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Cobb-LaMarche Call for Small Business Support and an End to Corporate Subsidies. |
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COBB/LaMARCHE 2004 August 5, 2004 Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755 or 414.364.1596 Citing a recently released report which says that California taxpayers are subsidizing low-paid Wal-Mart employees with $86 million a year in public assistance, the Cobb-LaMarche campaign today called for a living wage for all U.S. workers, support for small, independent businesses and an end to corporate subsidies. "Unless U.S. workers are paid a living wage, taxpayers will continue to subsidize giant corporations like Wal-Mart by providing their employees with food stamps, subsidized housing and other forms of public assistance. We believe public assistance should be available to those who need it but when it's used to supplement low wages paid by a huge corporation, it's really just more corporate welfare," said Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb. "Small businesses are the backbone of America and always have been. But today, corporations with budgets bigger than most countries are crushing their local, independent competitors. These mega-corporations don't need any help from us but they're getting it anyway through federal and local subsidies, tax breaks and by exploiting loopholes in the tax code," said Green Party vice presidential candidate Pat LaMarche. The Cobb-LaMarche campaign calls for strengthening communities and the economy by supporting locally-owned businesses and democratically operated cooperatives; overturning trade agreements such as NAFTA which eliminate jobs and local control; developing renewable, alternative energy sources and building affordable, energy-efficient housing. "Starting and running your own business has always been part of the American Dream. But taxpayer-subsidized mega-corporations are making it more difficult than ever to achieve this aspect of the dream. We need to help Main Street and not subsidize Wall Street," said David Cobb. "I don't think we can ignore the amount of money which Wal-Mart and the other mega-corporations pay to the two old parties through campaign contributions. Maybe that's why the tax laws and trade agreements are so favorable to them. We won't have government by the people and for the people until we get private money out of public elections," said Pat LaMarche. The report cited by the campaign was released on Monday by the University of California Berkeley Labor Center. Cobb-LaMarche campaign: http://www.votecobb.org
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