Issue Position: Fairness & Opportunity

Issue Position

Martha has wrestled with county budgets for 12 years on the Tompkins County Legislature. In most of those years the budget passed with bipartisan support, following a deliberative process involving all legislators, all department heads, and the public.

Martha appreciates the conundrum of taxes and spending:

"It's true that our federal deficit is a huge long-term problem. The first step to correcting it is acknowledging where it came from: two sets of major tax cuts, two wars on our credit card, and a major new prescription drug benefit program."

TAXES: NOT ALL TAXES ARE THE SAME

"Nobody likes to pay taxes. However, people like what taxes buy. We want good schools, smooth roads, a safe food supply, a safe community, efficient airline service and access to affordable health care. The question is, how do we pay for these essential services?

"It matters whether something is paid for by the property tax or the income tax. If you have a bad year, or you retire, your income tax goes down. If you have a good year, you will pay a little more, but probably can afford to. Not the property tax however. You pay on what the assessor says your house, your farm, or your business is worth, no matter what your income is.

"It used to be that local property taxes just paid for local services, like road repair. With state and federal mandates on schools and local governments, that's just not true anymore."

MANDATE RELIEF AND FAIRER TAXES

At the state level Martha has fought for mandate relief for local governments to help with property tax burden. This is especially a problem in New York, which is the only state that requires counties to pay a significant part of Medicaid costs.

"Over the last 30 years, in New York as well as at the federal level, the top tax brackets have been slashed. But taxes on working families and the middle class have gone up as a percent of their income. We've seen middle class incomes stuck in the mud, while the top 1% of Americans get richer and richer. We must close loopholes, and make sure tax benefits only go to businesses that create and maintain jobs here in this country, not overseas. I will fight for fairer taxes. We have got to stop asking the middle class to carry the load for the wealthy."

Who can we hold accountable for shrinking the middle class? Martha believes that we should judge our lawmakers based on whether the income gap is growing or shrinking.

MEDICAID: A FAIRER FORMULA FOR NEW YORK

Martha understands that Medicaid is an important instrument to protect the well-being of our populace. She will take on the special interests and make sure that Medicaid is preserved and strengthened.

"Protecting Medicaid is vitally important. It's a fundamental American value to take care of those in need. When it comes to health care, this means people with disabilities, seniors in nursing homes, children, and the very poor. Cuts to Medicaid only serve to drive up health care costs across the board, meaning that we all pay more. It's absolutely crucial that we protect Medicaid.

"My opponent wants to turn Medicaid into a block-grant program. He would simply give New York a flat amount of money, less than it now gets from the federal government, in return for greater flexibility. This is a thinly-veiled assault on the program's funding; we've seen this movie before. They cut the funding each year, and all the growth in costs would be paid by the state. And because of New York's reliance on county funds to support Medicaid, this block grant program will hike your property taxes too."

The federal share or contribution for Medicaid varies from state to state depending upon the poverty level in the particular state. In New York the federal portion is 50%. The highest any state receives is 70%. The formula used to arrive at this important percentage is the average income in the state. If this were calculated based on the median income, rather than the average income, New Yorkers would fare much better. New York, home to many of the wealthiest people in the country, has an income disparity that is among the greatest in the Union.

"If we can get the federal government to reconsider this formula, New Yorkers stand to benefit greatly. I will fight for a fairer, restructured formula.

"I personally asked my opponent about this formula at a town hall meeting, and he didn't know anything about it. He said, 'I'll get back to you.' I'm still waiting."

FIGHTING FOR A HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE

This past March 15th Tom Reed voted against increasing the minimum wage.

"I guess my opponent thinks earning $15,000 a year for full-time work is enough. We're not talking about teenagers: the vast majority of these wage earners are adult women. It's great that New York State is increasing the minimum wage, but all Americans need this protection. So I will fight for an increase in the federal minimum wage to give workers a better chance to support their families. These folks will spend the money for basic needs, so we'll get more dollars circulating and stimulate the economy. I'll fight for fairness and opportunity; it's not just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do for our economy."

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