mistakes again. Expanding reporting requirements for 1099-K receivers will harm independent contractors, small businesses, and freelancers. Increasing compliance costs and the regulatory burden on already-struggling workers and small business owners is especially alarming given they have been disproportionately harmed by the pandemic.
Photo Credit: Kentucky Democratic Party
Costly Real-Times Sales Tax Collection Proposals would Hurt Small Businesses

Massachusetts is home to the 16th worst Business Tax Climate in the United States, according to the Tax Foundation. Aside from high taxes and a poorly structured code, small businesses in Massachusetts contend with soaring rent and costly regulatory regimes. Despite all of this and after suffering from a year of economic downturn, pandemic-induced lockdowns, and new expenses, small businesses in Massachusetts face even more new fees and regulations from their state government.
Members of the Massachusetts legislature are again considering a real-time sales tax remittance requirement for retailers, which does not increase revenue for state coffers like other tax grabs, but does impose significant new costs on employers at a time when many businesses are struggling just to stay open. While this misguided proposal wouldn’t raise any new revenue, a real-time sales tax collection and remittance requirement would force businesses to create an entirely new payment system that would saddle employers with new compliance costs, further reducing the job-creating and sustaining capacity of Bay State small businesses while raising new privacy concerns for consumers.
The retail infrastructure required to fully comply with a real-time sales tax remittance mandate does not exist. Current payment processors only collect a final purchase amount and aren’t built to collect the data required to remit a sales tax instantaneously. As a result, the real-times sales tax requirement some on Beacon Hill are calling for would force businesses and financial institutions to build new systems from scratch in order to comply, all to generate no new revenue, just earlier collection. The State Tax Research Institute estimatesthat this process would cost businesses almost 1.2 billion dollars in costs.
Aside from the added costs, the real-time sales tax proposal raises significant consumer privacy and information security questions. The current sales tax collection and remittance system is already a complex web that requires coordination from multiple government agencies and stakeholders. Any new information needed to make a transaction compliant presents another point of attack for bad actors to access even more consumer information.
Forcing the nation’s first real-time sales tax requirement on employers would only serve to make Massachusetts a more costly and less hospitable place to do business and invest. The real-time sale tax proposal being advocated for in Massachusetts would inflict pain on in-state employers, with no gain for state coffers. This misguided policy would create no additional revenue for the state. It would only levy new rules and associated costs for businesses that are just beginning to recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic-driven downturn. Several state legislatures have proposed and eventually rejected instant sales tax remittance because they ultimately understood that it was an onerously expensive and unnecessary policy that brought no new revenue to the state. Massachusetts lawmakers should heed the lessons from those failed attempts.
States Must Act to Prevent the Taxation of PPP Relief Aid

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created in March 2020 as part of the CARES Act, was meant to help businesses retain workers and avoiding permanent closure amid government-mandated lockdowns. PPP loans issued to businesses were forgivable and not subject to federal income tax, so long as 60% of the loans went to keeping employees on the payroll. In some states, however, employers now face the prospect of being hit with higher state taxes as a result of accepting federal relief.
Businesses like Macromatic Industrial Controls in Wisconsin used PPP loans to help keep their workers employed. With taxes due this spring, the company’s president Steve Sundlov had been raising concerns about PPP loans being taxed by the state.
“The PPP money was again presented to us as tax-free money, and those were the rules that we were give,” Sundlov said, adding that “now, it seems like the rules are changing and that’s very difficult to deal with.”
Though it had originally appeared as though Governor Tony Evers (D) was going to subject PPP relief to state taxation, after increasing pressure from the Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature, Gov. Evers agreed last week to sign into law a bill exempting PPP loans from state income tax.
The prospect of state taxation of PPP loans that Wisconsin lawmakers rectified last week is a problem that’s not limited to Wisconsin. While it was good to see Governor Evers make the right decision, the threat of state taxation of PPP loans continues to hang over employers in many other states. Governors and legislators in a number of states still need to take action to ensure businesses are not subject to higher state taxes on account of their utilization of pandemic aid authorized under the CARES Act.
Unless state legislators in Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, and 16 other states take action soon, PPP relief aid that businesses received during the pandemic will be subject to state taxation because state lawmakers declined to exempt PPP loans as taxable income and disallowed expense deductions. The good news is that legislators in some of those states are in the process of taking such action.
Meanwhile in Maine, the Democrats who run state government seem less concerned about protecting businesses from surprise tax bills on their PPP relief aid. Gov. Janet Mills (D) introduced an executive budget on January 25, 2021 that did not exempt forgiven PPP loans from state income tax. The Governor argued that by taxing this relief aid, the state could get an additional $100 million revenue shortfall on top of the windfall of additional federal revenue that Congress is about to send.
After public backlash, Gov. Mills announced that she would look towards additional aid from the federal government to avoid taxing PPP funds, which the state is sure to get as part of the $1.9 trillion spending package now working its way through Congress.
While efforts to exempt PPP aid from state income tax are encouraging and necessary, lawmakers in many states still need to approve conformity legislation before taxes come due this spring. While Mr. Sundlov’s worries that he will “owe tens of thousands of dollars in income tax” have abated thanks to the prudent action recently taken by Wisconsin lawmakers to conform with the CARES Act’s tax exemption for pandemic relief funds, thousands of other small businesses across the U.S. still face the prospect of unexpected state tax bills. Unless lawmakers in those states act soon, some employers might have to resort to the sort of payroll reductions that PPP loans and the other liquidity enhancing provisions of the CARES Act were designed to prevent.
Photo Credit: Robert English
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Oilfield Welder on Biden's Hostility to Oil and Gas Jobs: "You have to change your whole life up because of politics."

