I want to lower taxes on the middle class families who actually live in Riverside County, where the median income is around $70,000 per year. We do that by ensuring the billionaires who have been protected by my opponent Ken Calvert over the last 30 years actually pay their fair share: The 400 richest Americans – all billionaires – hold more wealth than 60% of the country put together – that’s more than 150 million Americans combined. Those 400 households pay an average of just 8.2% per year in federal income taxes, while the rest of us pay significantly more.
Yet Calvert voted to give billions in tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy and corporations shipping jobs and profits overseas, while raising taxes over the long term on working families here in Riverside County.
We need leaders who care more about delivering for working families in Riverside County than for massive corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Only 38% of jobs in the Inland Empire provide a living wage. Nurses, teachers, firefighters and police officers should not be paying higher federal income tax rates than billionaires. Small business owners shouldn’t have higher tax bills than Amazon, which often pays no federal income taxes.
What we need:
- Tax relief for middle and working class families and small business by reforming our tax structure to ensure that the wealthiest individuals and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes;
- An end to the price-gouging inflicted on average Americans by massive corporate monopolies, and a stronger antitrust division at DOJ;
- Action to combat inflation and economic pressures resulting from the pandemic and breakdowns in supply chains;
- Elimination of incentives corporations use to outsource jobs and profits overseas, and ensure that they pay the same tax rate on their offshore profits as they pay on U.S. profits;
- An increase in the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour, including indexing to parity for tipped workers;
- Legislation to require an employer contribution to employees’ 401(k) accounts.
I oppose changes to Prop 13 that impact homeowners. We have an urgent need to reduce housing costs, particularly for seniors so they can continue to afford living in our community long into their retirement.
