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| Allie with cousin |
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| Only a toddler can dress like this |
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| "I daw semicircle." |
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| The next shape was apparently a "circle." |
The girls patiently waited with me for 3 1/2 hours at the State Capitol so I could give a public comment about the tax reform. (Okay, there were moments...while more like ten minutes...when Allie was screaming and her blood was boiling from Nicole's audacity to touch the stroller, or my audacity to move a jacket. I mostly had them out in the hall so they wouldn't disturb the conference room and two overflow rooms. Toward the end, when there were just a few people left in the second overflow, we went in there, and Allie had a tantrum, and when I looked up a minute later, there was only one person left. It's okay, I tell myself, there was plenty of room in the conference room by then.)
I felt my attendance today was the only way I could get them to hear my voice, because they were threatening to rush to a vote in a special session, possibly this week, rather than waiting until the general session that begins in January. The income tax cut of 0.37% will be great for those with an annual income of $500,000, but will do less for my friends who earn more like $40,000-$60,000. The increased grocery tax will also negate much of the tax break for lower and middle-income earners. Supposedly, they help balance that out for people who file taxes because they're going to hand out a tax credit for some individuals. As Jon Huntsman, Jr. rightly asks, "If the honest intent is to truly maintain the benefit of this already reduced tax, why provide a credit when an exemption is more effective and already in place?"
Senator Fillmore's response to any such concern: "If people want to pay less tax, they can also buy less." Tell that to the 135,940 Utah children who struggle with hunger. Just eat less. (Or steal more??)
https://www.deseret.com/2019/12/9/21003508/jon-huntsman-jr-raising-the-utah-sales-tax-on-food-is-the-wrong-move
The other concern is the $532 million that will be diverted away from public education. At the elementary school where my nephew attends, twenty-three different languages are spoken (because of the many refugees in the neighborhood), and they don't have the resources to meet the needs of all the students, much less communicate with these parents. With public schools constantly trying to pressure more money out of their students' families, with some schools charging students extra fees to participate in extracurricular activities, with a severe teacher shortage and a seveeeeere substitute teacher shortage, I wish public schools just had enough money. This year, we made homemade cookies to raise $152, which we divided between Nicole's school and my nephew's school. We were very pleased with the amount we raised, but now the negative $532 million seems to be laughing at our pathetic $152, which will make barely a difference in those refugees' lives. However, at least the lesson to Nicole was valuable. (Update: Plus, there's a Citizens Referendum going around to reverse the legislature's tax bill by getting it on the ballot, which they did end up passing that Thursday.)
The other concern is the $532 million that will be diverted away from public education. At the elementary school where my nephew attends, twenty-three different languages are spoken (because of the many refugees in the neighborhood), and they don't have the resources to meet the needs of all the students, much less communicate with these parents. With public schools constantly trying to pressure more money out of their students' families, with some schools charging students extra fees to participate in extracurricular activities, with a severe teacher shortage and a seveeeeere substitute teacher shortage, I wish public schools just had enough money. This year, we made homemade cookies to raise $152, which we divided between Nicole's school and my nephew's school. We were very pleased with the amount we raised, but now the negative $532 million seems to be laughing at our pathetic $152, which will make barely a difference in those refugees' lives. However, at least the lesson to Nicole was valuable. (Update: Plus, there's a Citizens Referendum going around to reverse the legislature's tax bill by getting it on the ballot, which they did end up passing that Thursday.)
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