President Romney’s Plan
Here’s a sneak peak at what the administration of Pres. Mitt Romney and Vice Pres. Paul Ryan would look like for working families. Spoiler alert: It’s scary stuff.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney (top); Vice Presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan
It’s Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 – a seasonably cold day in Washington, DC. Dignitaries and well-wishers are huddled around the U.S. Capitol to watch as the President is sworn in and takes office.
When President Romney and Vice President Ryan leave the inauguration ceremony, they take note of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – fitting since the Chamber, whose mission is promoting legislation that benefits its corporate members, will call most of the shots in their administration. They don’t bother glancing at the nearby AFL-CIO, the federation of labor unions that includes AFSCME.
Once installed in the West Wing, President Romney’s first order of business is repealing the Affordable Care Act, a move that will deny more than 30 million Americans access to decent health care and allow insurance companies to return to the days of denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. He’s simply fulfilling his campaign promise.
Higher Tax Bill for Families
Then he and Vice President Ryan, cheered on by the “small government” crowd, begin their push to get the Romney-Ryan budget into law. Their budget includes tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and for corporations. For middle-class families with children, the tax bill will increase by more than $2,000 a year.
Romney and Ryan say that their budget, based on the Ryan plan that Romney called “marvelous” on the campaign trail, reduces the federal deficit. In reality, the spending plan adds $4.6 trillion to the deficit and is motivated by a desire to shrink and privatize public services and safety net programs such as Social Security. (Learn more at meetpaulryan.com.)
They want to turn Social Security over to Wall Street and shuffle to the states the responsibility for funding Medicaid, the medical program for the poor and disabled, using block grants. Additionally, many needy people who received Medicaid at the beginning of their administration will not in years to come, as states trim costs and make it harder for people to receive help.
Restricting Union Rights
Next, Romney turns his attention to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which prevents employers from interfering with workers’ rights to form and join labor unions. Romney wholeheartedly supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s law to restrict the bargaining rights of state workers. Although that law was defeated in a referendum, Romney hailed the governor’s attempt to “limit the power of union bosses.” He wants to appoint people to the NLRB who agree that unions “stand as obstacles to growth” and share his opposition to card-check, which would make it easier for workers to join unions. Across the country, like-minded governors catch the President’s anti-union fever.
Then it’s time to go after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by President Obama to enforce laws that outlaw discrimination in consumer finance. Romney and Ryan are eager to remove what they consider to be unnecessary regulations on businesses.
To the delight of their corporate benefactors – and to Main Street’s dismay – they’ve accomplished a lot, and it’s only June. One hundred-sixty days down…1,285 to go.
Sound like a horror story for the middle class? You can change it. Check AFSCME.org/volunteer to find out more about volunteering for President Obama’s re-election campaign.
