Hold The SALT

Dateline:   PorkBarrelVille, May 21, 2025

Republican Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) is the spokesperson for a group of GOP’rs threatening to hold Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill hostage to their political posturing.

These politicians insist that the federal tax deduction for State And Local Taxes (SALT) be raised substantially. The current limit of $10,000 was imposed in 2017 during Trump’s first term. The proposed limit in the BBB is an increase to $30,000. But, for Lawler and his cohorts, a $20,000 increase is not enough. So, they cannot support the pending version of the President’s Bill.

Reportedly, the Lawler gang would accept a $62,000 limit for single taxpayers and a $124,000 cap for those filing jointly. His justification for these numbers is relief for his constituents from exorbitant state and local taxes. New York residents are among those who pay the highest amount of these taxes.

But Lawler’s desired limits will decrease federal revenue likely resulting in reductions in funding for discretionary programs that benefit those who need them most. His rates also benefit the wealthy to a greater extent than lower income households.

None of that is the worst of it. Lawler’s argument is political pork barrel at its most obvious. He fears defeat in the next election if he cannot deliver a SALT deduction satisfactory to his constituents.

However, his position does not serve his constituents. It serves the state and local governments that raise taxes to higher and higher levels. Inexplicitly, his constituents continue to return these money-hungry politicians to office. They, at least indirectly, support their increasingly higher state and local taxes. They can rescue themselves by turning these people out of office.

Lawler is a fool, a dupe to the Left. He should abandon his hypocritical position rather than hold the Bill and all its benefits captive to abject stupidity.