Liberal groups prod Dems to raise taxes to pay for racial justice agenda

The NAACP and 27 other liberal groups on Thursday warned Democratic leaders not to back off of plans for higher taxes because higher taxes would improve racial justice.

The groups, which included the Movement for Black Lives and the National Immigration Law Center, made their case for large tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic chairmen of the House and Senate‘s tax committees.

“We write to make clear how important it is to communities of color that Congress enact a robust budget reconciliation package of at least $3.5 trillion in investments in our communities funded through fairer taxes on the rich and corporations,” they wrote. “This legislation would advance racial equity by narrowing racial income and wealth gaps, as well as by funding these long-overdue investments.”

Other signatories to the letter included civil rights groups such as National African American Clergy Network and Rainbow PUSH Coalition and labor unions such as Service Employees International Union and National Education Association.