Washington, DC
The budget plan agreed to by the Clinton Administration and the Republican congressional leadership makes the wrong choices for working families, one that takes from them at a time when they can ill afford it and rewards upper-income taxpayers at a time when they least deserve it.
An economic boom built on the rising productivity of American workers produced the revenue surge that made the budget deal possible. Yet tax cuts for those who had benefitted most from the boom -- and that will exacerbate income inequality -- took priority over the needs of working families. The Administration and Republican congressional leaders chose to cut programs working families will depend upon most over the next decade -- Medicare, Medicaid, public safety and the environment.
Instead of investing in tools and resources American families need to prosper in the 21st century, this budget agreement squanders the opportunity and reduces revenue needlessly -- locking in capital gains and estate tax reductions that benefit only the wealthiest one percent of taxpayers.
In 1993, the Administration promised to invest in our future by addressing vital national priorities and concerns such as health care, workplace health and safety, crumbling roads and waterways, protection of the environment and housing.
They were right, and as the budget debate takes place over the next six months, the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions will honor that vision and inject the voices of working families into every discussion and every decision, fighting to change the parts of the deal that create greater inequality and to change the political atmosphere that led to its making.