 |
|
|
|
|
|
Building Action Toward Budget Crisis Solutions
In the past few years, working and low-income people have been revolting against the tax system in Washington State because we feel overtaxed. On the flip side, elected leaders, who receive huge campaign contributions from corporations, continue to provide tax breaks to companies at the expense of community programs and education.
Washington State Jobs with Justice hopes to educate and put working people in motion by providing people with a different target. Instead of voting against taxes that bring much-needed revenue to state, county and city budgets, we must turn our attention toward corporations who are not paying their fair share. We need to hold corporations accountable for the money they receive, both through their fair treatment of workers and their responsibility to local communities by paying taxes. Our work in this area is a way to show working people an alternative -- a fair budget system in which corporations are held financially and morally accountable to the communities in which they're located.
In addition to the work that our Steering Committee representatives already do, we have also joined together with many other concerned organizations, including the Washington Association of Churches (WAC), the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU), the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and many others, to form a Tax Reform Coalition. The current work includes collecting data necessary for a beginning strategy for tax reform.
Coordinated with the Statewide Poverty Action Network (SPAN), Washington State Jobs with Justice is participating in a broad poverty action coalition to ensure that our social safety net is improved. As "Welfare Deform" is currently being evaluated in Congress, our goal has been to organize with labor unions directly impacted by legislative decisions to provide or cut community services, establish apprenticeships, or implement Work First-type programs.
|
|
|
|
