Opinion: GOP tax plan would hurt local teachers
For the last 20 years, I have walked through the doors of Mount Nittany Middle School every day with one goal: to help our students be the best versions of themselves and set them up for success. I became a teacher not for the money, but for the change I knew I could make in our students’ lives. I think it should be a simple ask that the principles of fairness and good faith that we teach our kids in school be applied by our government as well. That’s why it’s so concerning that while a starting teacher salary in Pennsylvania averages about $39,000, the Republican party seems more concerned about providing a lower tax rate for billionaires than for its local teachers.
Our Congressman, U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, has an obligation to make decisions in the best interests of his constituents, just as we do every day for our students. We put our trust in our representatives in Congress to make decisions on behalf of those who are most vulnerable in our community. This is why I was so disappointed to learn that Thompson’s party is backing a tax plan that not only has billionaires currently paying a lower effective tax rate than many Pennsylvania teachers, first responders and Pennsylvania families, but also raises taxes on working Pennsylvanians.
Republicans’ tax hike would hurt teachers, our students and their families here in the 15th Congressional District by valuing billionaires over working-class people. It would increase taxes for over 35% of Pennsylvanians, and hit low-income families especially hard. When it comes to those most vulnerable in our communities, we should be looking for ways to help them, not hurt them.
As educators, we see the day-to-day truth that not every student is in the same economic situation as their fellow classmates. It is our mission to level the playing field so every student has the same educational opportunity, yet the GOP’s tax plan only exacerbates economic divides that impact education.
Instead of allowing his own party to advocate for a plan that prioritizes millionaires and billionaires, Rep. Thompson should stand against a tax system that hurts us.
In stark contrast, President Biden and Democrats are working to lower costs for working families and to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share in taxes. The president has proposed a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax on the wealthiest Americans, which would reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next decade and ensure the burden doesn’t fall on working families. He also made it clear that no one making less than $400,000 a year will see their taxes go up under his proposed plan.
Congressman Thompson, as our representative in Congress, should be advocating for our community instead of working against us. I am calling on him to stand up against his party’s plan to raise our taxes and make teachers pay a higher effective rate than the wealthiest Americans. As his constituents, our families and our students’ families should come before the demands of special interest groups and millionaires. As educators, we work every day to lift up those most in need in our community — it is time he does the same.