the Tillis-Koch agenda

[G_j]

http://www.tilliskochagenda.com/

Thom Tillis and the billionaire, Big Oil Koch brothers are rigging the system to work against the middle class. Tillis and the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity are in lock-step when it comes to an agenda that is out-of-touch and disastrous for North Carolina.

Want to know what the Tillis-Koch agenda is all about? Take a look:

ON MINIMUM WAGE...
Thom Tillis called raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour-- which would benefit more than 1 million North Carolina workers -- a "dangerous idea." In fact, he suggested that the government shouldn't even set a minimum wage because it's an "artificial threshold." The Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity sides with Tillis against the workers of North Carolina, and has repeatedly opposed raising the federal minimum wage. [Economic Policy Institute, 12/19/13; Huffington Post, 2/27/14; AFP, 2/12/14]

ON THE RYAN PLAN...
The Koch brothers' front group Americans for Prosperity endorsed the controversial Ryan Budget Plan, authored by Congressman Paul Ryan. The plan would give massive tax cuts to millionaires while turning Medicare into a voucher program that could cost seniors more. Thom Tillis has praised the Ryan Budget Plan as a model for the agenda he would pursue as North Carolina Speaker of the House. [AFP, 3/12/13; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 4/12/12; Bloomberg, 8/13/12; National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, March 2013; Raleigh News & Observer, Under the Dome, 6/5/12]

ON EDUCATION...
When Thom Tillis was in charge of the North Carolina state House, the legislature cut nearly half a billion dollars from public education. Tillis also refused to raise teacher pay in North Carolina -- which already ranks 46th in the nation in teacher pay. The Koch brothers' front group Americans for Prosperity agrees with Tillis. In fact, they praised Tillis' destructive budget, claiming it "strengthens public education." [Editorial, Charlotte Observer, 7/23/13; WRAL, 3/13/14; AFP, 8/7/13]

ON TAXES...
Under Thom Tillis' leadership, the N.C. General Assembly raised taxes on 80 percent of North Carolinians by ending the state's Earned Income Tax Credit and passing a tax plan that benefited the wealthiest at the expense of middle class families. With North Carolinians skeptical about Tillis' harmful tax hike, the Koch Brothers' Americans for Prosperity poured money into TV ads promoting the state legislature's tax plan before it became law. [Budget & Tax Center, Final Tax Plan Falls Short Of True Reform, August 2013; Raleigh News & Observer, Under the Dome, 5/29/13]

ON UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE...
Thom Tillis recklessly slashed unemployment insurance benefits in 2013, cutting off federal long-term benefits entirely for 170,000 North Carolinians. This fringe decision made North Carolina the only state in the country to be disqualified from the federal program -- and since then, Tillis has said he would vote against federal legislation that would right this wrong for jobless North Carolinians. The Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity applauded Tillis and his fellow Republicans for a "reformed" unemployment insurance system. [Charlotte Observer, 2/20/13; Charlotte Observer, 5/31/13; Raleigh News & Observer, 1/7/14; AFP, 8/7/13]

ON MEDICAID...
Thom Tillis led efforts to block Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, which would provide critical health insurance coverage to an estimated 500,000 North Carolinians. The Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity has praised this Tillis-led, out-of-touch decision -- and has campaigned across the country for states to reject the Affordable Care Act's funding for Medicaid expansion. [Raleigh News & Observer, 10/12/13; Editorial page editor Ned Barnett, Raleigh News & Observer, 10/5/13; Washington Post, 2/7/14; AFP, 8/7/13]

ON THE FARM BILL...
Agriculture is North Carolina's biggest industry, adding $77 billion annually to the state's economy and employing nearly one-fifth of the state's workforce. Thom Tillis said he would have voted against the bipartisan Farm Bill approved by Congress in 2014 that was supported by North Carolina farmers and agricultural groups and reduced the deficit by billions. The Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity also criticized the bill and urged lawmakers to vote against the bipartisan measure. [NC State, Agriculture and Agribusiness, 2013; Larry Wooten, N.C. Farm Bureau President, 6/19/13; NBC, 2/3/14; McClatchy, 12/5/13; AFP, 1/28/14]

Paid for by Hagan for US Senate Inc.