FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, October 10, 2019
PRESS CONTACT:
[email protected] | 646-724-3176
Tax March Releases New Television Ad Urging CNN Debate Moderators to Prioritize Taxes During Ohio Debate
TV Ad Highlights Previous Failures by CNN Moderators to Discuss Trump’s Reckless 2017 Tax Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Tax March released a new television ad urging CNN’s Democratic presidential debate moderators to prioritize a discussion of the 2017 Trump tax and policies to tax the rich during the debate happening on October 15 in Westerville, Ohio. The ad, which begins airing in Washington, D.C., today, highlights the previous failure of CNN debate moderators to question the presidential candidates on their respective plans to deal with the disastrous 2017 Trump tax law.
The new ad is part of Tax March’s six-figure campaign to keep taxes and the economy front and center during the Democratic debates and builds upon the group’s successful Tax the Rich national bus tour this past summer.
Tax March also released an open letter calling on debate moderators to have a conversation about progressive taxation. Both items come on the heels of a recent New York Times piece which finds the wealthiest 400 Americans pay lower taxes than any other income group.
“Nearly two years ago, Trump and a GOP-led Congress sold the American public a bill of goods with the 2017 tax law. This bill was the least popular piece of tax legislation passed in decades and it remains unpopular two years later because Americans know that it is a law meant only to line the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of everyone else,” said Maura Quint, Executive Director of Tax March. “At CNN’s July debates, Americans across the country waited to hear the debate moderators bring up Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy. But all we got was hand wringing about whether plans to help ordinary Americans would mean higher taxes. Meanwhile, the GOP continues to push for tax cuts for the rich and massive corporations while threatening Social Security and Medicare—benefits everyday Americans have earned and rely on. A majority of Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy. We deserve to hear from those vying for the Democratic nomination what they will do to unrig our tax system to make it work for everyone, not just the wealthy. It’s CNN’s job to give them the opportunity.”
“As a teacher, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the shuttering of the Lordstown General Motors plant has hurt my students and so many families right here in Northeast Ohio,” said Alyssa Brookbank, a teacher in Youngstown, Ohio. “While the top 1% and large corporations are receiving tax breaks, entire communities are being torn apart because of this reckless tax law. When people in this area tune into the debates, we need to hear how these candidates are ready to lend a helping hand to our communities and others across America that are struggling. It’s past time to hear a real conversation on the economy, especially when it comes to taxes.”
“So many Ohioans are regularly torn between buying food for their families or paying rent for another month,” said Larry Gerke, a retired teacher and business owner from Cincinnati, Ohio. “No one should have to live like this, especially at a time when corporations are reaping trillions in tax cuts and not investing in their workers. Something has to give.”
“In 2017, I was one of the many Americans who were excited for what the Trump tax was promised to have in store for us,” said Matt McGuire, a chef from Cincinnati.“Unfortunately, my wife and I were surprised to find that this reckless law shifted our tax bracket, leaving us worse off than we were before. And to add salt to our wounds, many Ohioans like me have watched in shock as corporations collected more money than we could ever dream of having, as we lost our jobs and defaulted on payments. Too many of us are hurting, and it’s time for us to be reminded that we have not been forgotten.”
“GM workers like me, and so many other members of my community and across the state, are fighting on the picket line to leave this economy better than how we got it,” said Sheri Baker, a GM worker from Oakwood, Ohio. “I uprooted myself to provide for my family when the foundry in Defiance downsized in 2016, and I am standing on the picket line today for the families in my community who are fighting to make ends meet. Companies are supposed to invest in our workers, but they aren’t. They got huge tax cuts based on a promise that they would invest in our communities and they aren’t doing it.”
Transcript available below
# # #
[Voiceover]
At their last presidential debate, CNN didn’t ask anything about Trump’s tax law
Didn’t ask about the top 1% of American earners getting a $78 billion dollar tax break next year
While middle class taxes go up
And CNN ignored the GOP endangering Medicare and Social Security to pay for their tax giveaway
At the upcoming debate in Ohio: CNN, let’s talk about it.
