The CBO estimates that the ACHA would sever 23 million Americans from healthcare. Trump’s budget would cut $274B out of anti-poverty programs and $1.4 TRILLION from Medicaid, the program he promised not to touch. This post analyzes the cuts and describes obscene levels of corporate welfare.
This Saturday’s training is now full but we need 2 adults to provide childcare for 3-4 children in an adjacent room email me at paul@retakeourdemocracy.org. For other Events & Opportunities, including details on the June 10 Health Security Act event sponsored by Democratic Socialists and Retake, click here.
Trump’s Budget: A Wealth Grab for the 1% and Corporations
while Gutting Our Social Safety Net
When you cut $1.4 Trillion from MediCaid people will get hurt, and the NY Times reports on the Congressional Budget Office Report that indicates that that hurt begins with 23 million Americans losing healthcare. Click here
Truthout reports that Walmart e-commerce chief Marc Lore last year “earned” $237M, over $4.5 million per week. Truthout calculates this to translate into: “In effect, Lore earned in a single week what a Walmart worker paid $11 an hour would have to work 199 entire years to match.” The Truthout report points to how the Labour Party has developed a tax strategy designed to disincentivize corporations from paying obscene wages to executives while holding down the wages of those who actually do the work. Under a Labour proposal, any corporation that pays over 20 times the national median wage would have to pay a tax of 5 percent on the excess. In the US in 2015, the median personal income was $30,200. So if a corporation paid an exec anything over $600K and change, they’d be subject to the tax. Using Lore as an example, whose $237M salary would exceed the limit by a paltry $236.4M, I calculate that Walmart would have to pay $11.8M in taxes. Given that it was projected that in 2007 there were over 400,000 Americans earning over $1M per year, that tax would generate quite a sum. But no reason to worry, the GOP has a stranglehold on the nation right now and our only relief is a Democratic Party that has shown precious little instinct for reigning in greed in this country. Click here to read the full Truthout report.
If it isn’t bad enough that Walmart can pay their execs obscenely high salaries, Americans for Tax Fairness generated a report in 2014 that estimated that Walmart benefits from $6.2 billion a year in taxpayer subsidies “because it does not pay many employees a high enough wage, so they must rely on food stamps, Medicaid, and six other taxpayer-funded programs to survive.” What’s more, they estimated that if Walmart raised wages to $15 an hour their employees would no longer qualify for these benefits. Click here to get the full report. Bring on Labour’s solution to at least repay the American taxpayer for corporate greed.
Lest you think Retake is picking on Walmart, this Cheatsheet report sites the Cato Institute as estimating that corporate welfare amounted to over $92B in 2002 and estimates that total to be well over $100B today. Cheatsheet goes on to identify the 8 corporations with the highest corporate welfare tab and Walmart doesn’t even make the list. Boeing tops the list with a tab of over $13B per year. For the full report, click here.
Gutting Medicaid: Phase II of Trump’s Fleecing of
His Own Constituents
If you are a constituent of any of the following Republican Senators (or know someone who is); these Senators have already expressed concerns with the AHCA. So, please let them know why you support the Prevention and Public Health Fund and oppose ACA repeal: Senator Capito (WV); Senator Portman (OH); Senator Cassidy (LA); Senator Heller (NV); Senator Sullivan (AK); Senator Flake (AZ); Senator Gardner (CO); Senator Murkowski (AK); and Senator Collins (ME). Find out how to contact your senators by phone and email here.
I have found a tremendous resource, Government Alliance for Racial Equity. GARE has toolkits, implementation plans for equity and more. I will report on them in future issues.
In solidarity,
Paul & Roxanne
Categories: Capitalism, Economic justice, Healthcare
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