MEDIA CONTACT:
Kirstin Snow, Communications Director; snow@pennpolicy.org
MEDIA ADVISORY- August 18, 2026 | 6PM | PALMER TOWNSHIP
Lehigh Valley Advocates & Constituents to “Raft up” in SOS-Themed Town Hall Calling on Rep. Ryan Mackenzie to Answer for Rising Costs
Interactive event will feature makeshift rafts, an inflatable “billionaire yacht,” life preservers and constituent stories illustrating how families are “drowning” in rising costs
Palmer Township, PENNSYLVANIA — As Lehigh Valley families face rising costs for health care, gas, groceries, and other necessities, advocates and constituents will gather Tuesday, August 18th in Palmer Township for a unique, highly visual town hall calling attention to the federal policies making it harder for working families to stay afloat.
At “SOS! Affordability Crisis: The People’s Raft-Up,” attendees will literally “raft up” to share their experiences with rising costs and send an SOS to Congressman Ryan Mackenzie. The interactive event will contrast working families struggling to stay afloat with an inflatable “billionaire yacht,” highlighting participants’ call for elected leaders to be accountable to working people rather than wealthy interests.
Last summer, Congressman Ryan Mackenzie voted for historic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, ripping away health care and food assistance from hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians while helping finance tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. Mackenzie also supported President Trump’s tariffs and expensive war in Iran. which are driving up costs across the board for Pennsylvanians. Organizers will connect those federal decisions to the affordability pressures facing working Pennsylvanians and call for policies that lower costs and ask billionaires, wealthy corporations and the ultra-rich to pay their fair share. For example, working Pennsylvanians have paid more than $3,900 a year because of these policies.
WHO: Pennsylvanians Together in Action, Affordable Pennsylvania, constituents, advocates
WHAT: SOS! Affordability Crisis: People’s Raft Up Interactive & Immersive Town Hall
WHERE: Charles Chrin Community Center, 4100 Green Pond Rd, Palmer Township, PA 18045
WHEN: Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at 6 PM
PRESS RSVP: snow@pennpolicy.org
Visuals:
- Rafts and Constituents adrift at sea
- Large inflatable yacht and ‘billionaire captain’
- Life preservers
- Messages in a bottle
WHY: While working people are drowning in costs, our elected leaders need to hear their cries for help. Folks are under water and struggling to afford basic necessities. This community conversation is an opportunity to share why this is an SOS moment for Lehigh Valley families, and to talk about the real life, local impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill and a tax system that allows billionaires, wealthy corporations, and the ultra-rich to avoid paying their fair share while working families bear the cost.
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