Politics & Government

Concerned Citizens Deliver 'Lumps Of Coal' To Puget Sound CEOs

About 100 people —for all over the region, including Renton — gathered in Seattle Wednesday for a rally and coal delivery.

Working Washington supporters held several events earlier this month to gather signatures on a petition to Congress to agree on a fair and balanced budget, otherwise they’d deliver lumps of coal to big-time CEOs in the area.

Sage Wilson, and organizer for Working Washington, called Wednesday’s event a “big success.”

Concerned citizens from throughout the region gathered in Seattle for the special deliveries.

Find out what's happening in Rentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

John Shaner of Renton described the scene of 100 people wearing santa hats marching behind a wheelbarrow full of coal.

"I'm here to give my lump of coal to CEOs who want to take away Social Security and other other programs we depend on,” he said. “My wife and I live on about $1,000 a month from Social Security. I don't know what we'd do without it."

Find out what's happening in Rentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The online petition read, in part: “Tell the greedy CEOs that we will not balance the budget on the backs of the poor, elderly, disabled or working folks.”

Each signature gathered this month equated to another lump of coal in the wheelbarrow.

Shaner explained, Now these CEOs want Congress to take money away from people like me so they can have another tax cut? They're certainly earned their lumps of coal."

The group gathered for a short rally at Westlake where they continued to share their message about the importance of funding for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is.

It is ridiculous that CEOs are pushing for cuts instead of just paying their fair share, said Wilson.

To illustrate their point, “Santa's 99% helpers paid a visit to three CEOs who have certainly earned their lump of coal,” he said. 

According to Working Washington, the recipients included:

Bank of America would see a new tax cut of as much as $2.5 billion from the all-cuts proposal their CEO is pushing. So we delivered them the lumps of coal their CEO earned.

RJ Williams of White Center has fought cancer twice — thanks to the Medicare and Medicaid benefits some in Congress want to cut. He broke it down: "Without Medicare and Medicaid I wouldn't be alive. No Cuts!" Then he helped deliver coal to Chase Bank.

Chase Bank would see a new tax cut of more than $4 billion fro the all-cuts proposal their CEO is pushing. So we delivered them their lumps of coal too. 

Last was Macy's. They make a lot of money over the holidays. But their CEO wants even more: he personally has $1.9 million at stake in the debate over the Bush tax cuts. That's probably why he's defying the point of view of most of his customers by joining the CEO call to cut taxes on the rich and cut benefits for the rest of us. But we made sure his customers knew about it today, delivering coal and singing some jobs-not-cuts themed holiday carols for about 15 minutes in the middle of the downtown store. 

 


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