Laura
11-17-2008, 05:45 PM
From Linda Ostreicher, CIDNY
Take Action! http://capwiz.com/cidny/issues/alert/?alertid=12211151&queueid=2632344656
Be Fair in the Fiscal Crisis
Raise taxes on those who can afford them
New York State is hit harder by the current economic crisis than the rest of the nation, because we depend so heavily on Wall Street income to balance our state budget.
Now we face another threat:
Governor Paterson proposes to close the state budget gap by making drastic cuts to essential programs, such as healthcare, housing and education, while he refuses to consider raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.
Cuts to social programs hurt everyone:
* When people are too poor to pay for necessities, local businesses lose customers.
* When families lose their homes, the cost for sheltering them is much larger than rent.
* When children don't learn, they are less able to become self-supporting adults.
Investing in vulnerable New Yorkers is smart economics: Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, warns that: "[R]eductions in government spending on goods and services...are likely to be more damaging to the economy in the short run than tax increases focused on higher-income families."
Please urge the Governor and your State Legislators to:
*Reform the State Personal Income Tax
The highest-earning people should pay more in taxes. Instead, middle-income and low-income New Yorkers pay nearly twice as much in taxes as the top 1% of earners.
In 2003, a temporary, 3-year change increased taxes on top earners, successfully closing budget gaps. There is no evidence that wealthy New Yorkers moved out of the state to avoid the increased taxes.
* Use the "Rainy Day Fund." New York State has a $1 billion rainy day fund designed to close budget gaps in hard times. This is the time to use it.
http://capwiz.com/cidny/issues/alert/?alertid=12211151&queueid=2632344656 will offer you the option of e-mailing or snail mailing the Gov, your State Senator and Assembly Member.
Take Action! http://capwiz.com/cidny/issues/alert/?alertid=12211151&queueid=2632344656
Be Fair in the Fiscal Crisis
Raise taxes on those who can afford them
New York State is hit harder by the current economic crisis than the rest of the nation, because we depend so heavily on Wall Street income to balance our state budget.
Now we face another threat:
Governor Paterson proposes to close the state budget gap by making drastic cuts to essential programs, such as healthcare, housing and education, while he refuses to consider raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.
Cuts to social programs hurt everyone:
* When people are too poor to pay for necessities, local businesses lose customers.
* When families lose their homes, the cost for sheltering them is much larger than rent.
* When children don't learn, they are less able to become self-supporting adults.
Investing in vulnerable New Yorkers is smart economics: Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, warns that: "[R]eductions in government spending on goods and services...are likely to be more damaging to the economy in the short run than tax increases focused on higher-income families."
Please urge the Governor and your State Legislators to:
*Reform the State Personal Income Tax
The highest-earning people should pay more in taxes. Instead, middle-income and low-income New Yorkers pay nearly twice as much in taxes as the top 1% of earners.
In 2003, a temporary, 3-year change increased taxes on top earners, successfully closing budget gaps. There is no evidence that wealthy New Yorkers moved out of the state to avoid the increased taxes.
* Use the "Rainy Day Fund." New York State has a $1 billion rainy day fund designed to close budget gaps in hard times. This is the time to use it.
http://capwiz.com/cidny/issues/alert/?alertid=12211151&queueid=2632344656 will offer you the option of e-mailing or snail mailing the Gov, your State Senator and Assembly Member.