For Immediate Release: Friday, June 1, 2012
Better UTAH Says Love’s Budget “Devastating For Utah”
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After Congressional Candidate Mia Love’s budget plan was released yesterday, Better UTAH says it will negatively impact hundreds of thousands of Utah families and is devastating for the state.
Maryann Martindale, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Better UTAH said “If compassion is a dirty word, Mia Love is the candidate for you. If you believe that the American Dream is only alive and well for those who can afford it, Mia Love is the candidate for you. If you believe American Values no longer include providing a safety net to those Utahns most in need, if you believe we should strip away school lunches for Utah children who need them, or if you believe Utah’s college-bound students should no longer have the opportunity to reach for a better life, than Mia Love is the candidate for you.”
Martindale continued “We’ve broken down the human-impact of the ‘No-Love Plan,’ and it has become clear that the results would be devastating to Utah families.”
The “No-Love Plan” calls for the complete removal of the school lunch program, which provides free lunch to school children from a family of four making less than $29,965 per year, and would strip the lunches from the 219,416 school children in Utah who receive either free or reduced-price lunches.
“And it doesn’t end there,” continued Martindale. “Mia Love is also calling for the complete end of pell-grants and aid to college students. Nearly half (47%) of all undergraduates receive aid to help pay for their college tuitions. If the ‘No-Love Plan’ were to succeed, hundreds of thousands of students at the UofU, BYU, WSU, USU, SUU, UVU and the other schools in Utah may be forced to drop out without that assistance. This is the very same assistance Mia Love was able to take advantage of as she struggled to pay for her own education, but now she’s seeking to prevent others from getting that same help.”
In addition, the “No-Love Plan” also cuts the earned-income tax credit, raising taxes on low to middle class families. “These aren’t people who don’t pay taxes, these are the average, everyday Utahns who work hard for their families that she is going after.”
“Ms. Love appears to be dangerously serious about her ‘No-Love Plan’ despite the impact it would have on the people in her district.”
“Our state and country face serious fiscal questions that require serious people and serious answers but we believe that those answers can be found through balance and without sacrificing compassion and long-standing American Values. Abraham Lincoln spoke of Government of the people, by the people and for the people. Mia Love speaks of a country of, by and for those who can afford it.”