Tag Archives: Taxes

What are we buying with the voucher tax credit program? (Bill Duncan opinion piece in the Portsmouth Herald)

  By Advancing New Hampshire Public Education | March 3, 2013 - 9:28 am | ,
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Bill Duncan

Here is a short due diligence report for anyone considering supporting the voucher tax credit program enacted over the governor’s veto last year.

To date, only one “scholarship organization” has been approved to collect millions of dollars in potential business donations and then, after taking up to 10 percent off the top, to select the schools and children who will get the money. That’s a California group called the Alliance for the Separation of School and State. They opened an office in New Hampshire a couple of years ago, guided the sponsors in writing the legislation and lobbied for its passage.

They say their mission is “ending government involvement in education.” Here’s how they describe their beliefs:

“Our society has become a slave to the state by virtue of government-controlled schools. Children suffer, parents feel helpless, and scores of good educators feel trapped in a system that never should have existed in the first place. …

“Why shouldn’t the government be involved in education? The short answer: Government schooling stands in direct opposition to the liberty this country was founded on. It fosters unquestioning obedience, acceptance of authority, herd mentality, and dependency …;

“Please join us in exploring the problem of state-controlled schooling and the exciting solutions available this very day!”

They have hired local staff, changed their name to the more benign sounding Network for Educational Opportunity and are out raising money from New Hampshire businesses.

We are now in the perverse position of having made a group whose purpose is to shut down public education our sole agent to manage millions of dollars funded by state tax credits.

And what about the schools that would get the money? One will surely be the unaccredited, 340-student Tri-City Christian Academy in Somersworth. Tri-City was the second main lobbyist for the program, is probably the most active school in marketing the vouchers and works with the California group to defend the program against repeal. Here is some of what they say in their philosophy statement, an essay called “The Education Battlefield:”

“The role of Christian education is to acknowledge … the existence of God, and allow the ‘facts’ of the universe to follow, to His glory. …

“Government schools have assumed a virtual monopolistic influence over the lives of the vast majority of American families with school-aged children. … The use of centralized, publicly-financed, government-owned schools was imported from authoritarian Prussia, and we ‘lived without it’ throughout the formative years of our nation …

“The Unitarian liberals … rejected God the sovereign … King of the universe, and replaced Him with a hapless, helpless God. …

“The centerpiece institution for implementing … a cultural coup de tat (sic) would be universal public education. … The kind of ‘education’ they had in mind … would … replace … Christian theism with the moral relativism of secular humanism. …

“The micro-managers of the secular State cannot tolerate … competition. … Meanwhile, the student-conscripts of the government education corps have become the equivalent of human guinea pigs.”

Tri-City is one of 71 religious schools in New Hampshire, many of which share nationally syndicated coursework that integrates a conservative Christian theology into every lesson, every day. There is no academic accountability in the voucher program, so they can teach whatever they want. Here’s a sample from widely used textbooks:

A Bob Jones University science book says, “Bible-believing Christians cannot accept any evolutionary interpretation. Dinosaurs and humans were definitely on the earth at the same time and may have even lived side by side within the past few thousand years.”

A popular history book says, “The Klan in some areas of the country tried to be a means of reform, fighting the decline in morality and using the symbol of the cross to target bootleggers, wife beaters and immoral movies.”

From a current events book: “(Homosexuals) have no more claims to special rights than child molesters or rapists.”

Marketed as “school choice for poor kids,” the voucher program grants an almost dollar-for-dollar tax credit (a $10,000 donation costs the business only $429 out of pocket) for supporting this project to replace our public schools with religious schools teaching creationist science.

If you’re a business that wants to help low-income kids, there are better alternatives. You could support New Hampshire’s public charter schools. They are well managed by the state, use credible curricula — and are free to every child in the state.

The program is being challenged in court but, constitutionality aside, there is no legitimate public purpose for voucher tax credit.

Voucher repeal has already passed the House.

