Charlotte, N.C. — Today the Center for American Progress Action Fund and ProgressNC Action released a new report outlining the real impact Romney’s policy agenda would have on North Carolinians. The report, “The True Cost of Romney-Ryan to North Carolinians,” is part of Romney University, a project launched by CAP Action this summer to inject facts and policy into the national debate.
“North Carolinians are tired of the ads and hungry for facts, and this report lays out how Gov. Romney’s plan would mean higher taxes, tuitions, and Medicare costs for middle-class families,” said Tom Perriello, President of the Center for American Progress Action Fund at a press conference in Charlotte, N.C. today. “The report does the math on Romney’s plan, and the results are major cuts to investments in transportation and research, taxpayer subsidies for outsourcing, and then asking struggling families and seniors to pick up the tab. The impacts of the Romney-Ryan plan in North Carolina just aren’t pretty.”
Specifically, the report finds the impact of the Romney-Ryan plan on North Carolinians would include:
- Middle-class North Carolinians would pay more in taxes while millionaires would pay less. Millionaires in the state would receive an additional $87,000 in tax breaks under the tax plans of Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan, while middle-class families would pay up to $2,000 more in health care taxes and $1,066 more in taxes on their mortgages.
- Jobs would decline across North Carolina. Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan plan to provide extra tax incentives for corporations to outsource jobs and are pushing policy proposals to cripple the clean energy industry, jeopardizing 77,000 jobs across the state.
- Drastic cuts to federal spending would shrink North Carolina’s middle class. The state stands to lose more than 71.4 billion in federal funding from 2013 through 2022—an average of more than $7.1 billion a year—from cuts to schools, law enforcement, transportation, highway repairs, job-training programs, and more. These cuts would fall predominantly on middle-class and low-income families, especially cuts to education programs that would result in nearly $216 million in reduced federal support for education and job training in the state in 2013 and $499 million in 2014 alone.
- Seniors in North Carolina would lose health care benefits and pay more. Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan would force seniors in the state to pay at least $585 more for their prescription drugs each year—almost 55,000 North Carolina seniors have already saved more than $131 million. At the same time, the Romney-Ryan plan to turn Medicare into a voucher would cost current seniors at least $11,000 more out of pocket.
- Women in North Carolina would pay more for health care but receive less bang for their buck. Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan would once again allow insurance companies to charge women more than men while taking away preventive care from 1.3 million women in the state.
- Young adults in North Carolina would lose access to their families’ health insurance. Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan promise to dismantle Obamacare, which would directly result in 95,000 young adults in North Carolina losing the insurance they have today due to the Affordable Care Act.
Over the past month, CAP Action has been touring the country—traveling to six states, reaching 16 cities, and meeting with community leaders—to release state-specific reports that take a close look at the costs each American will pay for Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) policies, which ask the middle class to pay more so the wealthiest Americans and huge corporations can pay less.
To speak with CAP Action experts, contact Emma Shapiro at [email protected].
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