100 Rally in Richmond to Demand Congressman Cantor Put Middle Class Before Millionaires
Crowd spoke in opposition to so-called “Plan B” proposal before the House for vote today
Richmond – Approximately 100 citizens gathered today in Kanawha Plaza in downtown Richmond to deliver a simple message to Congressman Eric Cantor: a deal that puts the middle class before millionaires is a bad deal for Virginia. As the US House of Representatives prepared to vote on a so-called “Plan B” proposal that would give tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of working families, Central Virginians spoke out.
Kevin Wilson, a local small business owner, spoke to the crowd about the impact increasing middle class taxes would have on his business. “Right now our economic recovery is tenuous. Raising taxes on middle class families would have a devastating affect on my small business. I think it’s fair to ask the wealthy to pay a little more so we can all grow and prosper together.”
If Congress fails to act by the end of the year, the average middle class family will see their taxes go up by over $2,000. Since the election, conservatives under Eric Cantor’s leadership and repeatedly refused to let the House of Representatives vote on the Middle Class Tax Cut Act, which would extend tax cuts for 98% of Americans and 97% of small business.
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“We have to make a choice about who we are,” said local Richmond-area resident Adria Scharf. “Is our country a land in which prosperity and resources are broadly shared? In which the economy and the tax code benefit working people? The federal budget is a reflection of our values and our choices, of who we are as a country.
Now the House will vote on a so-called “Plan B” that is a raw deal for working families. The proposal would end unemployment insurance that 2 million Americans use to subsist in between jobs. It would eliminate tax cuts that 25 million Americans need by letting the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Opportunity Tax Credit all expire. And, it would save millionaires an average of $50,000 in taxes at the expense of important programs.
In the past month, Virginians have held rallies, town hall meetings, and house parties across Virginia in support of a fiscal cliff deal that puts the middle class before millionaires and lets the Bush tax cuts for the top two percent expire. Events have been held in Reston, Herndon, Vienna, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond, Charlottesville, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Danville, and Lynchburg.
The Action is a grassroots movement of over 150 national, state and local organizations calling for the end of the Bush-era tax breaks for the richest 2 percent that have for too long shortchanged critical investments that create and sustain jobs.
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