This week, AFSCME members and concerned working Ohioans joined Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo and State Representative Christine Cockley for a press conference detailing how working families will suffer if Congress cuts public services to pay for billionaire tax cuts.
Speakers sounded the alarm on how these reckless cuts will hurt our communities and urged Congressman Mike Carey to stop the cuts. This included Margaret Smith, OCSEA retiree, activist and member of AFSCME Retiree Chapter 1184. “As someone who dedicated my life to public service, I know firsthand how essential programs like Medicaid are to the health and dignity of our neighbors. In Ohio, Medicaid helps pay for the care that seniors and people with disabilities count on—from prescriptions to nursing home support to doctor visits,” said Margaret, who called on the Congressman Mike Carey to do the right thing, stand with Ohioans, not the billionaires.
One-third (33%) of Ohio’s total revenue comes from federal funding––with a significant portion of that funding supporting Medicaid for children, people with disabilities, veterans, and senior citizens. "If that funding is cut, essential public services from education to health care to infrastructure will be on the chopping block, impacting all Ohioans. Meanwhile, Congress is also pushing massive tax breaks for billionaires who already have more power and wealth than ever," AFSCME wrote in a press statement about the event. Research has proven that the 2017 tax law overwhelmingly benefitted the rich and did almost nothing to help working families.