Thursday, December 6, 2012

Some of the 1% are smart enough to know which side their bread is buttered on.

Some of the 1% are smart enough to know which side their bread is buttered on.


December 5, 2012
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Republican Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner, Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, and Representative Pelosi:
We are successful LGBT Americans who now or in the past have earned an annual income of $1,000,000 or more.

America has been good to us: it has provided the foundation and opportunity to succeed. We want that same opportunity and possibility for all Americans, but we are concerned about the future of our community and our country.

At the end of this year, a series of deadlines will require our leaders to make important decisions that will have a huge impact on the economy -- and on the LGBT community. If Congress fails to act, across-the-board cuts to vital programs will be triggered even as taxes go up on the middle class.

For LGBT Americans, this "fiscal cliff" isn't just an abstract concept. A report released by the Center for American Progress, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, and a coalition of 23 national LGBT organizations outlines the real and lasting impact it would have.

Across-the-board cuts would compromise LGBT health by reducing programmatic funding used to address the health care needs of gay and transgender Americans, impair the federal government's ability to investigate claims of workplace discrimination, and remove critical resources from government agencies working to prevent bullying and school violence.

At the same time, higher tax rates would further endanger middle class and working class members of our community. LGBT Americans have lower levels of income than other Americans, according to a recent Gallup report, and face additional economic obstacles caused by the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the lack of federal workplace protections.

In the recent election, many of us contributed significantly to re-elect the President, and we support the President's vision of a country in which everyone has a fair shot and does his or her fair share.

We urge Congress to work with President Obama to avoid the fiscal cliff with a balanced approach, and to preserve the middle class tax cuts while allowing tax cuts for the best off to expire. It's the right thing to do.
Sincerely,
The Honorable Bruce W. Bastian
Tim Gill
Terry Bean
Mel Heifetz
Paul Boskind
Glenn Johnson & Michael Melancon
David Bohnett
Kathy Levinson
Roberta Conroy
Terrence Meck
Bill Derrough
Charles Myers
Karen K. Dixon & Nan Schaffer
Suze Orman & Kathy Travis
Joe Falk
Laura Ricketts
Dale Frederiksen & Bob Page
Sarah Schmidt
Nanette Gartrell, MD & Dee (Diane) Mosbacher MD, PhD
Andrew Tobias


read more;

Fiscal Pride

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