TAX JUSTICE & FAIRNESS FOR US ORDINARY FOLKS

My friend Rosemary shares her thoughts on Tax Justice.

"I am dismayed and feel cheated. I've lived long enough to see the linkage between the unaffordable and unfair tax cuts for the wealthy and the mounting federal deficit.
As a citizen, I  don't have allied organizations or lobbyists strong enough to support fairness and simplicity in our tax policies proposals and actions. The only asset I have is opportunity to voice in an open public way,  my concerns about the usual esoteric complicated tax issues few understand, at a public forum. This American event (town hall, public forum) to assure confidence and trust in our democracy, self-determination, unity and freedom to express our needs for greater equanimity is being denied by omission by our congressional representatives here and across the country. 

Who can I ask about these tax laws and plans?  How are suggested tax policies going to be fair & just to all of us tax payers? What do you know about federal, state and local tax policies? How do they affect you and your loved ones? How can we discern what will work for all of us deserving citizens?

As ordinary working or retired people living our lives with families, where can we receive unbiased research on tax issues and analyses of proposals by our legislators? Certainly not by your representatives, the very ones that should be explaining it all to us. Legislators, like our representative for the 6th district Mr. Peter Roskam, is not going to explain these plans to us, the constituents of his district either. He is going to present his tax plan to a chamber of commerce though in Naperville.....at a private country club.....over lunch....for which you will have to call for reservations and pay for the lunch to attend. That chamber has called it a Town Hall. A town hall is held in a public place, without a fee, without reservations, free for all citizens to ask questions of a public legislator or official. This is no town hall. I would love to exercise my right to information and representation in a public forum town hall. When will this occur?

1) We citizens deserve to have a real town hall meeting with this legislator so we can ask the following:
Does your plan have tax fairness for middle and low-income families? Does it require the wealthy to pay their fair share? Does it close corporate tax loopholes? Does it consider adequate funding for important government services? Will you plan taxation to minimize the distortion that exists in our economic markets? How does it reduce the federal debt fairly if the foregoing questions are answered? I want Mr. Roskam to explain how his tax ideas affect me personally and my family, and my fellow Americans up and down the income scale.....not just for businesses and special interest groups. This is un-fair and un-just.
2) We have a serious problem. Corporations like General Electric, Boeing, Facebook and so many other corporate tax avoiders and underground businesses avoid taxes with loopholes and by using offshore tax havens which hurts all of us. Taxation is the least of my credits as an individual, but even I can figure that we need proposals to raise revenue fairly to fund our public investments for us and our offspring. It can be done by:
a) closing those corporate loopholes in federal, personal and corporate income tax laws and in social insurance taxes
b) not extending those tax breaks first enacted during the G.W.Bush administration as well as recently enacted during the Obama administration
c) dismiss the special breaks that allow many multi-millionaires to have lower tax rates than middle-income Americans
d) realize that tax cuts were never the best way to help the economy or create jobs or create revenue.
Who can help me ask our legislator(s) these questions and share with them legitimate common concerns about taxation at an open public forum? How can we ordinary citizens accomplish and defend a return for an open, dignified and discerning public forum about this serious issue? "
Rosemary Schroeder