Residents gather in downtown Jamestown on Wednesday afternoon near Congressman Tom Reed’s office to voice their criticism over his support for the GOP tax reform plan that they say will favor the wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle class.
JAMESTOWN – A group of local residents gathered in downtown Jamestown Wednesday afternoon in front of Congressman Tom Reed’s (R-Corning, NY 23) Jamestown office to share their feelings about the GOP tax reform plan.
About two dozen residents gathered at noon at the four corners of 2nd and Main Streets – to voice their concerns over the proposed tax plan that is being supported by Reed. Currently two different versions of the partisan plan have been approved by the House and Senate respectively and it’s now awaiting reconciliation.
Jamestown area resident Edward Voss was one of those who attended, saying he’s against a tax plan that heavily favors the big business and corporations.
“We should have a priority for the poor and middle class over and above a priority for the wealthy,” Voss told WRFA during the rally. “If you look at the tax structure from the plan, it’s heavily weighted toward corporations. You know what corporations will do with it. They’ll take that money and reinvest it in their company by buying back stock shares which make the CEO’s salary go up because he has a stock option. So he’s going to gain more wealth. They’re not going to create more jobs. The business of business is not creating jobs, it’s creating profit. ”
Jamestown resident, Tom Meara, said he also feels the tax plan wont help low and middle class Americans and, if anything, it will force them to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
Residents voice their concern for the GOP tax reform plan during a rally in downtown Jamestown on Wednesday, Dec. 6 near Congressman Tom Reed’ Jamestown office.
“This tax bill is going to add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. If you divide that by the number of people living in America, another way to look at it is everybody took out a personal loan over a ten-year term for $6500 – every man woman and child – and they’re giving it to the rich and the powerful. I think that’s blatantly wrong and that’s not what America stands for,” Meara said.
While the group was on hand to voice their disapproval of the plan, they also feel its unlikely their effort will persuade Congressman Reed or any other Republican lawmaker from changing their minds. However, Voss said that he does hope they can at least use that support against Reed and his GOP colleagues next November.
“I think it’s going to pass and when it does pass, we’ll have information on how it will effect all Americans and we’ll use that to throw Reed out of office,” Voss said.
In response to the rally, Congressman Reed’s office posted a statement on Facebook, saying he’s heard from the majority of residents across the district and he said they deserve a tax cut, and the tax reform plan will deliver just that. According to Reed, the bill ensures families will be able to keep $1600 more of their hard earned dollars through changes in the tax code. Reed and other Republicans also says the corporate tax breaks will spur job growth and economic development. Critics say the relief being touted by Reed doesn’t factor in the removal and/or reduction of current tax deductions. They also say there is no guarantee the tax breaks for businesses will correlate to economic growth.
Republicans in Washington hope to finalize a tax reform plan in the next two weeks, take a vote on it, and deliver it the president for his signature by Dec. 25.
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