‘Take Away Some Sh*t from the Rich as Well’
Why must all the pain consistently fall on the most vulnerable, Democrats argue
Listen to Republicans these days in Washington DC, and you’re you’ll hear a lot about the need to “reform” “waste, fraud and abuse” in the name of fiscal restraint and tackling the federal budget deficit and debt.
But Democrats are increasingly countering those talking points. Why, they ask, do the most vulnerable in the nation have to consistently bear the brunt of the pain for those efforts?
And they question why, simultaneously, Republicans are trying to shovel more tax breaks at the wealthiest Americans and large corporations?
In other words, Democrats are calling out Republicans for their hypocrisy.
The debate over federal spending has been heating up in recent days as Republicans struggle to pass their so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which would cut deeply into Medicaid and other federal programs that support low-income and working-class Americans.
A small group of Republicans helped Democrats tank the bill in the House Budget Committee late last week, but Republicans have pledged to keep trying to advance the legislation.
Del Stacey Plaskett, of the US Virgin Islands, was one of the united Democrats on the budget committee who voted together against the bill.
“Listen, I’m concerned with [food assistance], I’m concerned with Medicaid, Pell grants, energy manufacturing. Those are important to me,” Plaskett said in committee ahead of that vote. “That represents trillions of dollars that they have cut. But if they’re really interested in being fiscally responsible, then don’t give such big [tax] cuts to the rich. Actually try and balance a budget. Actually try and bring down the deficit.
“If you want to take away all of those things from the neediest, take away some sh*t from the rich as well,” she added. “But you don’t want to do that. You want to give them more off of the backs of American people. You’re gonna cut SNAP by $300 billion, Medicaid, health care for the poorest, $700 billion.
“You won’t even give a cut to individuals making over a billion dollars, which would have taken away a trillion dollars that we could put back into other things,” she said. “This is about the wealthy. This is not about the American people.”
Rep Steve Horsford (D-Nev) made a similar point in an interview with CNN, saying that the “Big, Beautiful Bill” advances none of the core priorities of his constituents in Las Vegas, Nev.
“Look, this is not about Donald Trump or Republicans in Congress. The hero in this story are the American people. I do represent Las Vegas, and tip workers are the engines of our economy. And I‘m fighting hard every single day to make sure that they have access not only to better wages, but health care, affordable housing, quality education, the ability to retire with dignity,” Horsford said. “None of these priorities are in this ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ because they‘re only giving the benefit to the very wealthy, the big corporations and billionaires, not to middle-class families, not to the workers that I’m fighting for every single day.”
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