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Michael Linden is a veteran Democratic aide at the forefront of a new advocacy group that has ambitious plans to counter the GOP over its plans to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts.
But Linden says Families over Billionaires — which is backed by former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y.; and Biden White House budget director Shalanda Young — welcomes Republicans to join its work.
The nonprofit’s executive director spoke to Semafor about the group’s basic framing of the tax debate and how it plans to address specific policy flashpoints.
The View From Michael Linden
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Kadia Goba: The GOP touts the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s cuts for all earners, despite numbers that show higher-income taxpayers benefited more from the law, and as you probably know Sen. Warren has said Democrats should be willing to let the TCJA sunset because it didn’t do enough for average Americans.
Michael Linden: What we are fighting for is no tax cuts for billionaires and corporations paid for by everybody else. Everyday Americans, middle-class Americans, deserve a break. They need more money in their pockets, not less money in their pockets. And the problem right now is that congressional Republicans are putting together a plan that is going to do the exact opposite. They’re going to take money out of the pockets of everyday Americans and put it into the pockets of billionaires and corporations.
So the simple, clean threshold here is: Don’t cut taxes for rich people and corporations. Don’t raise costs for everybody else. That’s really simple. And if Republicans put together a plan that does that, that’s worth thinking about.
But right now, everything I’ve seen is the opposite.
As you plan to counter-message the Trump administration’s tax agenda, will you be taking positions for or against any of Trump’s more working-class-friendly tax ideas, like ending taxes on tips and overtime?
You have to focus on the big picture here. Because if we’re spending $5 trillion, most of which goes to billionaires and corporations and wealthy donors — and, actually, a lot of it goes to overseas investors — somebody’s going to pick up the tab. That somebody is going to end up being working- and middle-class families, no matter what else they do.
That is a bad deal for everybody else, no matter what.
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown has reportedly signed onto the Families Over Billionaires effort, as well as Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y. How do you plan to use their name recognition, especially in Washington, and do you plan to enlist other well-known Democrats to help make your case?
What we plan to do is raise the voices of anybody who is willing to speak out on behalf of working- and middle-class families. Those two people are good examples of that, but there’s others, including our dozens of partner organizations, advocates, and leaders from all across the country. Strong surrogates and the real voices of working people will help us highlight what’s at stake in this tax fight in the media, on the ground in Washington, and directly in communities across the country through both organizing and targeted paid media.
I really do not see this as Democrat versus Republican, because the position that I’m taking, that we are taking — and this is super-important — is supported by 70% of Americans, including lots and lots of Republicans.
Are you looking to work with particular Republicans?
We are very open to working with anybody of any political party. The only thing that they need to believe in to sign on to this campaign is that we should put working families first above billionaires. That’s a bipartisan, cross-partisan message, and I’m very confident that that’s the message that’s going to resonate with people all over the political spectrum.
Does your group plan to take a specific stance on the state and local tax deduction cap, given that it splits both parties and potentially some of your own messengers? If so, what is your stance?
We’re going to take the same approach that we talked about on things like no tax on tips. The key test is, are you spending trillions of dollars on taxes, on tax cuts for billionaires and corporations, and are you making other people pick up the tab for it?
Are you going to do any specific messaging on particular tax policies?
The truth is, I don’t know exactly how this debate is going to play out in the particulars, in the specific legislation that gets debated. I do see it as our job to make sure that everyday Americans who are going about their daily lives, that they are able to understand and hear a simple overarching message about what’s really going on in Washington.
Will we weigh in on specifics? Maybe. That’s not outside the realm of possibility, but my focus is on making sure that the voices of the broad, bipartisan majority of Americans get to be heard in Washington.