CALL FOR A DAY OF ACTION AGAINST THE NIGHTMARE BUDGET
—-FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15TH—-
ALL DAY: Call, email, visit your republican legislators. Melt their communication channels.
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EVENING: Assemble at Harvey Milk Plaza at 5:30pm. Bring candles, dress warmly, and wear comfortable shoes ♥
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Trump and the GOP’s tax bill is the latest and most brutal attack on working people and the middle class. Bernie Sanders rightly characterized it as an act of ‘class war’. The plan will cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, while simultaneously raising the rate on the lowest marginal income-tax bracket from 10% to 12%. In effect, the wealthiest in our society are being given a handout out of the pockets of tens of millions of working people.
Republicans claim that this tax cut will free up businesses to invest in creating new jobs. This is the same old trickle-down economics that has been pushed since the Reagan era. But corporate profits are at record highs, and big business pays some of the lowest effective tax rates in the world. Contrary to the reasoning of Trump and his billionaire friends, the capitalists are sitting on their money and keeping wages stagnant. People can’t afford to pay for basic things they need like housing and health care, child care, or education. The bill shamelessly attacks women’s reproductive rights, attempting to define personhood at conception. We cannot stand for this. Trump and the GOP are willing to let families become homeless, fall into mountainous debt, and let the sick die, all so they can line their pockets and make the biggest heist in modern history.
Wealthy donors, like the Mercers & the Koch Brothers have hired the GOP to mock, beat, belittle, and attack you right now. With that, far too many Democrats in congress have responded as if thousands of lives aren’t at stake. Let’s be clear: lives are at stake. If this passes, untold numbers of people may die. And for what? So the rich can get richer. Larry Summers, Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and economic advisor to Barack Obama, estimated on Monday that 10,000* people per year would die as a direct result of this legislation if it becomes law. Progressive organizations have placed this estimation far higher**.
Their tax bill does not even pretend to offer anything to the vast majority of Americans. Got a private jet? There’s an exemption for that. But if you’re a grad student making under $30,000 per year, your tax rates will go up 400%. This is what living under capitalism means for us -a 24/7 struggle to pay bills and rent while Wall Street and the 1%, buy our politicians and consolidate their power, condemning the vast majority to poverty. This is not a mistake but a feature of the capitalist system.
So we need to ask ourselves, is this the best we can do? We say no: there’s no reason why we cannot provide for everyone’s basics needs. We have the resources. We live in the richest country in the world. These basic and attainable needs are denied to millions of people because we live in an economic system that values profits over people’s lives? That’s why we’re calling for a national day of action against this tax bill; it’s part of a broader fight for a world where our elected representatives are accountable to the people they serve, not their corporate billionaire backers, and where the immense wealth of this country is democratically used to pay for the things we need and ensure a dignified quality of life for all.
The Republicans think that with their majorities in the House and Senate their naked power grab is all but assured. They assume our democratic institutions are weak, and that Americans will not fight back.
Let’s prove them wrong.
We Demand:
Stop the Tax Scam– Tax the Rich!
Fully Fund:
Housing: Build High-Quality Public Housing for Low-Income Residents
Education: Cancel Student Debt and Provide Free College Education for All
Healthcare: Single-Payer Healthcare
Childcare: Free High-Quality Childcare-Centers in Every Neighborhood
Green Jobs Program: Public Funding for Green-Energy Infrastructure and Job Training
Women’s Health: Free Comprehensive Women’s Reproductive Services
*https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/03/lawrence-summers-yes-the-senate-gop-tax-plan-would-cause-thousands-to-die/
**https://thinkprogress.org/the-senate-tax-bill-will-kill-about-15000-people-every-year-7dbc94e671bf/
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