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IN NEW AD, TENNEY TOUTS EXTREME POSITIONS AND CONTINUES LYING TO CONSTITUENTS ABOUT DEVASTATING IMPACTS OF TRUMPTAX

Despite Rising Central New York Unemployment And Stagnant Wages Nationwide, Tenney Insists TrumpTax Created “Better Economy” 

BINGHAMTON — Just days after the Washington Post awarded Congresswoman Claudia Tenney four “Pinnochios” for her claims about the TrumpTax, Tenney released a newcampaign ad claiming the tax scam is spurring a “growing economy” – even though Central New York unemployment is actually increasing and wages are stagnant nationwide.

Tenney’s ad is further proof of how out of step she is with her district. The ad says the TrumpTax is creating “better jobs, higher wages” and “a growing economy.” Meanwhile, Central New York unemployment has risen steadily for 14 of the past 17 months. Nationwide, wages are stagnating – or even decreasing in some areas – and failing to meet economists’ expectations. A recent CBS Money article reported that while the TrumpTax is saving corporations billions with its massive tax breaks for the rich, the money isn’t finding its way to workers’ wallets. Instead, corporations are using their savings to initiate huge stock buybacks to reward shareholders and executives at 88 times the rate they’re giving out raises or bonuses to workers.

Unlike her own constituents, Tenney’s campaign donors have greatly benefited from the tax scam she helped to pass. In this election cycle, her donors have included: Bank of America ($9,000), Goldman Sachs ($10,000), Citigroup ($7,000), Chevron ($6,000), Walmart ($5,000) and GE ($4,000). Even though corporations have already raked in billions in tax breaks under the Republican tax scam, just 4.3 percent of American workers have received a bonus or raise since the bill passed in December.

Last week, the Washington Post fact-checking team hit back at Tenney’s claim that the TrumpTax has already paid for itself, slamming her “extremely dicey” logic and emphasizing that she used misleading statistics to make her claim. In reality, the bill blew a $1.5 trillion hole in the deficit, and 80 percent of the benefits will flow to the richest 1 percent of the country, leaving the federal government with no way to make up its lost tax revenue.

Meanwhile, the TrumpTax is actually raising annual costs for the majority of New Yorkers, with an expected $2.4 billion increase in taxes for next year alone. Thanks to the included repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which caused double-digit insurance premium hikes in New York, average annual costs for the bottom 60 percent of New York earners will increase by $182 in 2019.