Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Tax the fat cats!

SEIU, the health care workers union, is launching a
tax reform program

called Fair Share, featuring a progressive tax on wealth: http://fairsharereform.com/
Details of their tax plan here: http://fairsharereform.com/page/content/reformplan/

Without tax reform, the city is looking at deep service cuts that will hit working people hard and will scarcely, if at all, be felt at the top. "Tightening the belt" sounds egalitarian, but it always seems to turn out to mean 'squeezing the have-nots.' As we've learned from the bail-out, fat cats don't wear belts, they have suspenders.

So don't think it selfish to ask, while the city is losing revenue, that your bus line be saved. With a tax reform plan, there's no need for you to have to give up public services, because the only reason for you to sacrifice would be that the proprietors of wealth in the city won't.

MTA Hearing on rate hikes and service cuts
Wed. Jan. 14, 6pm
1335 6th Avenue,
Hilton Hotel Trianon Ballroom

For
talking points
on the upcoming hearing, take a look at the Straphangers Campaign's site.

If you haven't signed the petition to save the M8 bus:
www.savetheM8.org
(If you have better ideas on raising revenue than the ones mentioned in the petition, or just don't like the ones suggested, there's space for comments on the petition -- so please sign and please give us your ideas. What's important is getting the largest possible collection of signatures in support of saving the bus line.)

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