To the Editor:
Dear Santa,
A wonderful Christmas present for all Americans would be:
■ A bipartisan approach to a tax reform plan, which is revenue neutral, doesn’t raise the debt and benefits all stakeholders in the economy.
■ This plan should be supported by an infrastructure investment package which is partially supported by an increase in the federal gas tax which hasn’t been raised since 1992. This would allow us to invest in our bridges and highways, create jobs and set the stage for stronger productivity and economic growth.
■ Ensuring that nine million children, under the Child Health Insurance Program maintain their health coverage without requiring offsets, shifting money from other programs.
Rather, the Congress is trying to pass a “reverse Robin Hood” tax bill that gives massive tax cuts to the rich and big corporations, while putting core services such as Medicaid and SNAP at risk of deep budget cuts. It will aggravate income and wealth inequality, which is already the highest in the industrialized world.
The deficit will predictably skyrocket, and Congress will demand cuts to
federal programs that help millions of Americans put food on the table, get affordable health care, and make ends meet. Meanwhile, poor children will no longer have health care by the end of the year.
Dear Santa, could you make this craziness go away?
-Nancy Morgan, Alexandria
