U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly invoked the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Saturday to criticize the GOP's tax overhaul legislation.
"Our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality," Kelly, D-Chicago, told a crowd of 100 gathered at Victory Apostolic Church in Matteson for a town hall meeting. Kellysaid the GOP's tax plan is economically unfair and its tax increases will eventually hurt most working families.
Several speakers at Kelly's meeting acknowledged that most people initially will see tax cuts but poorer people will have a tax increase by 2027 while richer people will get to keep their cuts.
"If you make under $100,000, you are funding the tax breaks for the 1 percent," said Daniel Hertz, a senior policy analyst for the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. He said a family earning $45,000 will see a $300 tax increase by 2027.
Kelly said the tax plan was passed without any hearings or debates, unlike the Affordable Care Act. She vowed to work against further implementation of the tax plan and other GOP proposals.
"This is not the end, but only the beginning," Kelly said. "I work in a very bipartisan way, but not this time because of the way this was passed."