ABOVE: Participant in a protest last week at one of Tom MacArthur’s offices.
Letter to the editor by Marianne P. Clemente, Chair, Barnegat Democratic Municipal Committee
Our representative Tom MacArthur and his staff are rude and totally dismissive of CD3 constituents. We have had enough…. In particular on 12/4 and 12/6, we respectfully protested at MacArthur’s office regarding his support of the destructive, divisive and inequitable tax “cut” bill undergoing reconciliation in Congress. MacArthur was the only NJ legislator to vote “yes” for this bill.
When we tried to visit MacArthur’s office, we were stopped by the guards. They called MacArthur’s Constituent Services Director-Noriko Kowalewski to speak to us. We were disrespectfully treated and stood in this empty room where Kowalewski listened and made no attempt to write anything down until we asked why she wasn’t making note of our being there. She proceeded to have us write our name and address on a piece of loose-leaf paper. She still made no note of why we were there.
This destructive bill, if passed, will be disastrous to the middle class, the working poor and those living at or below the poverty level. I would guess that the majority of folks who will read this letter, me included, are in one of those three groups–otherwise referred to as the 99%. This tax “cut” bill is TOTALLY GEARED TO THE WEALTHY 1%.
We, the 99%, will be negatively affected–big time, losing:
- state/local tax deductions
- medical/dental/casualty loss deductions
- the Affordable Care Act’s Individual Mandate for Health Insurance
- student loan deduction
- mortgage interest deduction
- teachers’ deduction for school supplies
- some Medicare and Medicaid coverage
- tax cuts for individuals over time
The 1% stands to gain by the:
- reduction of corporate tax from 35% to 20%
- elimination of the estate tax (affects millionaires and billionaires)
- average tax cut of over $700,000 every year for folks making more than $3.5 million
- elimination of the Alternative Minimum Tax
- tax cuts for corporations being permanent
This bill will add over $1 Trillion to the debt… aren’t the Republicans diametrically opposed to adding to our deficit? How hypocritical of them. Call MacArthur’s office at 202-225-4765 and demand that he vote against this tax bill and listen to his constituents.
This bill is not good for NJ and we simply can’t afford it. It was written for the wealthiest among us – the 1%.
Editor’s note: The opinions in this letter are those of the author only.
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