Romney Says He Believes in America, Just Not in Its Public Services
By contrast, President Obama wants to cut taxes for the working men and women who are struggling
President Saunders
“I believe in America” is one of Mitt Romney’s favorite catch-phrases, but he doesn’t seem to believe in the public services that make America happen or the workers who provide them. If he did, he wouldn’t be proposing a plan to give the wealthy a tax cut, paid for with more taxes on nurses, teachers, bus drivers, social workers, librarians and other workers.
Workers like AFSCME member Carl Stanley, a water systems technician for the City of San Diego. He makes sure there is a steady supply of safe water throughout the area, including to Romney’s home in La Jolla, Calif. It’s disheartening for Stanley to turn on the TV and hear his work belittled by the man he keeps safe each day.
“People like Romney, I’m sure they never even think about what people like me do for a living – even though water is a lifeline,” says Stanley, a member of Local 127. “Romney takes our work for granted, and you can hear it in what he says, bragging about firing people and saying we need fewer cops and teachers.”
Lining Up with Ideologues
And when Romney talks about tax reform it’s clear he has people like Donald Trump in mind, not Carl Stanley. In fact, Romney’s plan would reduce taxes an average of $87,000 for those who earn more than $1 million a year. Meanwhile, taxes for the average middle-class family with children would increase by more than $2,000 annually.
In GOP Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan, Romney has found a soul-mate who is equally committed to cutting taxes for millionaires while shrinking and privatizing public services.
By contrast, President Obama wants to cut taxes for the working men and women who are struggling. Romney and Ryan and their compatriots in the House of Representatives consistently stand in the way of these cuts.
Standing Against Workers
Not only that, but they also stand in the way of workers’ rights. At the Republican convention, governors who had made a name for themselves by attacking collective bargaining were given primetime speaking slots, as if they’d done something to be applauded.
Additionally, the platform the Republicans adopted at that convention would devastate the labor movement. They want to pass a nationwide “right-to-work-for-less” law, bar the use of members’ dues for political purposes and end dues check-off.
All of this is bad news for working families – and it’s all the more reason our union is supporting President Obama.
If Romney supported public services, he’d propose a tax plan that supports those services. If he supported working families, he would want to expand collective bargaining, not destroy it.
As our AFSCME brother Carl Stanley says, “Our work is important. And if Mitt Romney doesn’t get that, he doesn’t deserve to be President.”
