Conservatives Hurt Working Poor; Reward Wealthy

As the House of Representatives prepares this week to take up the FY 2005 budget resolution, congressional Republicans appear eager to follow President Bush's lead in radically shifting tax burdens on to struggling working families while rewarding those who live handsomely on inherited wealth and investment income. The Republican's vision for working Americans is clear: cut spending on key domestic programs and raise taxes on lower-income families to pay for permanent cuts in marginal tax rates, dividend and capital gains taxes, and estate tax repeal for the richest 2 percent of Americans.

• The Republican budget raises taxes on the working poor and slashes taxes for the richest Americans. While many poor families suffer from anemic job growth and stagnant wages, the Bush administration and congressional Republicans want to raise taxes and reduce benefits for the working poor - including military families and veterans - by cutting the Earned Income Tax Credit. At the same time, conservatives are seeking to permanently repeal taxes on massive inherited wealth and unearned income for its wealthy benefactors.
• The Republican budget cuts domestic spending by $113 billion over the next five years to pay for permanent tax cuts for the wealthy. Massive tax cuts don't come cheap, and millions of Americans will be forced to deal with cuts in education, health care, veterans benefits, housing, environmental protection, and child care all to pay for substantial handouts to the rich.
• Conservatives playing politics with America's working poor. America used to honor those who worked hard and played by the rules. In today's America, conservative leaders treat the budget like a Ponzi scheme with lower-income workers propping up those at the top. But playing politics with the vulnerable working class hurts all Americans in the long run by reducing opportunities and shared responsibilities for our future.

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