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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 9, 2003 Advisory...
Baca: "Republican tax bill leaves working Americans out of luck" WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Representative Joe Baca (D-Rialto) issued the following statement regarding the Republican tax cut proposal that passed the House today along party lines. Baca voted against the measure. "This is simply another tax cut for the rich that will have no real effect on the economy. Its only effect will be to put more Americans out of work, and leave more Americans out of luck." "Let's be honest with the American people, this bill is about overhauling the tax code bit by bit until working families pay the lion's share of the taxes. It has nothing to do with getting the economy moving again." "This package fails to create jobs or create the conditions for an economic recovery. Ironically enough, this bill that the Republicans are calling an "economic stimulus plan" actually does the exact opposite!" "It fails to extend the unemployment benefits that millions of Americans are depending on to pay for groceries, utilities, and rent, and makes it more difficult for Americans to get back to work. And it pushes us into the abyss of deficit spending, which will only create more drag on the economy. It just doesn't make sense!" "400 economists, including eight Nobel Prize winners and FED Chairman Greenspan, have all expressed severe doubts about whether this bill will do anything other than jeopardize Social Security and increase the deficit to $1.4 trillion." "While school districts are suffering from the nationwide state budget crisis, Republicans aim to deny states the money owed to them from the No Child Left Behind act. While the shelves at food banks are empty Republicans are cutting back on government programs like food stamps, welfare and others that help people during difficult times." "How is this bill going to stimulate the economy? Only 9 percent of the tax cuts would take place this year. The rest of the plan centers on the President's dividend tax cut. It cuts the tax on stocks and dividends by more than 50 percent. American working families don't live from dividend check to dividend check; they live from paycheck to paycheck." "Last, we should remember that the war in Iraq didn't cause the massive budget deficit. The deficit is due to the millionaire-only tax cut that Congress passed two years ago. The deficit has only grown worse because of the Bush economy, the war, and corporate scandals in the last year. We cannot afford the to make same mistake twice. American working families deserve better!" "I will not vote for this, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to call for a real economic stimulus plan and a budget that will help put American working families back on their feet." # # # |
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