By Mimi Maduro
It’s that time of year again—April 15th, Tax Day, is around the corner. This week as I was preparing my IRS federal taxes, I found myself wondering: What will my tax dollars be paying for this year? Where is all that money going from cutting a long list of services and tens of thousands of jobs at federal agencies across the country? The Republican Administration has already cut, has proposed or has announced plans to cut, services and staff from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Education, national parks, NOAA, the Small Business Administration and the Environmental & Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus, to name a few.
For the past five decades when I’ve filed my IRS forms on Tax Day I’ve felt confident of the services that would be there for me and for my family, friends, neighbors and community. Services such as healthcare for veterans, visiting national parks, dependable weather information, enforcement of consumer & environmental protection laws, and administering the social security benefits I would eventually be collecting as I paid my social security tax in every paycheck.
Though it may not be highly visible every day, a significant portion of tax dollars we pay to the federal government is returned to Oregon and Tillamook County in the form of grants, loans, services and payments for K-12 educational services, small business loans, affordable housing, clean water and air as well as benefits for seniors, veterans and those with disabilities. This is just a short list off the top of my head. Though I don’t use or need all of these services, I value these services being available to my neighbors and other Oregonians who need them, for the common good.
It’s time to follow the money. As I comb the headlines, read articles and listen to the news, the answer to my question: What will my tax dollars be paying for this year? is clear. The Republican Administration’s commitment to cut taxes for the wealthy. There is no mention, nor was there any campaign promise of cutting taxes for low- or middle-class income taxpayers. Wealthy Americans also received a big tax cut in the 2016 Republican Administration just eight years ago, and they’ve promised them yet more tax cuts!
As I follow the money, it doesn’t add up to anything for me or millions of retired, low- or middle-income Americans. It only adds up to benefit individuals whose personal financial worth has a bunch of zeros behind it (millions or billions of dollars.) At the same time, following the money regarding the tariffs that the Republican Administration have slapped onto many goods that I would purchase made in these other countries, it is clear that the tariffs costs will be paid through higher price tags for me, for all of us consumers, to pay — not government or business.
It’s time for us to write to our Members of Congress, to protest, to boycott the Republican Administration’s dismantling of federal services, staff and benefits. The United States is an almost 250 year old democracy. We, the people have the right to voice our opposition, to persist in questioning: Where is all this money, the so-called “savings & efficiency” going? Who will benefit?