Reporting from Watford City, North Dakota, the Fargo Forum interviewed local residents regarding President Biden’s hostility to oil and gas workers:
"I think everybody up here feels like we’re absolutely screwed," said Tara Paul, a Denver native who followed her sons to western North Dakota oil country just months before the pandemic hit.
Despite the claims of the Biden administration, workers cannot simply switch to working on solar panels. One of Tara’s sons, Shawn, shared his frustration over Biden’s lack of empathy:
For Shawn, 23, even if oil prices rebound in the next few years, the Biden climate agenda and the newly secured Democratic control in Washington look like writing on the wall for his long-term hopes in the oil business. "You build your lifestyle on these things, and you have to change your whole life up because of politics," Shawn said.
On Dec. 19, 2019, Biden said he would be willing to displace "hundreds of thousands of blue collar workers" in pursuit of a "Green New Deal."
Biden also suggested energy workers who lose their job due to his policies should learn to code.
On Dec. 30, 2019, Joe Biden said: "Anybody who can go down 300 to 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well...Give me a break! Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for god's sake!”
If you would like to read the rest of the Fargo Forum article, it can be found here.
Compilation of Personal Stories from Americans Hurt by Biden's Energy Policy

Americans for Tax Reform is collecting personal testimonials of Americans hit by President Biden's energy restrictions. (If you would like to submit a short video, please send it to Mike Mirsky at mmirsky@atr.org). Please see the examples below:
Pipeline Worker: "I've got my whole life invested in this."
Will New Hampshire Become the Next Right-to-Work State?

New Hampshire may soon join the list of 27 right-to-work states, giving private sector workers the freedom to choose whether or not they join and pay dues to a union. This would be a huge win for employees across the Granite State and a boon to the economy.
Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, public sector workers in New Hampshire and across the country are no longer forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. That landmark victory for workplace freedom, however, did not apply to private sector unions. Private sector employees in states that do not have right-to-work laws in place still do not have this basic right to choose.
But now that New Hampshire is back under Republican control, there is a strong chance that things will soon change. Sen. John Reagan’s Senate Bill 61, which was recently approved by the Senate in a 13-11 vote, would prohibit collective bargaining agreements from including mandatory union dues, making New Hampshire the 28th right-to-work state. This commonsense law, if enacted, would give New Hampshire private sector workers the freedom to exercise their First Amendment right to decide to associate or not associate with an organization and give them the option to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks.
In addition, SB 61 is also smart economic policy. Scholarly research over the years has found that right-to-work states are more prosperous than forced-unionism states. The National Institute for Labor Relations Research, for example, found that the percentage growth in the number of people employed from 2009-2019 was 16.9% for right-to-work states and just 9.6% in forced unionism states.
These findings are not surprising. Right-to-work laws make states significantly more attractive to businesses looking to expand. John Boyd, founder of the Boyd Company, a business consulting firm that advises where to make job-creating investments, explained that right-to-work is a “common denominator among states attracting both aerospace and other types of advanced manufacturing.”
“I believe right-to-work, along with lower business taxes and workers compensation costs, will make New Hampshire more competitive and attractive to grow and locate a business,” said Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, who is a cosponsor of the bill.
Joining Sen. Reagan and Leader Bradley as co-sponsors of SB 61 are Senate President Chuck Morse, Sen. Gary Daniels, Sen. Bill Gannon, Sen. James Gray, Sen. Harold French, Rep. Richard Marston, Rep. Carol McGuire, Rep. Alicia Lekas, and Rep. James Spillane. SB 61 has been placed at the top of House Speaker Sherman Packard’s legislative agenda and Gov. Chris Sununu, a longtime supporter of right-to-work laws, is expected to sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk.
Finally making New Hampshire a right-to-work state would be a win for all residents of the Granite State. It would give private sector employees the freedom to choose how they wish to assemble and allow them to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks, while also attracting new jobs and opportunities.
Photo Credit: James Walsh
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Biden's Quiet Tax Proposal: Banks Pay Twice

