We need a good deal for America’s hard working families—that means no more cuts to the vital services everyday Americans depend on: schools, healthcare, Social Security and public safety.
- It’s about FAIRNESS. Across-the-board cuts are a bad idea—instead of sticking everyday Americans with the tab the wealthiest 2 percent must pay their fair share. To get our nation back on track, we need everyone to do their part—ending the Bush tax cuts for the richest two percent is a good start. We can raise a trillion dollars if we level the playing field and end special tax breaks for the wealthy, close tax loopholes for large corporations, and stop rewarding companies for moving jobs and corporate profits offshore. If we want to bring the deficit under control and stop borrowing money from China, large corporations are going to have to pay their fair share. We should end tax breaks for companies that shift jobs overseas.
- It’s about PATRIOTISM. We have a moral and patriotic obligation to work together and fix the financial mess we inherited while doing our best to protect core American values. If you do well in America, you ought to do right by America. Many large companies, like GE and Verizon, pay zero federal income taxes. Individuals and small businesses end up making up the difference, and that’s not right. Today the big corporations use their lobbyists and campaign contributions to rig the tax system in their favor. It’s about time they started living by the same rules as the rest of us. Small businesses create many new jobs. If we care about seeing “Made in the USA” on a regular basis again, we need to level the playing field by eliminating the tax loopholes for big corporations. The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy were wrong for America. It’s time to stand up to politicians, and stop them from stacking the deck in favor of their wealthy contributors, and sticking the rest of us with the tab.
- It’s about PRIORITIES. We need to find a balanced approach that protects what’s important to ordinary Americans: jobs, education, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. We need to make investments that strengthen our economy and protect our core values: Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, public education, safety, and transportation. Politicians should be on our side, fighting for the programs we rely on like Medicaid, Medicare and college tuition assistance. It’s a bad idea to freeze education spending, cut the programs Americans need, or place limits on spending for Medicaid and Medicare. America does better when we all do better—we need to protect middle-class priorities like education and healthcare. The system is rigged against middle-class and lower-income Americans. Instead of massive, across-the-board spending cuts that will hurt our families, we need to stand up for what’s right.
- It’s about KIDS, NOT CUTS! Budget cuts impact real people, and some cuts never heal. Corporations and CEOs have the deck stacked in their favor—someone needs to stand up for the children who have already been impacted by deep budget cuts. Cuts will dramatically cost America’s children: nearly all federal education programs could face reduced funding. Across-the-board cuts could mean nearly $5 billion in education cuts. What does it say about a nation that preserves tax cuts for the richest 2 percent by cutting education funding for special education. The cuts have real consequences: fewer services for more than 9 million public schools students and job losses for 80,000 Americans. Medicaid provides healthcare for more than a third of all children in America—how can we expect them to come to school ready to learn if they’re not healthy? In real terms, across-the-board cuts could mean students crammed into overcrowded classrooms, 4-year-olds cheated out of early childhood education, and dreams not realized due to soaring college costs.
