Protesters to Meehan: Stop the tricks, and no treats for wealthy
SPRINGFIELD » A cardboard cutout of U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, R-7 of Chadds Ford, was the prop of choice on Tuesday outside the representative’s Springfield office as members of Delco PA Indivisible asked whether the Republican-led tax reform bill would be treats for the richest Americans and tricks for everyone else.
The local grassroots organization, which is focused on resisting unfair practices in politics, gathered a dozen or so individuals for a Tuesday afternoon protest to highlight points of concern with the GOP bill in the works.
“We’re tired of the tricks and we’re tired of the treats to the wealthy,” said Jeff Garis, the outreach and engagement director with the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, who led the protest rally on Tuesday.
Of top concern was proposed tax reforms that may include ending taxpayer deductions for state and local taxes, replaced instead by doubling the standard deduction and reducing the tax income brackets from seven to three.
Meehan spokesperson John Elizandro said in a statement that the congressman is indeed listening to the concerns of his constituency.
“The elimination of the state and local tax deduction is a genuine concern of the congressman’s and one that he’s raised with his colleagues on the committee and with House leadership,” the statement reads.
The not-so life-sized Meehan cutout, which stood about a foot shorter than the man himself, held a goodie bag with a sign that read, “Treats from rich donors.”
“To take this kind of money on this scale ... we’re going to have to see massive cuts to vital programs that serve the public safety and the public health,” Garis said. “We’re talking about programs that educate our children ... that invest in the kind of Pennsylvania we need, that invest in our environment.
“These are the kinds of things that will be cut under this GOP tax plan.”
One speaker said deficit was no longer a dirty word for the Republicans.
“How many years have we heard the GOP rail against the budget deficit?” asked Morton resident, Bob Zigmont, 66, a retired USPS letter carrier who served Prospect Park for 30 years. “How many times have they claimed that our country was doomed and our children and grandchildren would be burdened by the deficit?”
The University of Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) released a study Monday that said the tax plan would raise the deficit from between $1 trillion to $3.5 trillion over the next decade.
Zigmont said the tax breaks to wealthy Americans and to corporations comes off the backs of individuals like himself who “live on a modest income.”
“What I read in the paper is immoral to give massive tax breaks to the top 1 percent and to take away coverage for Medicaid coverage for people in nursing homes and people that rely on it for their health care,” Zigmont said.
One of Meehan’s potential opponents, state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17, of Lower Merion, agreed that the tax code needs an overhaul, but offered changes he would push for in Congress.
“We should end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas. We should end deductions for corporate bonuses and stop the 95 billion dollars we will be giving to the fossil fuel industry in tax breaks over the next decade. We should have a fairer, more progressive tax code that rewards hard work rather than endless wealth accumulation,” Leach offered in a statement. “At a time where so many middle-class families are struggling so hard, the last thing we need is more trickle down gifts to the plutocracy.”
The congressman’s statement doubled down on the claims he made earlier in the month when joined by Speaker Paul Ryan at Penn Machine Works in Aston to unveil the tax plan, that this is about freeing up businesses and corporations to allow for higher earners and additional hires.
“Hardworking middle-class taxpayers deserve to keep more of their hard-earned money, and that’s what Rep. Meehan is focused on delivering,” the statement concludes. “Rep. Meehan is working to ensure that in its totality, the tax relief package will be good news for Pennsylvania families.”
Through a loudspeaker, Garis launched a rhyme he hoped would stick.
“Say no to the Trump plan, we need more than chump change, man.”