Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Oppose these tax breaks for the rich


Dear follower:

Republicans in Congress are pushing to continue Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans, at the same time that they're opposing extending unemployment insurance for people struggling to find work. Democrats have started to talk tough, but have also given signals they might cave without a real fight. We need to make sure that doesn't happen.

Will you join me in calling on our representatives in Congress and the President to stand strong and oppose these tax breaks for the rich? Click here:

http://colorofchange.org/taxcuts/?id=2139-1278624

Many in Congress are working to extend tax cuts for the middle class, but Republicans have said that they'll try to block tax cuts for the middle class unless Democrats agree to pass tax cuts for the very rich as well.1 Of course, Republicans don't want to look like they're looking out for the richest Americans, so they want to vote on both tax cuts at the same time.

Democrats shouldn't fall for it. Hundreds of thousands of people have stood up and called on Democrats in Congress to stand strong. Democratic leadership in the House appears ready to fight,2 but the White House and leaders in the Senate are wavering. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has floated the idea of multiple votes (with one of them still attaching middle and upper-income tax cuts together),3 and the White House has said it might be open to "compromise"4 -- in other words, giving in to the Republicans' demands without forcing them to defend their position to the American public.

This discussion about extending tax cuts to the rich is happening amidst talk of making cuts to all kinds of programs that help the economy and protect the most vulnerable people in our society -- because "we can't afford" those programs. The fact that the same politicians making that argument would support massive tax breaks for the wealthy shows that they're not really concerned about cutting spending or reducing the deficit -- they're really just interested in protecting the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

Democrats who oppose these tax cuts for the rich need to know that we'll have their back if they fight. And the conservative Democrats and Republicans who want to keep handing more and more of our country over to the rich -- while the rest of us are struggling -- need to know that they'll be called out and face actual consequences come election time. Please join me in calling on Congress and the White House to reject tax cuts for the rich:

http://colorofchange.org/taxcuts/?id=2139-1278624

Thanks.

References

1. http://bit.ly/dkwEyg
2. http://wapo.st/9uMbhk
3. http://politi.co/gEB1z8
4. http://politi.co/bhIPhU