Danielle,
When some people hear the words "tax policy," their minds immediately jump to percentages and dollar amounts and spreadsheets. But fundamentally, tax policy is about something broader. It's about who our government works for. Does our government only work for billionaires and billionaire corporations, or does it work for everybody? Does our tax system reward the rich, or does it look out for someone who's putting together two or three jobs just to keep their family above water? Do our laws prioritize helping billionaires boost their bank balances, or do we make sure we can fund nursing homes for seniors, and aides for public school students with disabilities? Tax policy is also about who pitches in to keep our country running. I'm sick of billionaires skipping out on the bill while hard-working Americans — teachers, nurses, firefighters — pay what they owe, year in and year out. And tax policy binds together many, many of the issues we care about. Look, if you care about our climate, if you care about making health care affordable, if you care about the future of our children, if you care about housing, if you care about expanding opportunity, then you have to care about our tax code. I'm bringing this up right now because Washington has major decisions to make about tax laws. Donald Trump's tax breaks for the rich that he passed in 2017 — mostly sucked up by millionaires, billionaires, and giant corporations — are set to expire. And Congressional Republicans are working to extend them — following Trump's lead, who promised to cut taxes for his "rich as hell" donors. Of course, tax cuts aren't free, no matter how hard Republicans try to fudge the numbers. Math is math. So while the GOP gets ready to give handouts to the wealthy, Elon Musk works from the inside to free up room in the budget with his illegal funding cuts. He's targeting everyone from the public servants who make sure your dad gets his Social Security check on time to the scientists who could come up with the next big lifesaving breakthrough. And Congressional Republicans are charging forward with proposed budget cuts that would hurt every community in America. Take Medicaid, which would be gutted under the Republicans' plans. It covers more than 79 million people, including almost 2 million people in Massachusetts. About half of all births are covered by Medicaid. Over a third of all children have health care thanks to Medicaid. More than half of all nursing home residents are covered by Medicaid. Many people are counting on Medicaid to pay for medicine that treats their cancer, the hip replacement they need to walk, the prescription for their child's inhaler, or the nursing home that takes care of their uncle with dementia. If the program is cut, the harm will echo through nearly every home in America. But Congressional Republicans seem to think that's a-okay if it means a billionaire can get a tax break. Billionaires win. Families lose. That's their plan. You can fit it on a bumper sticker. Help seeing a doctor, help covering grocery bills, help getting an education if you come from a family that can't write a big tuition check — it's all under attack from Congressional Republicans. They want to increase costs for health care, food, and education for working people so they can decrease taxes for millionaires, billionaires, and giant corporations. They want to reach into working people's pockets to pay for billionaires' handouts. Taxes reflect our values. Taxes show what — and who — we value enough to collectively invest in. And Republicans are showing, pure and simple, that they value a handful of the wealthy and well-connected. Not the working people they claim to represent. And they don't want you to notice what they're doing. Newsflash: We are paying attention. In the U.S. Senate, I'll keep calling out GOP plans to slash taxes for the rich. I'll keep putting forward plans to protect working families from devastating cuts. And I'll keep fighting to make our government work not just for the wealthy and well-connected but everybody. And I won't be alone. People like you are raising your voices around the country — at town halls, on the phone lines, at local organizing events, at protests — and exposing the Republican agenda. If we can grow and sustain our momentum, we can create enough pressure in Congress and from the public to stop the Republican Party from handing billions more dollars to billionaires with a bunch of billions already. Thanks for being a part of this, Elizabeth  | 
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