Capitol Times - Extend Middle Class Tax Cuts, Make Rich Pay More

Op-Ed

By Representative Tammy Baldwin

I believe that if we're going to prosper, everyone has to have a fair shot. That is why I have supported tax cuts for middle class families and small businesses and fought to protect and create Wisconsin jobs.

As we continue to work on moving our economic recovery forward, everyone needs to do their fair share.

We can't afford to extend tax cuts for those at the top and I believe that millionaires and billionaires need to pay their fair share so we can invest in growing our economy. I am the lead sponsor in the House of Representatives of the Buffett rule, which would ensure that people with over a million dollars a year in income pay at least as high a tax rate as the middle class. My opponent disagrees and opposes this approach. Not only does he support extending budget-busting tax cuts for the top 2 percent, he supports cutting taxes for millionaires like himself by $265,000 while raising taxes on the middle class.
In contrast, I recently voted for a plan to extend tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year for middle class families and small businesses. In addition, I worked to extend tax deductions passed in 2009 to help working families with children and to help families afford college tuition.

I have focused my campaign squarely on strengthening Wisconsin's manufacturing base and building a "Made in Wisconsin" economy to move our state forward. I believe that we need to invest in education, new energy, innovation, and rebuilding our roads and bridges so we can build a future with job growth and a strengthened middle class.

Small businesses will continue to be the engine that moves our economic recovery forward. I have voted to encourage and directly reward new hiring and investment by increasing lending and lowering taxes for small businesses. I am also a co-sponsor of the "Bring Jobs Home Act," which would eliminate tax breaks for companies that outsource our jobs to other countries, and would reward companies overseas that relocate to the United States with tax cuts.

In Wisconsin we believe in hard work. For decades, we've worked to make things: paper, engines, tools, ships. Give our workers a fair shot, and we'll compete against anyone. That's why I'm taking on China's cheating -- and betting on Wisconsin's workers. When China cheats on trade and manipulates its currency, it costs us paper manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin. So I have led the fight to impose strong tariffs on China now and worked across party lines with Republican Congressman Reid Ribble to crack down on China's cheating.

And while my opponent supported NAFTA and opposes cracking down on China's trade practices, I opposed NAFTA and other bad trade deals with China and favor requiring the federal government to buy American. We need to put people to work here at home by creating an economy built to last that says "Made in America" on the label.

That is how we move Wisconsin forward. Forward with a strong middle class. Forward on a path toward prosperity.

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