DENVER – The Trump administration's tax proposals would not benefit all taxpayers or states equally, according to new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Matt Gardner, a senior fellow with the institute, says the richest 1 percent of taxpayers would receive more than 60 percent of the tax benefits.

He adds that poorer states, largely in the South and Southeast, would get a portion of the tax cuts lower than their share of the U.S. population.

"Richer states tend to do better, poorer states tend to do worse – in a way that mirrors what's happening nationwide, with richer Americans getting the lion's share of the benefits and poorer Americans being comparatively left out in the cold," Gardner states.

Proponents of Trump's proposal say all Americans will see their taxes reduced, and maintain the move will boost revenues by stimulating economic growth.

Gardner disagrees, and notes the nation's top earners will get an average of $145,000 in tax breaks, compared with just $130 for the bottom 20 percent of earners.

Gardner adds there's no evidence to support the supply side argument that tax cuts can pay for themselves. He says the tradeoff on nearly $5 trillion in lost revenues would likely be cuts in health care, education and food assistance programs.

"Under any realistic view of the economic consequences of this plan, we're going to see larger budget deficits,” he stresses. “First on the chopping block would be federal aid to low-income Americans."

The White House also has proposed cutting SNAP benefits, the program formerly known as food stamps, by 25 percent over the next decade.

Orgul Ozturk, an associate professor of economics at the University of South Carolina, says in the wake of the last recession, and the continued drop in real wages, SNAP is a lifeline for the nation's working poor.

"There's this new group of SNAP recipients – not the elderly, not the children – but working poor, who just can't make enough,” she states. “Even though they are working, they cannot earn enough to be over the poverty threshold."

Ozturk says nearly 70 percent of SNAP recipients are children, seniors and people with disabilities, and more than 20 percent work full-time, are caretakers or are enrolled in training programs.





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In a nationwide movement, Latinos are being urged to boycott retail stores tomorrow that have curtailed programs promoting fair hiring practices.

The diversity, equity and inclusion framework has been a cornerstone for many large retailers for several decades but attacks by President Donald Trump and the GOP have led such giants as Walmart, Target, McDonald's and others to scale back their DEI initiatives.

Caroline Tso Chen, associate professor of taxation at San Jose State University, said one person might not be able to make a huge difference but if 20% of people joined "Latino Freeze Day," the effect would be substantial.

"By basically telling those companies, we do not approve of what you are doing and we will take our money and we will spend it elsewhere," Tso Chen explained.

The annual purchasing power of Latinos in the U.S. continues to grow, now topping more than $3 trillion. New Mexico is among the top 10 states with the largest Hispanic/Latino buying power, which has increased due to population growth, labor force participation and educational attainment.

DEI programs have been around since the 1960s and are meant to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups historically underrepresented or subject to discrimination. As an Asian woman, Tso Chen noted she knows what it is like, but added Friday's boycott would need to be just the beginning.

"You can't make this just February 28," Tso Chen stressed. "In order to make any sort-of significant economic impact to any of these retailers, it is going to have to be for an extended period of time."

The Latino Freeze Movement is encouraging supporters to find alternative ways to purchase what they need at other retailers, including local stores, swap meets, farmers markets, secondhand stores or negotiating trades.


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Lessons learned during the COVID pandemic have proven crucial to one organization responding to Hurricane Helene.

Centro Unido - which serves the Spanish-speaking population in McDowell County - stepped up its services during the pandemic to provide testing, vaccine clinics, and easy-to-understand information.

It also offered financial assistance to help western North Carolina families avoid evictions and utility disconnections.

Centro Unido's Interim Executive Director Laura Zapater said they learned a lot during the COVID response that is useful today.

"It was really helpful in the way that we could quickly organize after Hurricane Helene," said Zapater, "because we knew that our community was going to struggle more than other communities to receive the resources and the support needed."

Zapater said people in the community were lined up at their door as soon as Centro Unido had power again after the hurricane.

The group is still helping with hurricane relief, although she notes the change in presidential administrations has put new strains on their work.

Zapater said during COVID, Centro Unido worked with other Latino organizations to share resources and expand their impact. They established relationships and have worked on collaborative grants.

She said that joint work extended to hurricane relief when organizations in areas like Asheville struggled to get supplies.

"The access was harder there," said Zapater. "They couldn't get supplies as soon as us, because McDowell was more accessible. So, we had different vans and volunteers were like, 'Hey, I'll load the van, I'll take it to them.' So, we were kind of like a hub for other organizations more towards the west."

The Kate B. Reynolds Trust has partnered with and given grants to Centro Unido.

Jason Baisden, senior program officer with the trust, said support for organizations like Centro Unido move away from the traditional "top-down" approach to relief.

"Without the input at the local level, the grassroots level, sometimes you get solutions that aren't optimal," said Baisden. "They could be more optimal when they get the input from community, because those folks are the ones living it. They pretty much know what would help solve these issues."

In rural states such as South and North Dakota and large urban centers around the U.S., protests were held Wednesday amid fears about the first wave of moves carried out the new Trump administration. Trump's return to the White House has involved a heavy dose of controversial executive orders. And access granted to wealthy adviser Elon Musk is raising legal and ethical questions as he looks to drastically cut budgets for federal agencies or, in some cases, eliminate them. Dozens of protesters gathered at designated sites in the Dakotas.

Kelsey Brianne, an organizer aligned with the Build the Resistance movement, said her event was a response to an "attempted blitz" by Trump against the government he oversees.

"It's exhausting. These executive orders are not in any way normal," she explained.

Trump's moves include revoking affirmative-action policies and withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. The demonstrations, billed as peaceful grassroots events, are described as frustration over the lack of influential voices trying to intervene, including Democratic leaders. However, some orders have been met with lawsuits. On his social media platform, Musk has defended his work, citing the need to cut government waste.

Backlash against the right-wing policy blueprint known as Project 2025 was another common theme at these rallies. Brianne says in Michigan, they fielded requests from many rural residents to attend. She was encouraged to hear of companion protests in states with mostly rural settings, including the Dakotas, suggesting it's not an easy decision in regions where Trump is deeply popular.

"You know, that takes guts, that takes courage. And right now, what we need is courage," she continued.

Brianne added that she grew up in a conservative Christian household, and that her life experience prepared her to see these moves coming, but explained that it's not easy for a lot of people to keep up with what's happening, prompting folks like her to draw attention to any actions deemed alarming. While the protests in the Dakotas saw smaller crowds, the Michigan gathering drew hundreds of people.


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