|
Friday May 7, 2010
Pennsylvania's Budget Crisis Gets Worse By The Day
Dear Friend,
Pennsylvania’s budget crisis gets worse by the day.
Unless our legislators act now to close a $1.1 billion (and growing) budget gap, Pennsylvanians will see massive cuts to proposed K-12 funding, early childhood education, children’s health insurance, child welfare and juvenile justice programs next year. Things will be even worse the year after, when federal economic stimulus funds expire. We must act now to get out of this budget crisis, and we can.
While it is never easy to raise tax revenue, there are times when it is absolutely necessary. This is one of those times. Fortunately there are some common sense proposals in Harrisburg that will do this. We could join all other states in taxing smokeless tobacco, a product marketed to children, and tax cigars. We would be healthier and we would gain needed income. We could join most other states that tax the extraction of natural gas. We could close the so-called “Delaware loophole,” which enables 70 percent of Pennsylvania’s largest corporations to avoid paying taxes by registering in Delaware. And we could modernize the sales tax, removing exemptions for more than 70 non-essential items including gold coins and helicopters, while lowering the overall tax rate by 30 percent. To learn more about these proposals, click here
http://www.pennbpc.org/budget-points-stimulus-transition-fund.
These revenue enhancements enjoy the broad support of Pennsylvania voters. For example, 81 percent of voters want to see corporate tax loopholes closed and 65 percent believe we should tax smokeless tobacco and cigars.
Yet many of our legislators – Democrats and Republicans alike – don’t support them. Some would rather cut services for kids than go on record favoring a tax increase! Click here to tell your legislators not to cut essential services.
Since Fiscal Year 2009, some services for children, youth and families have been cut not once or twice, but three times! PCCY urges legislators to resist balancing the budget with additional cuts. Instead we support a balanced approach – one that balances these earlier cuts with fair tax increases that don’t hurt low- and moderate-income families.
If you agree with this approach, there are three actions that you can take while legislators are home on recess. Please do it now!
- Write, call or visit your Senator and Representative. Click here to tell your legislators not to cut essential services.
- Urge Legislators to Wake Up and Smell the Coffee. Gather at 16th & JFK (in front of the Fairmount Park Visitors Center) on Wednesday, May 12th at 10 am to send them a message about the need to raise revenue. Free coffee will be available to commuters. Click here for more information.
- Distribute our message to voters when they exit the polls on May 18. Volunteer to distribute literature in a strategically important legislative district or at your own polling place. Email us today to volunteer - info@pccy.org
Now is the time! Please help reach out to our legislators and help protect Pennsylvania’s children, youth and families. Please join us at one, two or all three of the actions described here, and raise your voice for kids!
Sincerely,
Shelly Yanoff, Executive Director, PCCY
About this E-Alert
In an effort to keep our friends and colleagues up-to-date on what’s going on with children and families in our region, PCCY will, from time to time, issue an E-Alert on an issue that we need YOU to take action on!
We will: provide you with the information on the issues
We need YOU to: take the action step(s) that are listed
We hope that you will join us in helping to protect the lives and life chances of children and families in our region by doing something TODAY to help protect their tomorrows. However, if you would like to be removed from the e-mail list and receive no further updates, please send an e-mail to info@pccy.org.
* END ALERT *
President: James Martin
Executive Director: Shelly D. Yanoff
Communications Director: Sid Holmes
Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY)
1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Sixth Floor
Philadelphia, Pa 19103
Phone: 215-563-5848
Fax: 215-563-9442
Website: www.pccy.org
E-mail: info@pccy.org
Webmaster: Steven Fynes
|
