FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
PRESS CONTACT: C.J. Warnke[email protected] | 732-284-0888
Tax the Rich Bus Tour Storms Miami Before Presidential Debates
Ahead of First Democratic Debate, Tax the Rich Team and Florida Groups Call For A More Equitable Economy
After GOP Tax Scam Raised Taxes on 92 Million Middle-Class Households, It’s Time to Make the 1% Pay Their Fair Share
MIAMI – Today, Tax March launched its nationwide Tax the Rich bus tour in Miami with local leaders and activists. Advocates including Andrea Mercado (New Florida Majority), Marleine Bastien (Family Action Network Movement), Laura Estefania Muñoz (Florida Immigrant Coalition), and Indira Navas (UnidosUS), stood outside the debate hall to share their stories, call for the repeal of the GOP tax scam, and demand that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share in taxes.
“By rallying folks behind this simple idea today in Miami and at events in more than 20 states over the next 5 weeks, we are letting lawmakers, presidential candidates, and all Americans know that our economy is not a handful of decisions made or defined by corporate CEOs, the stock market, or the bank accounts of the wealthiest,” said Dana Bye, Campaign Director of Tax March. “Tax laws that reward wealth and inheritance while squeezing every penny out of everyday working Americans aren’t just a threat to long-term prosperity, they are unjust and can no longer stand. We, the workers, are the economy, and a strong economy should only be defined as worker-generated prosperity being shared by all and not just a privileged few.”
Please find the livestream footage of the press conference here.
“We’re here in Miami, the most unequal city in the richest country in the world,” saidAndrea Mercado, Executive Director of New Florida Majority. “It’s time to tax the rich to invest in public education. It’s time to tax the rich to make sure that all families have access to a doctor and affordable health care. It’s time to tax the rich to make sure that families don’t have to choose between paying the rent and paying for diapers and child care. It’s time to tax the rich and multinational corporations to make sure we have bold solutions on the climate change crisis and advance a just transition to protect future generations. And it’s been time to tax the rich for reparations to the descendants of enslaved people in the United States of America.”
“It is unacceptable that the top 1% receive disproportionate amounts of tax breaks, shamelessly enriching themselves on the back of workers who are forced to work 2-3 jobs and still barely making it. It is shameful that our tax dollars are used to subsidize food stamps for employees of conglomerate giants like Wal-mart who do not pay their fair share of taxes while they rake billions in profit,” said Marleine Bastien, Executive Director of the Family Action Network Movement. “This is not the America we want! The tax code is rigged in favor of the millionaires, billionaires , and wealthy corporations. Every worker deserves a livable wage and a fair share to lead a quality life. Stand up and make America fair again!”
“Undocumented immigrants in Florida paid $598.7 million in state and local taxes in 2014. Their contribution would rise to $658.5 million if they could receive legal status, said Laura Estefania Muñoz of Florida Immigrant Coalition. “Working class Americans don’t need their government to criminalize, detain and deport immigrants to fill the pockets of private prisons. They need their government to ensure the wealthiest and most privileged in society also pay their part. They need their government to do its job and tax the rich.”
“La comunidad Hispana juega una parte muy importante en nuestra economía, pero si nuestra comunidad no esta preparada con los recursos necesarios para poder protegerse de otra recesión, la economía de los Estados Unidos sufrirá,” said Indira Navas, Organizer for UnidosUS. “Necesitamos políticas públicas que confrontan las barreras que los Hispanos enfrenten en el acceso a buenos trabajos y la oportunidad de ahorrar. Y nosotros estamos aquí para escucharlos y luchar para que todos podamos ver nuestro trabajo dar resultados.”
Tomorrow, the campaign will be hosting a Debate Debrief breakfast, where Dana Bye (Tax March) Seth Hanlon (Center for American Progress), Thomas Kennedy (Florida Immigrant Coalition) and Melissa Taveras (Miami-based media strategist) will discuss the role taxes and the economy played in the previous night’s debate and reveal new polling data detailing how Floridians feel about having the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes.
Taking place between the first two presidential debates, the Tax the Rich Bus tour will be traveling across the country this summer to tell the truth about the harmful effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and empower local elected officials, activists and national organizations to demand the rich and corporations pay their fair share. The tour concludes in Detroit, MI on July 30, 2019.
The Tax the Rich Bus Tour will stop in more than 20 states including: Florida, North Carolina, Maine, Iowa, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, and end in Detroit, MI.
More information on the tour is available here.
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