By Alison Kromer, Executive Director, Communities United For Action
Communities United For Action (CUFA) hosted the Federal Tax & Budget Fight: Demonstration & Town Hall on April 22. CUFA invited Representative Warren Davidson and Senators John Husted and Bernie Moreno. All declined to attend.
Representative Greg Landsman previously met with CUFA representatives in Washington, DC in February and for a Community Conversation about the proposed federal budget in March.
Attendees began by marching to Duke Energy’s Fourth St. location to draw attention to the company’s deep influence over local, state, and federal elected officials and what they stand to gain should the proposed federal budget get passed.
“We are here today because we are tired of corporations and the wealthy few exploiting us to grow their profit margins every year,” said LoA Bennett, a CUFA member who led the demonstration.
“Duke Energy benefited directly from the 2017 tax cuts, paying zero federal taxes in 2020. They stand to gain even more under the current federal budget proposal. Duke Energy inserts itself into local, state, and federal electoral campaigns with their Political Action Committee – contributing to both Democratic and Republican candidates. They hedge their bets, but they always end up on the winning team. Then, Duke Energy lobbies elected officials to influence policy making around every energy issue you can imagine.”
Attendees gathered at Christ Church Cathedral for an “Empty Seat” Town Hall, displaying the missing members of Congress’s faces in empty chairs. As CUFA member Minister Chris Gillium said at the Town Hall, “Husted, Moreno, and Davidson all refused the invitation, which is why we have them right here in their empty chairs.”
Gillium, who chaired the Town Hall continued, “We are here today because the budget proposed by Trump and Congressional Republicans is waging a war against our communities. They are planning to cut more than $2 trillion dollars from agencies and programs that provide services that our communities depend on. Things like housing, Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, social security, veterans’ services, and more are on the chopping block. They have already fired thousands of federal employees that help keep these programs running, and corporations accountable. They are doing all of this so they can give themselves, corporations, and their rich friends a $4 trillion dollar tax break. They are stealing from us to fatten their pockets. We cannot let that happen. We cannot let them pull the plug on our communities and put billionaires over working people.”
CUFA members say they will continue to pressure lawmakers to reject the federal budget proposal.