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For Immediate Release
February, 16 2018, 01:00pm EDT
Contact:
Sam Quigley,,sam@patrioticmillionaires.org
Three Questions for Senator Romney
Today, the Patriotic Millionaires of Utah, along with the Patriotic Millionaires' national organization, issued the following statement in response to Mitt Romney's announcement that he would run for the US Senate in Utah:
Salt Lake City, UT
Today, the Patriotic Millionaires of Utah, along with the Patriotic Millionaires' national organization, issued the following statement in response to Mitt Romney's announcement that he would run for the US Senate in Utah:
"Mitt Romney is one of the only nationally-recognized Republicans willing to stand up to President Trump, something that causes heart palpitations in Utah's most zealous conservatives, but which gives the rest of us great comfort. Given the President's tenuous relationship with the truth and ethical standards, it is critical that Governor Romney, if elected, maintain the highest level of accuracy in his dialogue with Utahns about the critical issues facing the country. To that end, we ask Governor Romney to answer three simple questions prior to the November election.
1. Candidate Trump promised repeatedly on the campaign trail to close the carried interest loophole ('Those hedge fund guys are getting away with murder'), an egregious mischaracterization of income that allows fund managers to pay half the tax rate of working people by claiming capital gains rates on ordinary income. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 did not close this loophole, but rather made it worse. In fact, since the law's passage, fund managers have set up a slew of new shell corporations to avoid paying their fair share of taxes on carried interest. Note: As a private equity manager, Governor Romney took advantage of the carried interest loophole.
Governor Romney, will you tell the voters of Utah the truth - that President Trump failed to live up to his promise to close the carried interest loophole - and will you commit to closing this egregious loophole if elected to the US Senate?
2. Throughout his presidential campaign, candidate Trump promised to 'save Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security without cuts,' but his recently released budget cuts all three programs by almost $1.5 trillion, roughly the same amount as the recent tax cuts which primarily benefited millionaires, billionaires, and corporations.
Governor Romney, will you tell the voters of Utah the truth - that President Trump is going back on his promise to 'save Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security without cuts?' Do you believe it is morally right to cut these programs that benefit the poor, the elderly, and the disabled, in order to pay for tax cuts to America's wealthiest citizens?
3. On the campaign trail, President Trump said that he would support a federal minimum wage of $10 an hour. The stock market is booming and the economy has been steadily growing for nearly a decade, but the federal minimum wage remains at just $7.25 an hour, the equivalent of $15,000 per year.
Governor Romney, do you think $7.25 an hour is a moral wage, and if not, will you commit to raising the federal minimum wage? If so, to what, and by when?"
More from Art Lipson, Patriotic Millionaire, Utahn, and Managing Partner at Western Investment, LLC:
"Despite the many differences we have on policy issues, I believe Governor Romney has shown himself to be a moral and truthful person. If elected, I hope he will bring those qualities to the US Senate where they are so badly needed. And I urge Governor Romney to run his campaign with integrity as well, including having the courage to tell the truth about President Trump's failure to deliver on key promises he made during the election. Utahns, indeed all Americans, need the truth right now more than they need just about anything."
To schedule an interview or for further comment, please contact Sam Quigley at sam@patrioticmillionaires.org.
The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.
(202) 446-0489LATEST NEWS
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Over two dozen people were arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday for protesting Republicans' plans to cut Medicaid as part of a sweeping reconciliation package that would gut programs for the working class to provide tax giveaways to the wealthy.
"Around 2:00 pm, 25 people were arrested for illegally demonstrating in the Rayburn House Office Building," a Capitol Police spokesperson toldAxios.
"It is against the law to protest inside the congressional buildings," the spokesperson said. "More arrests are currently being made."
While the effort to pass the package spans several panels, these protesters were targeting a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. As Politicoreported:
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An analysis released by the Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday estimated that under the committee's proposal, by 2034, Medicaid enrollment would drop by 10.3 million people and the number of uninsured individuals would rise by 7.6 million.
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As Common Dreamsreported earlier Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is mobilizing organizers in swing districts he has recently visited on his Fighting Oligarchy Tour to urge constituents to pressure their representatives to oppose the emerging GOP package.
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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs condemned the strikes,
saying on social media that "these attacks are unacceptable and must end. Healthcare is not a target."
Attacks on medical facilities are war crimes under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
The Gaza Health Ministry decried "the repeated targeting of hospitals and the pursuit and killing of wounded patients inside treatment rooms," adding that such attacks confirm "Israel's deliberate intent to inflict greater damage to the healthcare system."
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IDF strikes have obliterated Gaza's medical infrastructure along with the rest of the densely populated strip. Last year, an independent United Nations commission found that "Israel has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza's healthcare system as part of a broader assault on Gaza, committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities."
The commission's report detailed hundreds of IDF attacks on Gaza healthcare facilities and the killing or wounding of around 1,700 medical workers, calling such killings "widespread and systematic."
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The JCT's release coincides with a key meeting in the U.S. House of Representatives. As Politicodetailed:
The newly revised estimate released Tuesday afternoon is up slightly from the $3.7 trillion price tag budget forecasters had previously put on the plan, and it comes as the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee began formally debating the package. Additional changes are possible there, and also later, when Republicans are preparing to take the legislation to the House floor."
[...]
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Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) similarly listed provisions on social media Tuesday—and highlighted their impacts.
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Although Republicans control both chambers and the White House, their majorities are slim, meaning absences and disagreements over issues like increasing the deficit or cuts that will anger constituents in swing districts could slow or even impede their ability to send "one big, beautiful bill" to Trump's desk.
As Common Dreamsreported earlier Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is deploying organizers to mobilize opposition against the GOP's emerging reconciliation package, focusing on districts he has visited as part of his Fighting Oligarchy Tour.
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