Over the past year, American banks were instrumental in supporting the survival of 51 million American jobs. The Paycheck Protection Program is currently in the middle of a successful second round as banks helped extend a lifeline to over 700,000 small businesses. Banks have been on the front lines throughout the healthcare emergency, retaining thousands of employees and remaining open to help Americans meet their financial needs. They should be applauded. But their resiliency is now a target as Democrats are preparing to tax these institutions at a time when access to affordable financial services is necessary to rebuild a prosperous economy.
President Biden consistently campaigned on reversing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, creating the highest corporate income tax rate in the industrialized world. For banks, S&P Global estimates a tax hike like this could cost the ten largest U.S. banks $7 billion annually.
Bloomberg reported the nation's top six banks saved $32 billion since Trump’s tax cuts. These savings helped them invest in their hundreds of thousands of employees and continue to expand access to affordable financial services and products. Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup raised their minimum wage to $15 per hour after the tax cut. Bank of America increased hourly wages to a minimum of $20 per hour.
The Biden administration also plans on instituting a financial risk fee on banks. Democrats, including Secretary Hillary Clinton, have been pushing for this double tax since 2015. And Biden may find a likely ally in the Senate to spearhead this initiative. During Senator Amy Klobuchar's (D-Minn.) presidential campaign, she proposed a financial risk fee to pay for her “Climate Smart and Green Infrastructure” ambitions. She also chairs the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee which helps craft Senate Democrat's policies.
The mechanics of the financial risk fee could be similar to President Obama’s plan in 2015. His administration proposed an annual seven basis point fee on the non-depository liabilities of financial institutions with assets over $50 billion. These liabilities include Federal Funds Market Repurchase Agreements, commercial paper, and bond issuances, and would directly affect 42 depository institutions with assets over $50 billion. A large institution like Bank of America, which borrows to finance its lending and market-making activities, can see an annual $540 million fee in addition to their record increase in corporate tax.
This tax risks the employment of 1.4 million bank employees, and the tens of millions of customers who rely on these banks daily, especially during the healthcare emergency. Although many small banks would be exempt, this arbitrary penalty would discourage smaller banks from taking on new customers to remain below the $50B asset threshold.
Proponents of these policies claim that taxing bank’s borrowing reduces the chance of bank failures. However, economists have shown that bank taxes like this are ineffective and have failed elsewhere.
Essentially banks could be taxed for simply being banks, serving customers, facilitating financial transactions, and providing loans to small businesses or entrepreneurs. This tax would raise the cost of financial services and punish many of the unbanked and underbanked who need access the most to affordable financial products.
Without banks' further participation in programs like PPP to meet the financial needs of Americans, small businesses could see a pullback in lending, and the economy will be slow to recover. It is inappropriate for the administration to punish the banking sector in light of the essential services they have continued to provide almost a year into the healthcare crisis. Banks should, instead, be rewarded and bolstered for their ongoing support in stimulating the American economic recovery.
Photo Credit: Steve Walser
Letter: Oklahoma Lawmakers Should Reject Price Controls

