United for a Fair Economy's E-Newsletter (January 2007)
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United for a Fair Economy's E-Newsletter |
MLK's Dream Was Not ColorblindUFE Members Help Make the "First 100-Hours" a Huge Success |
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MLK's Dream Was Not Colorblind Fighting the trend toward "colorblind" economic policies, and in recognition of Martin Luther King Day, UFE published its fourth annual "State of the Dream" report: State of the Dream 2007: Voting Blue... Staying in the Red. The report takes a look at the new Democratic majority's highly anticipated first 100 hours agenda, designed to give a boost to those on the lower rungs of America's economic ladder. The report examines the proposals from Dr. King's perspective: How much would they help close the economic gap between whites and people of color to achieve Dr. King's dream of economic equality? For the last half century, about 90% of the African American vote has been Democratic. Our report found that, in general, the 100-hour agenda with its "colorblind" policies, does not address the race gap. In hour 101 and beyond, the Democratic majority must respond to its long-time supporters and create more targeted plans to achieve racial parity. Several media outlets have already begun to cover the report, including Democracy Now and The New Standard. Check the report out for yourself and download a free copy (PDF, 724 kb). UFE Members Help Make the "First 100-Hours" a Huge Success This year's legislative session started with a bang. Although the agenda in the House was far from perfect, many saw it as a good starting place. (For our take on one missing piece, see the article above on our new report.) Dozens of UFE supporters responded to our alert and contacted their Representatives to support ending billions in tax giveaways for the oil and gas industry. The House passed the bill that will cut $14 billion over 10 years in subsidies for oil corporations and invest instead in alternative energy. As the House debated increasing the minimum wage to $7.25, we worked with Let Justice Roll to recruit more than 50 business people to sign a statement in support of the increase, saying raising the minimum wage is good for businesses and the economy because minimum wage workers tend to spend their raises, increasing economic activity. In the end, the House passed all elements of the 100-hours agenda by wide majorities. The Senate will now consider each bill, and then the House and Senate will compromise on the final versions. As we write this, the Senate seems likely to lard up the minimum wage bill with $8 billion more in business tax breaks - as though the $276 billion in tax giveaways to corporations and $36 billion to small businesses in the past 10 years wasn't enough! One positive feature in the Senate tax changes, however, is a $1 million cap for the annual pay on which CEOs can defer taxes. For more on the Senate's changes to the minimum wage bill, read this article by Marie Cocco of The Washington Post. To read more about the CEO deferred pay cap, visit Too Much. Hunger continues to be a serious problem for the working poor in our country. The Food Stamp Program, which is the first line of defense for too many, is due for reauthorization this year. This is an important time to add our voices in support of expanding the program. UFE joined with the 13 members of the National Anti-Hunger Organizations to endorse a statement of support for the program, which is a part of the 2007 Farm Bill. You can help. Learn more by reading the statement (PDF) and read about the Farm Bill. If you're a member of a human services or related organization, your organization can sign on. More Troops, More Dollars for War: What are Our Priorities? We've heard many opinions from new and old members of Congress about the President's latest "surge" of additional troops to Iraq. Most focus on whether additional troops will aid or hinder the goals the Administration believes are still achievble. It was gratifying, then, that Senator Webb spoke about the cost of the war in his response to the President's State of the Union address on Jan. 23 on behalf of the Democratic Party. The National Priorities Project has just released its latest analysis of the cost of the war for states across the country; it also provides the cost for specific counties and cities within each state. With the total cost of the war now approaching half a trillion dollars, even on a state-by-state basis, it's a lot of money - money that could be used for nation building here at home. For example, Louisiana taxpayers have contributed $2.9 billion to the war; $260 million of that comes from New Orleans. Much of New Orleans itself still looks like a war zone, and the former residents are dispersed across the country. For the amount of money coming out of the Congressional county in which New Orleans is located, 3,792 affordable housing units could have been built - and could still be built! The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project (GCCW) would use federal dollars to hire 100,000 Katrina survivors to rebuild their communities, giving them a chance to bring themselves home while saving the government billions of dollars. Send a note to your Congress people through Color of Change to let them know you want your tax dollars to fund the dream, not the war! George Lakoff's theories on framing messages have been around for several years now, and UFE is now helping grassroots tax organizers put them into practice. Tennesseans for Fair Taxation (TFT) is a group that fights for progressive taxes on issues ranging from eliminating the state sales tax on food to creating a graduated state income tax. They wanted to learn how to talk to their constituents and the media about their issues in a more compelling way. UFE tax team members put together a package of skills training and took it on the road to Jackson, Knoxville and Nashville (visiting Graceland along the way!). Working from TFT's own recent report, "The Real Budget Deficit - A Call to Invest in Tennessee, its Communities, and its People," UFE's Brenda Cotto-Escalera and Christina Kasica led participants through exercises on effective framing practices and processes to create talking points for potential media interviews. They also facilitated mock interviews so that participants could learn and practice media skills. A TFT board member from Knoxville responded to the training by saying, "I've been reading George Lakoff for years, but never thought I'd be able to use his ideas on framing in my tax work until I took your workshop."
Email or call bescalera To learn more about George Lakoff and his work on framing, visit his webpage. Our book The Color of Wealth, was honored last month to receive the Myers Award for 2006. Each year, The Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights names ten books as outstanding in showing the possibility for social change and resiliency in the face of obstacles. The Color of Wealth was honored along with nine other books ranging in topics from how white children learn, and can un-learn, the "power codes" of racism, to how the value of positive family nurturing can trump who one's parents are. What the books have in common, says Myers Center Director Loretta Williams, is that they all offer readers a chance to step beyond common assumptions and hesitancies and "connect in different ways to dismantling bigotry." To see the complete list of Myers Award winners, visit the Gustavus Myers Center. To learn more about The Color of Wealth or to order a copy, visit UFE's Racial Wealth Divide. |
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