by Hollis Wormsby, Jr.
What Are the Early Results of Low Voter Turnout?
According to most all accounts the voter turnout for the November 4th elections was the lowest in modern history, with estimates of voter turnout as low as 30 percent. In the wake of this unprecedented low turnout, Republicans recaptured control of the Senate and expanded their lead in the House. But maybe even more important than their just taking control, Republican leaders have taken the election result as a mandate to impose a conservative agenda they say is what voters turned out for them for.
What are the initial proposals? They are almost stunning in their boldness and in their assault on the working middle class. Let’s take a quick look at some of the spending that they propose to cut under the guise of reforming entitlement spending.
The Republican budget proposed ending the Earned Income Tax Credit. This credit allows poor working people with children, to actually receive more in tax returns than they paid in taxes, thus the word credit. I believe it is one of the only tax credits that allows one to receive more of a tax return than you paid in actual taxes. This credit does not go to so called free loaders, as you have to work in order to qualify for it, but it does help put a few more dollars in the hands of some of the lowest paid working adults in this country.
The Republican budget proposed ending the Child Care Tax Credit. This credit allows working families to recoup a small portion of what they pay in child care for their children. If you have ever had to pay child care you know that child care can quickly eat up almost all of a low-income working person’s check. This credit does not go to so called free loaders, it only goes to working families with children who use it to help put a few more dollars in their pockets.
The Republican budget proposed ending the mortgage interest deduction for all tax payers. While this cut would affect anyone paying a mortgage, obviously its impact would be the greatest on moderate income homeowners for whom their mortgage interest deduction is the largest single deduction they qualify for. No matter how you try to spin this it would in effect be a significant tax increase for most moderate income families, the very families that are least able to afford to pay more.
The Republican budget proposed yet again, significant cuts to Social Security and Medicaid. They have been singing this song for so long, that even though I don’t like it, I feel more than capable of singing along. These proposed cuts are just wrong. I have older family members who are trying to live off of like $745 a month in Social Security benefits, cannot the Koch brothers with their $85 billion personal wealth, have just a little compassion for folks who have so little that they sometimes have to choose between buying food or buying their medicines?
And what do the Republicans plan to do with the savings they wring from the backs of the poorest in this nation? They are planning a $500 billion tax cut for corporations, because they are the job creators. Well okay, except the trouble with this logic is that in the last twenty years or more these same corporations have taken their tax cuts and tax savings and moved all of the manufacturing jobs to Asia. There is no reason for a logical person to believe differently this time, except the Koch brothers will spend millions telling you it is true, and some will be dumb enough to believe it.
For those in our community who chose to sit out this election, the bitter fruit is already in bloom. For those who voted and will experience the tsunami anyway, I feel for you, and the solution is not to sit around and complain, it is to do what the Tea Party did on the night after President Obama was first elected – and that is to start meeting about what we are going to do for the next election.
Or at least that’s the way I see it.
(Do you have a question or comment on this column? Look me up on Facebook/HollisWormsby or email me at hjwormsby@aol.com.)
