As fiscal cliff looms, coal to be dumped at companies whose CEOs are pushing Congress to cut to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security
More than 100 of Santa's 99% helpers will deliver lumps of coal by the wheelbarrow-full to downtown Seattle branches of Macy's, Bank of America, and Chase today. These corporations are receiving lumps of coal because their naughty CEOs have called on Congress to cut tax rates for the rich this holiday season — and pay for it by making deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
When: TODAY, Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 12:00 noon
Where: Gather at Westlake Park, then proceed to local outlets of Macy's, Chase, and Bank of America to deliver lumps of coal by the wheelbarrow-full.
What/visuals: People affected by the budget cuts being proposed in Congress will deliver lumps of coal by the wheelbarrow-full to corporations whose naughty CEOs are pushing Congress to cut tax rates on the rich and pay for it by cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs. Santa Claus will attend with a giant naughty list naming the CEOs pushing for budget cuts. Each lump of coal being delivered represents one of hundreds of names added to a petition calling on our elected officials to stand with the people, not the CEOs, and give us what we voted for: jobs, not cuts.
The top executives of Macy's, Bank of America, and Chase earned their place on the naughty list for coal delivery because they were among the 80 CEOs who recently signed a letter calling on Congress to cut spending on healthcare and retirement security and cut the tax rates the rich are supposed to pay. While the rest of us would suffer, a recent report from a DC think tank shows that the CEOs pushing these priorities in Congress have big money at stake:
* Terry Lundgren, the CEO of Macy's, personally received a $1.9 million tax cut on his $41 million paycheck last year.
* Bank of America would see a tax cut of as much as $2.5 billion from the proposals they are pushing.
* Chase would see a tax cut of as much as $4.9 billion from the proposals they are pushing.
Today's coal delivery comes less than 24 hours after
a high-ranking source in the Claus Administration leaked a document believed to be Santa's official list of naughty budget-cutting CEOs. The action is the latest move in a local campaign calling on Congress to stick with the people, not the CEOs. Our effort kicked off less than a week after Election Day, when more than 8,000 people from across the state joined a tele-town hall with Senator Patty Murray. The Senator heard stories from community members who spoke about the importance of programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and urged her to stand with us against the corporate 1% agenda of tax cuts for the rich and budget cuts for the rest of us. As the incoming chair of the Senate Budget Committee and the former chair of the Congressional Supercommittee, Senator Murray is a key leader in Congress on budget issues.
TODAY, local residents will call on elected officials to fulfill their commitment to represent us — not the CEOs — and deliver on what we voted for: jobs, not cuts.
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