Milwaukee, WI — The Center for American Progress Action Fund launched Romney University this summer to inject facts and policy into the national debate. 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.
“Facts should matter in elections, and the fact is that middle-class families in Wisconsin will see tax increases and higher education and health care costs under the Romney-Ryan plan,” said Tom Perriello, President of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “Our report outlines that the Romney-Ryan plan will underfund transportation and research, reward outsourcing, and ask struggling families and seniors to pick up the tab. Wisconsinites deserve a just-the-facts tour that avoids the personality debates to focus on the practical impacts at the kitchen table of what these candidates propose.”
“Young Americans are watching this election closely, because they know that the candidate who wins will influence the direction of this country and the opportunities available to young Americans for decades to come,” said Anne Johnson, Director of Campus Progress Action. “The Romney-Ryan plan would cut funding for higher education and prevent true equality among young immigrants, young gay and transgender Americans, and young women. Under a Romney administration, Wisconsin college students would see their Pell Grants cut by an average of $800 and more than 3,000 work-study opportunities eliminated. All the while, the wealthiest Americans would pay a lower tax rate than young people and middle-class families. Our generation is looking forward, not back to the policies that have failed us before. We want the candidates to give us the facts and tell us how they plan to make things better.”
CAP Action today released “The True Cost of Romney-Ryan to Wisconsinites.” Key findings of the report include:
- Middle-class Wisconsinites would pay more in taxes while millionaires 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 $2,100 more in health care taxes and $1,066 more in taxes on their mortgages.
- Jobs would decline across Wisconsin. 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 nearly 60,000 jobs across the state.
- Seniors in Wisconsin would lose health care benefits and pay more. Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan would force seniors in the state to pay at least $670 more for their prescription drugs each year. 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.
- Young adults in Wisconsin would lose access to their families’ health insurance. Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan promise to dismantle Obamacare, which would directly result in 43,000 young adults in Wisconsin losing the insurance they have today due to the Affordable Care Act.
CAP Action’s Tom Perriello and Director of Campus Progress Action Anne Johnson will be in Racine, Wisconsin, tonight for the Tax Fairness Town Hall. Join us for the town hall tonight:
Tax Fairness Town Hall
Thursday, October 4, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Racine Public Library
75 7th St.
Racine, WI 53403
Co-sponsors: Community 4 Change, Citizen Action of WI, WI Jobs Now (SEIU)
To speak with CAP Action experts, contact Emma Shapiro at [email protected].
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