In an op-ed to the Asheville Citizen-Times, North Carolina Democratic Party’s 11th District Chair and firefighter Matt Ballance calls out Republicans’ plan, led by Florida Senator and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Rick Scott, to raise taxes on half of Americans and sunset Social Security and Medicare.
Ballance singles out Congressman Madison Cawthorn in particular, demanding answers on behalf of Western North Carolinians: “Unless proven otherwise, this much is clear: Republicans like Rep. Cawthorn are running on an agenda of tax hikes and putting millions of Americans’ Medicare and Social Security benefits in danger while President Biden and Democrats have a responsible plan to lower deficits and are pushing every day to lower costs.”
Asheville Citizen-Times: Opinion: Has Rep. Cawthorn done anything to lower costs for the hardworking people of WNC?
With their 2017 tax law, Congressional Republicans, led by Senator Rick Scott, delivered almost $2 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations. Now, Rep. Cawthorn and his Republican colleagues are proposing $100 billion per year in tax hikes for middle-class families. To break this down, roughly 75 million American families – 96% of them earning less than $100,000 – would see on average tax increases of $1,480 more each year.
Even more, Republicans are pushing an agenda that would put Social Security and Medicare benefits in danger. If Rep. Cawthorn and Republicans get their way, these historic – and historically popular – programs would sunset after 5 years, leaving many seniors across Western North Carolina without the benefits they rely on. In North Carolina, over 2 million people rely on Social Security – including over 222,000 in North Carolina’s Eleventh Congressional District – and over two million people have Medicare across the state.
Meanwhile, President Biden and Democrats are working to reduce deficits, while bolstering Social Security and not touching Medicare by making the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share in taxes – while also lowering costs for working families. President Biden has proposed a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax on the wealthiest Americans, which would reduce the deficit by more than $360 billion over the next decade while not raising taxes on anyone making under $400,000 per year.
Western North Carolinians deserve answers. Unless proven otherwise, this much is clear: Republicans like Rep. Cawthorn are running on an agenda of tax hikes and putting millions of Americans’ Medicare and Social Security benefits in danger while President Biden and Democrats have a responsible plan to lower deficits and are pushing every day to lower costs.