Henry Statement on the President's Fiscal Policy Speech
$1 Trillion in Tax Breaks for Millionaires and Billionaires Is the Wrong Vision for America
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After President Obama delivered a speech on deficit reduction this afternoon, Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:
“A budget is a statement of our national values and priorities. That means any federal budget must protect working families from radical cuts to vital programs and help put Americans back to work.
“The President laid out a commonsense approach to restoring fairness to our tax system. The Bush-era tax giveaways to millionaires must come to an end. We simply cannot afford them – something the Republican budget completely ignores. All taxpayers must pay their fair share, but under the Bush tax giveaways the top 2 percent of Americans are not. Tax giveaways and deficit reduction are mutually exclusive.
“Corporate America must pay its fair share. Big corporations – some of which pay no federal taxes – earned record profits in 2010. They are doing better than ever, but are not asked to share their windfall to address the budget deficit. Without requiring corporations to pay their fair share, we cannot truly restore fairness to our tax system.
“We are encouraged by the President’s thoughtful approach to preserving and protecting Medicaid and Medicare
