District 11 Chair: What has Cawthorn done for WNC?
“As a firefighter in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, I’m committed to protecting lives, infrastructure and the environment of Western North Carolina. Each day, my crew and I put our lives on the line in order to carry out this mission – bringing much pride to the work we do to serve our communities,” writes Matt Balance, Chair of the 11th District of the NC Democratic Party, in the Asheville Citizen-Times.
In an opinion column titled “Has Rep. Cawthorn done anything to lower costs for the hardworking people of WNC?” Balance goes on: “When I heard the news that Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s Republican Party is backing Florida Senator and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Rick Scott’s plan to raise taxes on half of Americans, including firefighters like myself as well as many child care workers and teachers, there was no other option than to voice my concern.
“With their 2017 tax law, Congressional Republicans, led by Senator Rick Scott, delivered almost $2 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations. Now, Rep. Cawthorn and his Republican colleagues are proposing $100 billion per year in tax hikes for middle-class families. To break this down, roughly 75 million American families – 96% of them earning less than $100,000 – would see on average tax increases of $1,480 more each year.
“In the Tar Heel State, this would mean that taxes would increase for nearly 40% of North Carolinians. With North Carolinians already feeling the squeeze of rising costs from Putin’s war of choice, higher taxes are the last thing we need. Some Senate Republicans are even calling inflation a ‘gold mine.’
“This isn’t all the Republican Party is doing to work against lowering costs for North Carolinians. In the last couple of weeks, Republicans in Congress – including Congressman Madison Cawthorn – voted against bills to make insulin more affordable, which as many as one million North Carolinians rely on, and help as many as over 4,000 North Carolina restaurants and businesses who didn’t receive the first round of Restaurant Revitalization Fund relief to cover costs.
“Even more, Republicans are pushing an agenda that would put Social Security and Medicare benefits in danger. If Rep. Cawthorn and Republicans get their way, these historic – and historically popular – programs would sunset after 5 years, leaving many seniors across Western North Carolina without the benefits they rely on. In North Carolina, over 2 million people rely on Social Security – including over 222,000 in North Carolina’s Eleventh Congressional District – and over two million people have Medicare across the state.
“Meanwhile, President Biden and Democrats are working to reduce deficits, while bolstering Social Security and not touching Medicare by making the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share in taxes – while also lowering costs for working families. President Biden has proposed a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax on the wealthiest Americans, which would reduce the deficit by more than $360 billion over the next decade while not raising taxes on anyone making under $400,000 per year.
“At the same time, President Biden Democrats are equally focused on taking steps to lower costs for Americans: taking executive actions to help lower gas prices, manufacturing more in America, breaking up supply chain bottlenecks that are raising prices, promoting competition, and further reducing health care costs by protecting and building on the Affordable Care Act.
“Western North Carolinians deserve answers. Unless proven otherwise, this much is clear: Republicans like Rep. Cawthorn are running on an agenda of tax hikes and putting millions of Americans’ Medicare and Social Security benefits in danger while President Biden and Democrats have a responsible plan to lower deficits and are pushing every day to lower costs.
Click here to read Matt Balance’s column in the Asheville Citizen-Times online.
