That the GOP Congress would enact a huge, regressive tax cut is about the least surprising thing in the world. What is novel, however, is the clear policy preference for business owners over high wage earners, as manifested in the pass-through provisions of the legislation.
Where did this come from? I think there are two reasons:
1. The GOP has genuinely started to believe all that rhetoric about “job creators.” As a result, the idle rich are seen as being more virtuous than hardworking high wage earners.
2. High-earning professionals disproportionately vote for Democrats due to the GOP’s position on science and the culture wars. The pass-through legislation contains distinctions relative to professions that only make sense if you view them as a reward or punishment for voting patterns.
Naturally, this approach makes the party’s neo-Victorian approach to the poor look like rank hypocrisy. More on that at a later date.