Trampling the poor

As I read the Jan. 17 article “End N.C. income tax, GOP suggests” outlining the GOP’s “concept” of eliminating individual and corporate income taxes and raising the tax on food from 2 percent to 8 percent while also imposing a sales tax on nonprofits that have previously been exempt from them, I was astounded by the potential effect this “concept” could have on the poor.

Here’s one possible scenario: More folks have to turn to food banks and food pantries because they can no longer afford groceries, while these same nonprofits have to cut their services because they now have a tax burden. And this is the same GOP that tells us that the poor should rely on private charities rather than the government when they have unmet needs!

As one man put it long ago, “Ah! You who trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the ground!”

Susan Mazzara

Cary