WASHINGTON, DC — Republicans have spent years dreaming of a chance to overhaul the American tax code, and they finally have their chance. But what they've come up with, argue Peter Goodman and Patricia Cohen in an analytical article in The New York Times, is much less than straightforward tax cuts or reform. The rushed and frantic process has resulted in legislation that amounts to far-reaching "re-engineering" of American society, they write.

The rejiggering of the burdens and benefits of the tax system begins with its changes to the corporate tax rate, which drops from 35 percent to 20 percent under the current plans, and additional measures the reduce rates on the wealthiest Americans. These features of the plan will likely exacerbate economic inequality in the county, Goodman and Cohen write, especially as some lower- and middle-income people will pay higher taxes down the road.

But the drastic changes don't stop there. The plan also targets the insurance mandate established under Obamacare, undercutting a key component of the law without offering any replacement. The GOP bills could trigger cuts to even more cherished government programs, such as Medicare. Other features slash funding for universities and college students.