Across the Country, Thousands Will Rally for Responsible Steps to Address Budget Emergencies; New Coalition to Launch Next Week
WASHINGTON, May 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- USAction, affiliates and coalition partners next week will kick off a "National Week of Action," calling on Congress to take immediate steps to put America back to work, pass responsible tax policies and preserve the safety net during this era of high unemployment and financial distress
The National Week of Action events unofficially begin Saturday, when tens of thousands of people will rally at noon in front of the State House in Trenton, New Jersey to protest proposed budget cuts in education, health and other public services, The rally will be the largest pro-public services event of the year – larger even than the 15,000 people who turned out in Springfield, Illinois last month to chant "Show some guts! Avoid the cuts!" and demand that legislators responsibly address a $12 billion budget deficit.
"Americans from all walks of life are organizing and fighting back," said Alan Charney, USAction policy director. "Cuts in services threaten our schools, our children, our families, our communities. Next week we will be telling legislators not just in Springfield and Trenton but across the country to show some guts and avoid the cuts. We have the resources – we just have to make the right choices."
USAction and hundreds of local, state and national groups are organizing as part of two coalitions that are leading the effort to address the economic crisis. Jobs for America Now, the country's largest jobs coalition, and Americans for Responsible Taxes, a new coalition to be launched next week, each are leading the call for significant job creation and for an end to the irresponsible tax policies of the past ten years.
Specifically, USAction and Jobs for America Now are supporting the Local Jobs for America Now Act, sponsored by Rep. George Miller, D-CA. This measure almost immediately would create one million jobs. USAction and Jobs for America Now also are supporting extensions to UI/COBRA as well as emergency assistance to the states, including FMAP, and legislation sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-IA, that would preserve or create hundreds of thousands of teachers' jobs.
USAction and Americans for Responsible Taxes are supporting letting the Bush tax cuts for the top two tax brackets expire (families making more than $250,000), reinstating a robust estate tax, closing tax loopholes for wealthy individuals and ending subsidies for corporate overseas earnings and oil and gas companies, and permanently extending tax relief for working families. In all, as much as $1.4 trillion in tax dollars are at stake.
Charney said the National Week of Action events will serve as a reminder that Americans support responsible, effective government, despite recent "tea party" protests to the contrary. "In this election year, some people who simply don't believe in government would have us think that we are overtaxed," he said. "In fact, our taxes are lower than they have been in almost 60 years."
A recent USA TODAY article, citing Bureau of Economic Analysis data, found that federal, state and local income taxes consumed 9.2 percent of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950. That rate is far below the historic average of 12 percent for the last half century. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December 2009 at 8.8 percent before increasing slightly during the first three months of 2010.
SOURCE USAction
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article