It's here. The automatic budget cuts known as the sequester have started and some people have already started to feel this burden. Virginia Organizing leader and small business owner Susan Scheffler of Nickell's and Scheffler Fine Food in Alexandria saw her sales drop in the last few months as the threat of crisis after crisis looms in Washington.
"This sequestration is not a 'fiscal slope' as some politicians are calling it, it's a cliff," said Susan. Her business survived the recession, but this is different.
There are so many consequences to these cuts that politicians are not considering, and most recently, the Center for American Progressreported the sequester will likely not cut the deficit by $85 billion as promised, and may not cut the deficit at all.
As you can see in the graphic to the right, our priorities are backwards. Congress is so protective of millionaire and billionaire tax breaks, that they would let seniors receive less meals, provide fewer vaccinations, and let low-income women and children have less nutrition assistance.
And that's not all. While billionaires and big corporations get to continue to avoid taxes and take advantage of special loopholes, the wealth gap in America is growing, and those at the bottom have less and less. Add sequestration to an already inequitable system and it becomes disasterous for so many.
America is supposed to be the land of opportunity for all, but it has turned into the land of opportunity only for those who have it all.
Our U.S. Members of Congress need to hear from you. Will you take a few minutes and call your Representative and U.S. Senator Mark Warner to tell them we need a solution to this problem that doesn't balance the budget on the backs of people in poverty and the middle class? Will you tell them we need the wealthiest Americans and big corporations to pay their fair share?
You can find your U.S. Representative by clicking here and you can call Senator Warner toll free at 877-676-2759.
What should our country value? Tax breaks for private planes and yachts or families, students, people with disabilities, seniors, and low-income women and children?
Thank you for raising your voice!
