INDIANAPOLIS – While Republicans like Congressman Messer and Congressman Rokita continue to claim the McConnell tax bill will encourage companies to bring jobs back from overseas and raise wages, don’t let their rhetoric fool you; the situation is more complex, and just as economists predicted, many corporations are doing the exact opposite.

Reports in Indiana and nationwide have spotlighted a disturbing trend: many corporations, including those who have trumpeted one-off bonuses, are quietly laying off thousands of workers afterward. In some cases, the layoffs from these major corporations are so great that their pay for their workers should ultimately fall when the salaries of the severed employees are compared to the total bonuses announced in the McConnell bill’s wake.

Walmart, for instance, announced to great fanfare last week it would be raising hourly wages and giving out bonuses to employees. That same day, however, Sam’s Club – which is owned by Walmart – said it plans to shut down three of its Indiana locations, which will impact more than 400 Hoosier workers.

“When it comes to the McConnell tax bill, you can’t take what Republicans like Congressmen Messer and Rokita have said at face value. First they tried to tell Hoosiers that their bill wouldn’t add to the deficit, even as most independent sources said it would add trillions of dollars in debt. Now they crow about bonus packages, but not to the Americans who are getting laid off,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Voters aren’t losing sight of the McConnell tax plan’s bottom line: it’s a budget-buster that raises taxes on the middle class to create new tax breaks for the wealthiest among us and corporations that ship jobs overseas.”

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