Top-down class warfare, coupled with false claims to be cutting taxes on the middle class, has been standard G.O.P. operating procedure for a long time. In fact, for policy wonks of a certain age, the current tax debate inspires an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, because many of the tricks Republicans are using come right out of the Bush administration’s playbook in 2001 and 2003.

Tax breaks that phase in or out to make the 10-year budget impact look smaller? Check. Misleading examples and calculations to give the false impression of a tax cut for the middle class? Check. Pretending that tax cuts come free, that they won’t eventually have to be offset by cuts to popular programs? Check, again.

But there are also some new aspects to this latest money grab. This time around, much more clearly than before, the goal seems to be to favor wealth, especially inherited wealth, over work. And buried in the legislation are multiple measures that would make it much harder for the children of the middle and working classes to work their way up.

So, about the wealthy: The prime example is the way G.O.P. plans would eliminate or sharply reduce taxes on inherited wealth, which currently apply only to a tiny number of huge estates. Yes, Republicans are still pretending that this is about helping small family businesses and family farms, but at this point that’s a sick joke: The best estimates suggest that only around 80 — eight-zero — of such businesses and farms pay any estate tax each year. This is about making wealthy heirs even wealthier — full stop.

There are other big examples, like a new tax loophole that would benefit business owners — but only as long as they don’t actually run their businesses. And there’s more. But let me shift focus instead to what Republicans are trying to do to ordinary families.