There are talkers and there are doers. Ted Cruz shows everyone that he belongs to the latter. The senator from Texas reacted quickly to a recent idea from Donald Trump that is intended to assist the American middle class exactly where it needs it.
Trump initially announced his idea at a rally in Las Vegas on June 9 to abolish the tax on tips for hospitality workers.
Write it down! Trump promotes “no tax on tips” and advises writing the message on receipts
Cruz was immediately taken with the idea and produced a bill. The No Tax on Tips Act is co-sponsored by Republican Senators Steve Daines of Montana, Rick Scott of Florida and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. (Last week, a similar bill was introduced by other Republicans, attributed to former presidential candidate and libertarian Senator from Texas Ron Paul.)
“American workers in dozens of industries rely on tips to make a living,” Cruz said in a statement. “Today, I’m introducing a worker-friendly bill, the No Tax on Tips Act, to ensure they get to keep all of those tips. This bill is a common-sense, worker-friendly bill that will help families deal with the historic inflation caused by the Biden administration.”
Cruz is a former rival of former President Donald Trump, but that didn’t stop him from seeing this as a great opportunity to assist the American middle class. He continued:
“Many people who work as waiters or waitresses, as taxi drivers or as hotel bellboys are dependent on tips at the beginning of their careers” …
“The caricature of the Republicans is that the Republicans are the party of the rich and the Democrats are the party of the poor and the working class.”
While this may be just a caricature, it’s challenging to understand why Democrats consistently support the working middle class. They notoriously punish the successful and wealthy with stricter taxes and laws, but encourage those living below the poverty line to continue living on welfare. Who are the people in the middle? Those trying to climb the corporate ladder, work challenging for themselves, and get ahead. Those are the people who would benefit the most from this bill.
The bill is not without criticism. Republican Congressman. Chip Roy asked some critical questions:
“For example, why would you favor someone who earns tips over another person who earns a similar salary? … That could even raise legal questions about the way you treat one person versus another.”
In all transparency, here is the deal: It is very challenging to hold people accountable for cash tips. Anyone who has ever worked in the restaurant industry knows that it is extremely common for cash tips to be under-declared or not declared at all. That makes this an basic win for Republicans that may not cost us much because it is not money we had in our hands beforehand anyway.
But it also shows that conservatives work the hardest to reward people who work challenging. They are the true champions of the middle class because they provide fair paths to success and continue to promote a meritocratic system where you get what you work for. That’s the dream America was built on, and conservatives have retained the common sense that challenging work means great reward.
