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TRUMP’S TAX REFORM–A BAD JOKE ON THE MIDDLE CLASS (2 min read)

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Judy Taylor, Researcher

Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of tax relief for middle class Americans and bragged that the benefits of the GOP’s tax reform bill would go to the middle class, not high earners.  Surprise: that isn’t what happened.  The long-term Republican goal of reducing taxes for the wealthy justified by its “trickle down” theory, combined with the force of Trump’s billionaire cabinet, resulted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that benefits wealthy individuals and corporations, largely ignores the middle class, and hugely increase the federal deficit.  Corporate benefits will trickle down—to investors and shareholders.  But that’s not all.  Now the administration is floating the idea of large cut to taxes on investment income worth $100 billion over ten years.  Guess who will benefit?

There is some light at the end of the tunnel—some polls suggest that voters are increasingly aware of the deep inequities of tax “reform,” and that the same Republicans in Congress who voted huge tax breaks to billionaires are also responsible for increases in health care costs to ordinary Americans.

Read the full article

Action Needed Today! Call Gov. Baker To Demand He Sign Automatic Voter Registration Into Law

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Governor Charlie Baker has until the end of the day to sign Automatic Voter Registration into law.

This cannot wait — call his office now at (617)-725-4005 and demand his signature!

Today is the 10th day that Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) has sat unsigned on Governor Baker’s desk. With one stroke of his pen, he could bring this commonsense, bipartisan reform to the Commonwealth and make our elections more participatory and secure. But if he lets the day slip by and takes no action, AVR will be completely scrapped — and we will be forced to start from square one.

We cannot let this happen. Massachusetts deserves a better and more inclusive democracy, and the only way to ensure that AVR is in place by the 2020 presidential elections is for Governor Baker to sign it into law today. The bill had strong bipartisan votes in both chambers of the legislature (including a unanimous vote in the Senate) and is supported by key officials like Secretary of State William Galvin and Attorney General Maura Healey.

AVR is a popular, commonsense reform that’s proven to work — and there is no reason for Governor Baker not to sign it. Call him TODAY at (617)-725-4005!

In other states like Oregon, California, and Vermont, AVR has already delivered serious results. The reform has registered hundreds of thousands of new voters nationwide, while also securing elections with more accurate and up-to-date voter rolls. Now, when faith in the electoral process is more fragile than ever, we cannot afford to let this opportunity for a crucial win in Massachusetts slip by.

Your voice has been vital in the campaign so far, and we know we can count on you one last time. So let’s mobilize — call, email, and tell your friends! It’s time to get Automatic Voter Registration over the finish line.

Call (617)-725-4005 NOW and tell Governor Baker that it’s time to bring AVR to Massachusetts.

Thanks for all you do,

Pam Wilmot, Executive Director
and the team at Common Cause Massachusetts

Action: Oppose the Citizenship Question in the Census (Time-Sensitive)

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U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has directed the Commerce Department to include a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census.

Including this question will discourage participation and impact the data collected, particularly in under-served areas.

The League of Women Voters is asking all League members to submit a comment opposing this question to the Commerce Department using this LWVUS link.

You can use the prepared text in the LWVUS link or substitute your own comments. It only takes a minute.

Here’s a New York Times article  on why an accurate Census is crucial.

The deadline to comment is Tuesday, Aug. 7.

Brett Kavanaugh: Not a Public School Advocate!

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Kavanaugh’s Views on Public Education

  • Upholds the belief that school vouchers are a constitutional right and could be the deciding vote on the Supreme court to divert public school funds to private and religious schools.
  • He headed the Federalist Society’s “Religious Liberties Practice Group” which supports school prayer.
  • He argued against the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has aggressively assisted students victimized by for-profit colleges and predatory lenders.
  • Supports Trump and Devos’ agenda where public schools lose public funding to private, religious, and for-profit schools, and educators lose their ability to advocate for themselves and their students.
  • Advocates against unions and workers rights.

Source: http://neatoday.org/2018/07/10/nea-president-kavanaugh-is-a-poor-choice-for-students/#

 

Take Action:  NEA Legislative Action Center

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Ten Reasons to Oppose Kavanaugh (3 minute read)

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Brett Kavanaugh and Critical Issues that Depend on the New Supreme Court Nominee

Justice Kennedy’s replacement on the Supreme Court will likely be the swing vote on a number of key issues.

  1. Allow states to outlaw abortion

Kavanaugh has a track record supporting significant obstacles to a woman’s terminating a pregnancy and is very likely to vote with the conservative majority that wants to return to the states the issue of whether the government can force women to carry pregnancies to full term.

  1. Restrict the Environmental Protection Agency from fighting climate change

Kennedy was the swing vote in the Court’s decision that the U.S. government was legally obliged to fight climate change—Kavanaugh’s record suggests he is unlikely to vote the same way.

  1. Ban race-based affirmative action

It is unlikely that  Kavanaugh will support race-based affirmative action in admissions to public educational institutions—as Kennedy did—given his record of supporting the Center for Equal Opportunity, which supports the current lawsuit against Harvard’s admissions policy.

  1. Uphold capital punishment and solitary confinement

Kennedy’s replacement is unlikely to have the same skepticism of capital punishment and strong opposition to solitary confinement.

  1. Limit consumers’ digital privacy rights

Kennedy brought a nuanced understanding privacy and first amendment rights to the Court.   It’s likely the Court will face be many high-tech cases in the near future.  Kavanaugh made a “truly expansive” ruling in the case of the NSA’a collection of call data placing national security well above individual’s privacy and first amendment rights.

  1. Aggravate partisan gerrymandering

Kennedy was viewed as a potential 5th vote in challenges to partisan gerrymandering—his replacement will likely vote the other way.

  1. Allow states to outlaw same-sex marriage

Obergefell was a 5-4 decision and already states such as Texas are passing laws limiting protections for same sex marriage.  If Kavanaugh rules against Roe, Obergefell would likely be next since it is based on the same constitutional grounds.

  1. Maintaining the wall of separation between church and state

There are several on-the-record indications from Kavanaugh that he favors lowering the wall that separates church and state.

  1. Obamacare/coverage for preexisting conditions

The Supreme Court will soon be ruling on the ACA’s requirements of preexisting conditions.  Kavanaugh has argued that the president could decline to enforce a statute such as Obamacare.

  1. Potential criminal investigation of Trump
Trump’s new appointee could be the deciding vote on a criminal investigation of Trump himself.  Kavanaugh has written that sitting presidents should not be subject to criminal or civil actions.

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