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Letters to the Editor

Tell your rep ‘Hell, no’ to cuts to services most of us want

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticizes the Republican tax reform plan while Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, listens to his opening statement as the panel begins work overhauling the nation's tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday. The legislation in the House and Senate carries high political stakes for President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, who view passage of tax cuts as critical to the GOP’s success at the polls next year.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticizes the Republican tax reform plan while Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, listens to his opening statement as the panel begins work overhauling the nation's tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday. The legislation in the House and Senate carries high political stakes for President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, who view passage of tax cuts as critical to the GOP’s success at the polls next year. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE Associated Press

Voters need to understand that the Republican notion of “small government” means absolutely no services for middle- and working-class Americans. Another tenet is tax cuts which are always directed to mainly benefit the top 1 percent and the corporations that donate massive amounts to their political campaigns.

Tax cuts have the effect of tying the hands of the federal government. They balloon the deficit and force cuts for services the bottom 98 percent wants.

This is the main reason the Republicans oppose Obamacare. It provides a service Americans want, and it was paid for by targeted taxes to the very wealthy. During Obama’s term, Republicans cried about ballooning the federal deficit. But now that they are in control, the tax plans proposed increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion to give massive tax cuts to the top 1 percent and the wealthiest corporations.

Suddenly, deficits don’t matter anymore because, once implemented, the federal government Republicans now control will be forced to make deep cuts to critical services Americans want: Medicare, Medi-Cal Social Security, public education, Obamacare and more. The bottom 98 percent will get a huge tax increase to pay out-of-pocket for the services lost.

Call Reps. Devin Nunes, David Valadao and Tom McClintock and say “Hell, no!”

Linda Traynor, Fresno

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Tell your rep ‘Hell, no’ to cuts to services most of us want."

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