Every JetBlue Crew Member Will Get $1K Due to GOP Tax Bill

I could use an extra thousand dollars, how about you?

According to Market Watch, JetBlue crew members are about to receive just that:

JetBlue Airways Corp. JBLU, +0.46% said late Thursday that it plans to give a $1,000 bonus to its 21,000 employees except the chief executive, and its executive vice presidents. JetBlue stock is flat at $21.69 after hours.

The company cited the federal tax reform legislation and the company said it will dole out the cash by the end of February. “In the months ahead, we look forward to working with our Values Committees and directly with you on other ideas for how we can use tax reform benefits to make JetBlue even stronger,” the company said.

Anyone else remember how apoplectic Democrats were over this bill? Nancy Pelosi’s famously said it was the “worst bill” in the history of Congress. Tim Delaney, National Council of Nonprofits President and CEO, roasted the Republicans tax plan this way:

“The deal … will prove disastrous to the work of charitable nonprofits in communities across America. … If enacted, the bill would, among other things: damage charitable giving by $13 billion or more annually; destroy more than 220,000 nonprofit jobs; and impair the ability of nonprofits to address community needs. … Simplifying the tax code could have been a noble exercise, but this bill would do much more harm than good.” 

More harm than good?  Tell that to all the JetBlue employees who will be $1000 richer in 2018 due to the new plan.  And they aren’t the only ones. IJR reports:

First, AT&T offered $1,000 bonuses to its employees. Then, Fifth ThirdBancorp did the same thing for its 13,500 employees. The pattern followed with Comcast deciding to divvy out $1,000 bonuses to its 100,000 team members. In fact, according to the Washington Times, over 100 companies have responded to the tax bill with rewards for their staffs.

I’ve said it all along.  The tax plan isn’t perfect.  However, it’s gratifying to see the government actually working in ways that give the American taxpayer a break.

Image Credit: Wikipedia