Oklahoma Lawmakers Should Reject Price Controls
In a letter to the Oklahoma Senate Appropriations Committee, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, urged lawmakers to reject Senate Bill 734, which would impose price controls on prescription medication.
If implemented, SB 734 would cap the amount state-regulated commercial insurance plans could pay for prescription drugs at a reference price. “[T]his bill, which is a price control, would jeopardize innovation in the pharmaceutical industry and result in patients having less access to their medicines,” warned Norquist.
To read the full letter, click here.
February 25, 2021
To: Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee
From: Americans for Tax Reform
Re: Oppose Senate Bill 734, Price Controls on Prescription Medications
Dear Senator,
On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and our supporters across Oklahoma, I urge you to oppose Senate Bill 734, legislation that would cap the amount state-regulated commercial insurance plans can pay for prescription drugs at a “reference price.” If implemented, this bill, which is a price control, would jeopardize innovation in the pharmaceutical industry and result in patients having less access to their medicines.
Currently in the United States, it costs around $2.6 billion and takes approximately 10 years – which includes the six to seven-year clinical trial process the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires for drug approval – for a new drug to enter the market. Given this long and expensive process, it is unsurprising that less than 12 percent of drugs that begin preclinical testing make it to approval.
As such, forcefully reducing the price of prescription medications is a very shortsighted “solution.” Legislation such as SB 734 would leave pharmaceutical manufacturers with fewer resources available to invest in the next generation of lifesaving and life-improving medicines. Similarly, it would also make it more difficult for potential manufacturers to successfully launch their operations. This would result in the people of Oklahoma being left with even fewer, lower quality choices.
Buttressing this point is experience from countries with a more heavy-handed approach to healthcare policy, which has demonstrated that government intervention neither lowers costs nor increases access. Rather, it stifles development, creates shortages, and leads to fewer choices for consumers and patients.
The best thing state lawmakers can do to mitigate rising healthcare costs is embrace free market solutions, which promote the competition that spurs innovation, improves quality, increases the number of available options, and naturally keeps prices low. ATR opposes Senate Bill 734 and urges lawmakers to vote NO.
Sincerely,
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
Photo Credit: Jimmy Emerson, DVM
More from Americans for Tax Reform
Pipeline Worker: "I've got my whole life invested in this."

Americans for Tax Reform is collecting personal testimonials of Americans hit by President Biden's executive actions. (If you would like to submit a short video, please send it to Mike Mirsky at mmirsky@atr.org).
Please watch this video from Jason, a member of Pipeliners Local Union 798:
“My name is Jason Jernigan, I’m 45 years old and I’m a member of Local 798, Pipeliners Union. I’ve been a pipeliner for 21 years. This is all I know how to do. The recent administration has taken my livelihood from me and expected me to get a job somewhere else. I’ve got my whole life invested in this.”
See also:
Rise of Personal Shoppers Shows Robust Competition in Same-Day Delivery Market

Coronavirus lockdowns have fueled a massive surge in online shopping, with American e-commerce growing a staggering 44 percent in 2020 and online spending representing 21.3 percent of all sales.
Brick-and-mortar retailers have responded to this demand by rethinking their business models and expanding the resources they dedicate to fulfilling digital orders. The resulting innovation and competition in the evolving same-day delivery market has expanded access to goods and services for American consumers and increased job opportunities for American workers.
Walmart now has over 170,000 “personal shoppers” dedicated to fulfilling online orders. These shoppers receive online orders, pick the items off of shelves, then prepare them for delivery to customers’ homes. These jobs start at over $13 an hour, more than Walmart’s $11 minimum wage, and approximately 40 percent of personal shoppers are existing Walmart employees looking to advance in the company.
The rise of personal shoppers expands access to goods and services for American consumers. With government-mandated lockdowns forcing the entire country into self-isolation, online delivery services have been a lifeline for Americans that need groceries, prescriptions, and other household essentials delivered directly to their door. With stores like Target and Bed Bath and Beyond adding personal shoppers to their respective workforces, consumers will have more places to shop from without leaving their homes.
Competition between companies in the same-day delivery market will also benefit consumers in the form of lower prices and greater perks. Walmart has rolled out Walmart+, a new membership service that directly competes with Amazon Prime by offering same-day delivery, as well as two-hour delivery for an additional fee. Increased competition in the same-day delivery space will only continue to benefit consumers as choices increase.
This new market also benefits American workers, especially those who saw their jobs vanish due to the pandemic. As retailers continue to amp up their online presence, new jobs will need to be filled, and plenty of Americans will be available to fill them.
Ultimately, competition is a rising tide that lifts all boats. The rapid expansion of the same-day delivery market will benefit American consumers through increased access to goods and services, lower prices, and better membership perks. American workers will benefit through increased job opportunities as demand for personal shoppers increases.
As our country attempts to recover from the economic damage inflicted by COVID-19, the evolving same-day delivery market is a welcome reminder that American innovation will always adapt to new challenges.
Photo Credit: Bev Sykes