By: Ron Ruggiero, President, SEIU Local 105
Do you think rich people and corporations need more help from our government? Neither do I.
However, on November 16th, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Republican party’s tax proposal by a vote of 227 to 205. Even though every Democrat in the House opposed the measure, Republicans had just enough “yes” votes to pass it. The bill is now moving on to the Senate where lawmakers will now begin considering the proposal. The Senate is our last chance to stop what would be a disastrous tax law for working people.
The Senate is considering the Republican tax proposal this week.
This tax proposal would be devastating for working people and their families for a number of reasons. Here are just a few:
1. The GOP Tax Plan is based on the myth of trickle-down economics, whereby the government gives tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy with the hope that they will create jobs and wealth will “trickle-down” to the rest of society. Trickle-down economics has never worked. The rich have continued to get richer and working people have struggled to support themselves and their families over the last 40 years! It doesn’t work. Period.
2. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 13 million people will lose their health insurance and premiums will rise 10% each year to pay for these giant tax cuts. The tax plan will slash the budget for Medicaid.
3. The tax plan puts corporations, millionaires and billionaires before working people. The corporate share of the tax burden has continued to shrink. More of the cost of governing now falls on payroll taxes, which rely most heavily on low and middle-income earners. Corporations are making record profits, and already pay far below the statutory tax rate as a result of tax loopholes. Millionaires are speaking for themselves, they don’t need a tax cut.
4. The GOP tax plan hurts working families and immigrant communities by rolling back the Child Tax Credit that so many families and young Dreamers rely on. This plan will make it harder for Americans to put food on the table, put children in college and buy homes for their families.
Please, call your senators and demand that this bill not be passed: 1-855-713-0060.
This is yet another example of why voting is so important. We need elected officials in office who will advocate on behalf of working people, not corporations and billionaires. We need to vote, and we need to vote for lawmakers who will put our priorities as workers first.
