Thursday, May 04, 2006
Bolkcom Votes Against Iowa City Seniors
Our own Senator Joe Bolkcom has managed once again to embarass himself while claiming to "represent" the people of Iowa City in Senate District 39.
Bolkcom managed to be one of the 4 State Senators who voted against giving tax breaks to Iowa senior citizens.
The tax breaks which had bipartisan support would gradually raise the level of exempted income for seniors from 9,000 for single filers and 13,500 for couples to 18,000 and 24,000 respectively for Iowans 65 and older in tax years 2007 and 2008.
After that the exempted income would rise to 24,000 and 32,000 respectively.
I would really love to see Sen. Bolkcom stand up before the senior citizens he claims to represent over at the Iowa City Senior Center or at communities like Oaknoll Retirement or Legacy Pointe and tell them why he feels they don't deserve a tax break.
Iowa's one of the few states in the country that STILL taxes Social Security income and pensions.
Democrats are the ones that are out there ranting about how seniors are having to choose between paying for medicine or food. Yet, we have a Democrat in Joe Bolkcom who's voting to keep taking more of our senior's income. What's really rich is that Sen. Bolkcom claims on his website that he wants to make Iowa's taxes "fairer and more progressive". Here
The current federal poverty guidelines are $9,800 for a single, 13,200 for a two person household. Iowa's current exemptions are just barely above these levels. Don't Iowa's seniors deserve better Sen. Bolkcom? Is it fair to tax seniors for income that they make barely above the poverty level? Especially income from Social Security and pensions that seniors have paid into for the majority of their lives?
Apparently for Joe, its more important to push legislation against car title loans and payday advance companies. I shudder to think what "priorities" Sen. Bolkcom would have if Democrats gain control of the Iowa Senate.
Bolkcom managed to be one of the 4 State Senators who voted against giving tax breaks to Iowa senior citizens.
The tax breaks which had bipartisan support would gradually raise the level of exempted income for seniors from 9,000 for single filers and 13,500 for couples to 18,000 and 24,000 respectively for Iowans 65 and older in tax years 2007 and 2008.
After that the exempted income would rise to 24,000 and 32,000 respectively.
I would really love to see Sen. Bolkcom stand up before the senior citizens he claims to represent over at the Iowa City Senior Center or at communities like Oaknoll Retirement or Legacy Pointe and tell them why he feels they don't deserve a tax break.
Iowa's one of the few states in the country that STILL taxes Social Security income and pensions.
Democrats are the ones that are out there ranting about how seniors are having to choose between paying for medicine or food. Yet, we have a Democrat in Joe Bolkcom who's voting to keep taking more of our senior's income. What's really rich is that Sen. Bolkcom claims on his website that he wants to make Iowa's taxes "fairer and more progressive". Here
The current federal poverty guidelines are $9,800 for a single, 13,200 for a two person household. Iowa's current exemptions are just barely above these levels. Don't Iowa's seniors deserve better Sen. Bolkcom? Is it fair to tax seniors for income that they make barely above the poverty level? Especially income from Social Security and pensions that seniors have paid into for the majority of their lives?
Apparently for Joe, its more important to push legislation against car title loans and payday advance companies. I shudder to think what "priorities" Sen. Bolkcom would have if Democrats gain control of the Iowa Senate.
Comments:
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actually he does have an opponent. there's a UI professor, Jay Christensen-Szalanski, who is running as an Independent.
Here's the Daily Iowan story about it.
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Here's the Daily Iowan story about it.
# posted by 
: 2:43 PM
: 2:43 PM 
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