The Republicans's Reverse Robin Hood Policies are Shifting Tax Burden onto Middle Class

Pelosi: 'The Republicans' Reverse Robin Hood Policies are Shifting Tax Burden onto Middle Class'

Washington, D.C.-House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report that concluded that President Bush and the Congressional Republicans' tax cuts helped the wealthy at the expense of the middle class:

"Today's report by the nonpartisan CBO confirms what Democrats have been saying for years-President Bush's tax cuts squeeze the middle class by unfairly favoring the rich.

"Republicans are playing Robin Hood in reverse, shifting the tax burden away from the rich onto the already overstretched middle class. For example, under President Bush and the Republicans, millionaires get 70 times more from the Republican tax breaks than middle class families according to CBO. And Republicans are using the tax dollars paid by middle class Americans to pay for it.

"Not only are the President's policies unfair, they are ineffective. 1.8 million private-sector jobs have been lost over the last three and a half years. The U.S. trade deficit is at an all-time high. Record federal budget surpluses have become record deficits. And whatever economic recovery there may be on Wall Street is not reaching Main Street-middle class families are still being squeezed by falling paychecks and rising gas prices and health insurance costs. Through all of this, President Bush wants to stay the course.

"Democrats have a better way that will reduce the burden on the middle class while creating a real economic recovery. We have proposed an 'American Jobs Plan' to make businesses more competitive and to create better-paying jobs here at home. Our plan is focused on the future. It invests in our people through job training and education, and it will create new, high-paying jobs by supporting research and development."