DAVENPORT, Iowa – While Donald Trump spends millions of dollars flying over the state and renting venues to speak to conservative audiences, a dozen AFSCME volunteer members and activists used plain old shoe leather recently to get out their message that Trump’s economic policies are bad for working families.
“We’ve had enough of these economic policies that help corporations and CEOs instead of working people.” said Kelli Bryant, an AFSCME Iowa Council 61 member who protested at the Dec. 5 event. “We need a president who has a vision that helps working people and wants to change the rules and help rebuild the middle class.”
Bryant and other AFSCME members stood outside the security fences, holding signs and barking pro-worker chants as Trump backers entered the site. They pointed out that Trump’s economic policies include cuts to the corporate tax rate and the capital gains tax, repeal of the estate tax and no raise in the minimum wage.
Trump also vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act if elected president. “Obamacare? Terminated,” said Trump. Repeal of the healthcare law would cause the deficit to soar $353 billion over the next 10 years and leave 24 million more people without health insurance, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.