Published December 27, 2017 in TheStand.org
Ads warn of GOP plan to cut Social Security, Medicare
Labor-sponsored ads cite Republican leaders’ intention to cut ‘entitlements’ to pay for tax cuts for the rich
The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, along with some of its affiliated unions and retiree advocacy groups, sponsored full-page ads today in newspapers in the state’s four districts with Republican members of Congress. The ads point out that Republican leaders intend to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits to help pay for their trillion-dollar plan to cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations, and urge readers to call their representative and tell him or her to vote against the tax plan that’s expected to face a final vote in the coming days.
“Republican leaders have made it clear that this irresponsible tax giveaway for people who need it the least will require cuts in spending and they have their sights set on what they call our Social Security and Medicare ‘entitlements’,” said WSLC President Jeff Johnson. “Those are earned benefits that working people paid for their entire lives. It would be a travesty for Congress to hand more than $1 trillion to corporations and the richest Americans, and then cut these earned benefits that seniors rely upon to survive. But that’s exactly what they intend to do.”
TAKE A STAND — Click here to call to your Representative now or dial 1-844-899-9913 toll-free and you’ll be connected to your Representative. Tell them to vote NO on this tax-cutting plan and to keep their HANDS OFF the Social Security and Medicare benefits that you have earned.
In addition to the WSLC, the newspaper ads are sponsored by the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans, Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, Retired Public Employees of Washington, American Federation of Teachers-Washington, Machinists 751, SEIU 1199NW, Teamsters 117, UFCW 21, Washington Education Association, Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME, and the regional Central Labor Councils in each of the congressional districts. The ads appear in today’s editions of the (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, (Vancouver) Columbian, Wenatchee World, and Yakima Herald-Republic.
Here is the text of the ads:
Next, they’re coming for your Social Security and Medicare
Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) and his colleagues are about to vote on “tax reform” legislation that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says will mostly benefit corporations and the wealthy, will raise taxes on lower-income Americans, and will add an estimated $1.4 trillion to the budget deficit over the next decade.(1) This tax giveaway will cost more than $5,700 for every adult in the United States!
Even worse, if this passes, they plan to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits to help pay for it.
How do we know? They said so!
Even before their tax giveaway has passed, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) said, “You also have to bring spending under control… The driver of our debt is the structure of Social Security and Medicare.” (2) House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) says he wants Republicans to focus in 2018 on reducing spending on “entitlement” programs, including Social Security and Medicare. (3) Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said that House Republicans will soon turn toward “tackling the entitlements.” (4)
Entitlements. That’s what some politicians call the Social Security and Medicare benefits that you’ve paid for your entire working life. They are planning to cut those essential benefits that you earned for your health care and basic necessities. Why? So they can pay for trillion-dollar tax cuts for the wealthy.
It’s not too late to stop this.
Any day now, a final vote will happen in the House on this tax giveaway to corporations and the wealthy. Call Rep. Dave Reichert TODAY at 202-225-7761 in Washington, D.C. and 509-885-6615 in Wenatchee and tell him to vote NO on this “tax reform” legislation.
And tell him to keep his HANDS OFF the Social Security and Medicare benefits that you have earned.
(1) “Senate GOP tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, CBO finds,” The Washington Post (11-26-17)
(2) “Sen. Rubio tells a secret: After giving a tax cut to the rich, GOP will cut Social Security and Medicare,” The Los Angeles Times (11-30-17)
(3) “GOP eyes post-tax-cut changes to welfare, Medicare and Social Security,” The Washington Post (12-1-17)
(4) “Republicans May Use Cuts in Entitlement Programs to Reduce Deficit,” The New York Times (11-15-17)
http://www.thestand.org/2017/12/ads-warn-of-gop-plan-to-cut-entitlements/