Our Policy Director Kymara Hill Seals spoke out Tuesday against the tax cut bill, which sadly passed #arleg this week.
HOWEVER, the FIGHT still CONTINUES for a better future!
“There are numerous, numerous critical needs in the state of Arkansas right now.
This is not a good time for tax cuts for the wealthy – that’s who going to benefit the most are the wealthiest and the corporations.
We have a lot of unmet needs in our state… We know AR ranks 43rd in wellbeing of children in this country.
One of the things we need – one of many – is we need funding for early childhood education.
We have not had an increase in levels of funding in over a decade. That is unacceptable for a state as wealthy as Arkansas. That is unacceptable.
1 in 5 children in Arkansas live in poverty. That is unacceptable. That is unacceptable for a state as wealthy as Arkansas.
Over 134,000 children in Arkansas are facing hunger. Again, I say, that is unacceptable. That is unacceptable for a state like Arkansas.
So if we have all these excess funds – a surplus – why can’t our legislators focus on some of these unmet needs.
We also know that over 100,000 kids – we’re not talking parents and adults – just kids lost their medicaid coverage over the past 4 or 5 months. That is unacceptable. That is UNACCEPTABLE.
We’ve got to fight. We’ve got to speak up. We’ve got to let our voices by heard. We’ve got to talk to our legislators – make sure they hear this.
ALL of this is needs of CHILDREN.
Then you think about the foster care system: They need MORE workers in the system to CARE FOR our MOST VULNERABLE children in the State of Arkansas.
One of the things we’re always hearing our legislators talk about is being pro-life. Well, pro life to what extent, right?
So, we see the hypocrisy of what some of our legislators talk about when they say “pro life”. Because all these issues I just talked about dealing with kids, this is a pro-life issue. So, we need to call out the hypocrisy of these legislators. And hold them accountable. As constituents WE need to hold them accountable.
They’re talking out of both sides of their mouth.
We have a lot of needs. We have critical needs. We’re here to fight for those needs. We’re here to try to stop these unnecessary tax cuts.
Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Citizens First Congress are here for the fight. We’re here for it, and we’re going to continue to fight.
So, LET’S DO THIS! #investinarfuture #notaxcuts4rich
Big shout out to our partners in this fight & for Tuesday's Rally NEAR the Capitol: Invest in our Future: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, AR Coalition for Strong Families, Arkansas Waiver Association- AWA, & Arkansas Support Network!