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WFP today is: Charles Lenchner This is the first post of the group Working Families Party diary at OpenLeft.com. Here is the email sent out today: First they ignore you, then they fight you, then you win."
Like clockwork, the conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch uses the New York Post to attack any progressive movement or idea that starts getting legs. Today, they published an inflammatory and inaccurate editorial page attack on the WFP's "Fair Share Tax Reform" plan.1
Why? Because our proposal to reduce Gov. Paterson's devastating budget cuts by raising taxes on the very richest New Yorkers is starting to gain ground in Albany. The WFP is embarking on one of our biggest organizing campaigns ever to win this fight. As we write, organizers across the state are building local coalitions to fight for a fair budget. Can you contribute $20 to fund their work?
The Post has never cared much for facts, but in this fight they're critical:
The Governor's cuts would be devastating. He proposes to balance the budget with $9 billion in cuts to classrooms, hospitals, libraries, nursing homes, environmental protection, foster care, social services that actually save us money in the long run, you name it. 2
We know painful cutbacks are inevitable. But his plan is lopsided. The Governor asks for sacrifice from everyone -- everyone, that is, except the wealthiest New Yorkers who could most afford to pay.
There's a better way. The Fair Share Tax Reform plan asks the wealthy to give back a reasonable portion of the generous tax cuts they've received so we can stop the worst of the Governor's cuts. Who would pay? You have to earn close to $6,000 per week to be touched by this plan. No one likes to pay taxes, but this group is best able to weather a modest decline in their take-home pay.3 The Post has learned nothing from the collapse of Bush's right-wing economic policies, but most economists have. Hundreds of New York's leading economists (including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz) have called on Gov. Paterson to reconsider his approach. Their view: raise taxes on the wealthy instead of focusing entirely on cutbacks that hit the middle-class, working-class and poor.4
The reasoning is simple - slashing public spending will not only cause real pain for working families, it will reduce economic activity. It's the exact opposite of what President Obama's stimulus plan is trying to accomplish.
Fair Share Tax Reform is, well, fair. Because of decades of tax cuts skewed toward the rich, the highest state income tax rate starts at just $20,000 a year, meaning Donald Trump pays the same rate as his limo drivers and doormen. A 10 year-old could tell you that's lopsided.
Here's the good news: our campaign is gaining steam. Last week, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced his support for raising taxes on the wealthy, asking rhetorically: "Is it fair to ask the people who make more to pay a little bit more in this time of crisis?"
It is. And with your help, we can prevent the worst of the Governor's cuts and "balance the budget in a balanced way." Our organizers are building grassroots coalitions across the state to do just that, can you contribute $20 or more to help us?
https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1306/t/3865/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=2382
Dan Cantor
WFP Executive Director Bertha Lewis, Bob Master, Sam Williams
WFP Co-chairs PS - To find Fair Share campaign events near you, check out the coalition's website: http://fairsharereform.com/local/
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