FedEx lobbied in earnest for the corporate tax rate reduction that was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and one of the senators they lavished attention on was Susan Collins, The New York Times recently reported. FedEx’s political action committee has given Sen. Collins the maximum contribution allowed for 11 years, according to the Maine Beacon.

Their efforts paid off handsomely, as Sen. Collins cast a pivotal vote to pass the tax bill, allowing FedEx to pay $0 tax in fiscal year 2018. Like most corporations that benefited from the tax bill, FedEx used its windfall to buy back its own stock and increase dividends to shareholders. “Overall business investment during Mr. Trump’s tenure has now grown more slowly since the tax cuts were passed than before,” the Times reported.

Collins told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the tax cut act would “actually lower the debt.” Now we know that the economy will run trillion-dollar deficits for years to come, the Times reported in August, because of this giveaway to corporations and the wealthiest people in America.

Collins voted for the tax cut act even though the elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate was part of the bill. Eliminating the mandate weakened one of the underpinnings of the ACA by allowing people to opt out without penalty, ensuring that those left in the health care marketplace are older and sicker, driving up health care costs to everyone.

Remember all this when Sen. Collins tells you how hard she’s working for Mainers.

Mary Ann Larson

Portland

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