Hello John,
Today, the House of Representatives decided to starve our country. They voted to cut nearly $1 trillion worth of funding for critical life-saving programs including health care, food assistance, education, childcare, veteran benefits and more - to pay for tax breaks for wealthy billionaires who are deeply invested in the failure of our country. This bill will also add $3.8 trillion to the nation's overall debt.
Real people - children who go to school hungry, veterans who have dedicated their lives to this country, working people, including immigrants who enrich our communities culturally and economically - will suffer due to these cuts. Because of the actions of a few cowards in Congress, billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg will get richer, while millions of people, including children, will go to bed hungry, or have to choose between eating and seeing a doctor,
But remember this: power doesn’t panic.
If the bigots, bullies and billionaires were morally right, they wouldn’t have passed these cuts through hushed, middle-of-the-night sessions, while hiding from town halls and ignoring community members’ phone calls, because they know who holds the real power.
In California, we marched, fasted, called, protested and sounded the alarm to activate thousands of people, like you, who were outraged by this robbery.
There is nothing beautiful about starving children or ripping healthcare from millions of Americans.
But the spirit and resilience of everyday Californians coming together IS beautiful. Hundreds fasted yesterday in solidarity with people in Bakersfield and Orange County who have been fasting since Monday outside Congressional district offices. Watch their stories here.
Despite our efforts, these cuts are now on their way to the Senate where we must continue to fight for working families and against the billionaire takeover of our country.
Oppression is the mask of fear.
It is going to take all of us - teachers, farmworkers, students, park rangers, musicians, food vendors, entrepreneurs, organizers, skaters, snowboarders, artists, and more - to rip that mask off.
Because We Are California - when you come for one of us, you come for all us. And we will keep fighting for a California where no child goes hungry, every person can get the healthcare they need and our democracy works for working people who fuel our communities and economy.
In Solidarity,
We Are California