So Jeanne Shaheen is telling us that anytime there is anything she doesn’t like, it’s an illegal “loophole” and she wants to ban it.
Yep, she said exactly that in her latest eblast (yes, I am on it). I was rather astonished that she would be that open about it – I know that many Democrats hate the Constitutions (NH and US) because they have said exactly that and this year, are looking to infringe on our Second Amendment Rights, want to eliminate the Electoral College, and wish to either make the Senate apportioned according to state population (eg., making it no different than the House of Representatives, so why bother) or outright abolished.
And Jeanne Shaheen is now going after Free Speech:
Dear Friend,
Have you noticed how it seems like every time you turn on your TV there’s an ad for another prescription drug? Drug companies are spending billions on these ads and inundating the airwaves. This aggressive advertising increases demand so that drug companies can continue to hike up drug prices. Meanwhile, many Granite Staters, particularly seniors, are having to make tough choices, often having to choose between expenses like bills and groceries, and the medications they desperately need.
What’s worse, taxpayers are subsidizing these Big Pharma ad campaigns. Through a loophole in the tax code, drug companies are allowed to deduct the cost of advertising expenses from their federal taxes. This scheme yields an incredible windfall for the drug companies and it needs to end. That’s why today, I introduced legislation, the End Taxpayer Subsidies for Drug Ads Act, to close this egregious loophole in the tax code. It’s long past time that Congress and the Trump administration get serious about addressing prescription drug costs, and this legislation would be a big first step forward. I’ll continue to update you as I rally support for this legislation in Congress.
So Shaheen believes she, for merely getting more votes than the other guy, believes she KNOWS that the drug companies should SHUT UP. That isn’t Free Speech as we know it. Companies do marketing – a necessary part of a company getting their message out to their prospective customers. The fact that Shaheen WANTS you to believe that Big Pharma is ripping you off simply because they use a part of the tax code THAT EVERY OTHER COMPANY USES TO DEDUCT FOR EXPENSES is something wrong and worse – nefarious.
It’s not an “egregious loophole” – she wants to SHUT THEM UP by using the IRS tax code as a cudgel. How can it be a “windfall” if every other American company that does advertising / marketing is using the same LEGAL means to deduct that expense. That a legit business expense for ALL companies.
But in terms of a Socialist worldview, Shaheen is trying to make the use of this act to de-legitimize a common business practice that if it wasn’t followed, corporate management would be hauled into court for not looking out for the best fiduciary interest of the company’s owners / shareholders for not maximizing return on investment. Either by burying their heads into the sand and no longer doing any advertising or, as Sheheen would have them do, not take a LEGITIMATE deduction on their tax returns.
What she is starting down is a similar slippery slope she did with SB 711 that killed off the healthcare insurance marketplace. Now she wants to start the same thing for ALL companies (or is she just on a jerimiad against drug companies) because she knows in her heart of hearts, ONLY Government should be making those decisions for others.
It’s all of it but the most pernicious is yet another attack by Democrats on our revered adherence to Free Speech, and yes, companies are covered by it. My question is that if this continues, what is next to go (go back to the top of this post and if you want to know what the meaning of “egregious” is, look at how the Democrats want to hack the Constitution into oblivion).
