Wednesday, 07 June 2017 14:57

Protest Targets Trump Budget Cuts, Tax Breaks, Militarism

Written by Paul Shannon
State Rep. Mike Connolly addresses the May 31 gathering at the O’Neill Federal Building in Boston State Rep. Mike Connolly addresses the May 31 gathering at the O’Neill Federal Building in Boston

Organizations and individuals in the Boston area will rally Wednesday morning, May 31, to draw attention to the flaws in President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposal, released May 23, which calls for drastic cuts to vital programs, deep tax cuts for the wealthy, and increased spending on the military.

Speakers will support an alternative budget offered by the Congressional Progressive Caucus: The People’s Budget. Participants will rally at the Tip O’Neill Federal Building at 10 Causeway Street, Boston, at 12:00. The group will then march to the JFK Federal Building in Government Center and hold a second rally at 1:00.

“President Trump’s budget proposal calls for a $54 billion cut to climate protection, housing, food security, worker safety, and cancer research, transferring all these funds towards our grossly inflated military budget,” said Cole Harrison, executive director of Massachusetts Peace Action. “It then cuts $800 billion over 10 years from Food Stamps, Medicaid and other mandatory programs! This is on top of the $880 billion cut to Medicaid already passed by the House of Representatives,” Harrison continued. While the current budget cuts valuable programs to fund the president’s proposed $5 trillion in tax cuts (benefiting primarily corporations and wealthy individuals), The People’s Budget invests $2 trillion in modernizing our energy system, improving mass transit, education, and infrastructure. This progressive budget also funds universal childcare, increases access to health care, provides for humane immigration reform, and expands Social Security. Veterans are not forgotten in The People’s Budget, which ensures that they receive the care and benefits they were promised while making sure Veterans Affairs will not be privatized. Additionally, The People’s Budget closes tax loopholes that lead to losing jobs overseas, and it stops CEOs from awarding themselves millions in tax-free bonuses.

Speakers at Wednesday’s rally include Jessica Tang, incoming president of the Boston Teachers Union; Steve Tolman, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO; State Sen. Jamie Eldridge; Patricia Downs Berger, MD, co-chair of Mass-Care; Katherine Anderson of 350 Massachusetts; Barbara Madeloni, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association; Roxanne Reddington-Wilde of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD); Cambridge tenant, Abra Berkowitz and Boston tenant Conrad Ciszek; Rich Rogers, secretary-treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council; Jonathan King, professor of biology at MIT; State Rep. Mike Connolly; Warren Pepicelli, international vice president of UNITE HERE and Darrin Howell of 1199 SEIU. The rally is sponsored by the Massachusetts People’s Budget Campaign and is endorsed by the Mass. Alliance of HUD Tenants; New England Joint Board-UNITE-HERE; Cambridge Residents Alliance; Neighbor to Neighbor; Massachusetts Peace Action; American Friends Service Committee; Our Revolution Massachusetts; Massachusetts Senior Action; Massachusetts Jobs with Justice; Veterans for Peace/Smedley Butler Brigade; Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee; Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment; Progressive Democrats of America; Mass-Care; and Women’s Int’l League for Peace & Freedom.

  

 

Read 7518 times Last modified on Sunday, 11 June 2017 15:30

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