They Say Cutback - We Say Organize!

 Governor Douglas and the Legislature have proposed budget cuts that threaten vital services for many Vermonters, including our most vulnerable residents.

The Governor and the Legislature have been having the wrong conversation. We need to talk not just about how they're going to cut the budget. We need leadership that talks about how we're going to put people to work, how we're going to stimulate the economy by strengthening working families, and how we can organize effectively to protect our families and communities from these cuts!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Proposed Budget Cuts Hurt Vermonters

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

TheGovernor and Legislature should consider options other than the harsh cuts to important services and infrastructure that are being suggested.

* use the rainy day funds * close the capital gains loophole * pass a temporary tax increase on those who can afford it. * explore bonding for transportation and infrastructure projects

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 21, 2008


Background Information

Tuesday, April 22nd, organizations representing tens of thousands of hard-working Vermonters will call on Governor James Douglas and the General Assembly to resist the urge to slash programs, and instead invest in Vermont and its people.

The truth is our economy was failing working families long before there was news of a housing crisis, a mortgage crisis, or a stock market crisis. These crises are the result of decades of economic policy that prioritized Wall Street over Main Street. Stagnant or declining real wages and vast wealth inequities form the house of cards upon which our current economy was built.

The bubble in housing and other real estate, spurred on by easy access to mortgage lending, home equity loans and other forms of consumer credit, substituted for the wage increases that workers were not getting. Workers were told they couldn’t get wage increases, but “have we got a loan for you.”

Corporate and government policymakers have been running our economy into the ground - with an increasingly low-wage workforce instead of a growing middle class. The downward shift in wages is moving higher up the career ladder. The inflation-adjusted earnings of college-educated workers have fallen since 2000. More and more jobs are keeping people in poverty instead of out of poverty. Middle-class households are a medical crisis, outsourced job, or busted pension away from bankruptcy. Rising food, fuel/transportation, and healthcare costs are pushing more and more working Vermonters to the brink. Working Vermonters reaped none of the benefits of the economic expansion that preceded the current downturn. The American Dream is the American Pipe Dream for more and more people.

At the same time, the share of national income going to after-tax corporate profits is at the highest level since 1929. Fueled by obscene wage inequality and tax cuts, income and wealth are piling up at the very top. The income for top tax filers (those with more than $1 million - only 492 of them) increased by $338 million from 2005 to 2006!

The Governor and the Legislature have been having the wrong conversation. We need to talk not just about how they're going to cut the budget. We need leadership that talks about how we're going to put people to work, and how we're going to stimulate  our economy by supporting working Vermonters