Please urge Sen. Nancy Stiles to change her position and support voucher repeal when it comes to the Senate.

via What are we buying with the voucher tax credit program? | SeacoastOnline.com.

The NH AFL-CIO Speaks Out Against Mandatory Budget Cuts And The Effect On NH Working Families

  By New Hampshire Labor News | February 26, 2013 - 2:39 pm | ,
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NH AFL-CIO Logo

Sequestration Cuts to Employment Services to Hurt Over 6,104 Granite Staters Searching for Work 

Republicans take economy hostage to protect tax loopholes for corporations and wealthy

 A report from the Senate Appropriations Committee shows that Congressional Republicans’ ‘threats to harm the economy by letting automatic across-the-board budget cuts – called “sequestration” – go forward on March 1, 2013 would cause New Hampshire to lose enormous funding for job training services, education and home heating assistance.

The report further proves that Republicans’ insistence on cutting Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to pay for tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthiest 2 percent would directly harm working families.

These drastic cuts would slash $744,407 from critical job training and employment services, impacting 6,104 veterans, young workers and adults. Thanks to cuts in Workforce Investment Act adult and dislocated worker state grants, 963 fewer adult workers would have access to grants to help them retrain and find employment after layoffs. An additional 4,912 workers would be hurt by cuts to the DOL’s employment service.

Sequestration would also cut nearly $2.2 million in funds for New Hampshire from Title I, the largest federal-funded education program in the United States, meaning schools would be left struggling to pay for teachers and tutors. Critical grants for public safety would be cut back by $198,965, leaving local fire departments understaffed and working without necessary, critical equipment.

“Yet again, Republicans in Congress are threatening to throw the economy back into recession unless Democrats agree to benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” said New Hampshire AFL-CIO President Mark MacKenzie. “They are willing to allow deep across the board cuts that hurt working families to go into effect rather than close wasteful tax loopholes and demand corporations and the richest 2% pay their fair share. We need to invest in our economy and our people by creating more jobs, not cutting them. Congress must stop protecting corporations and the richest 2% and cancel the sequester immediately.”

Additional state cuts:  (State tables start on page 79)

  FY 12 Funding FY 13 Sequester Cut Impact
Department of Labor Job Training Grants $9,517,729 $744,407 6,104 fewer adults and young workers receive assistance with job training, including 171 veterans
Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $4,881,449 $198,965 31 education jobs lost, 1,349 fewer students served and 15 fewer schools to receive grants
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program $26,055,007 $2,150,521 Less funding to provide home heating and cooling assistance to low-income individuals and families
Head Start  $15,590,172 $1,216,033 41 Head Start jobs lost and 194 fewer children served

 

The full report can be found at: http://www.harkin.senate.gov/documents/pdf/500ff3554f9ba.pdf

LTE: ‘Fox’ The Debt; Corporations Pushing For Cuts To Social Security and Medicare

  By New Hampshire Labor News | February 26, 2013 - 2:31 pm | ,
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NHLN Editors note: This is an LTE from Caroline French of Dover, talking about the Fix The Debt Campaign.

‘Fox’ the Debt?

To the editor:

Peter G. Peterson is a Wall Street billionaire who has been using his money for years trying to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Fix the Debt is his latest trick to attack seniors. He loves to go after Social Security and Medicare under the pretense of fixing the nation’s “debt problem.” He has spent millions of his own dollars trying to make sure that rich people stay rich.

Blowing the cover on Fix the Debt should be a goal of every senior citizen in New Hampshire. Fight back. Tell Republicans and Democrats alike who support this trick the truth about your earned benefits and the evil doers who want to take your earned benefits away.

The debt will be fixed by a strong economy, job growth and making things in this country again. The word “fox” used as a verb means to trick. These Fix the Debt people are trying to fox the debt on the backs of Social Security and Medicare.

Caroline L. French

Dover

 

Also published by Fosters

REP Kuster Calls for Balanced, Bipartisan Plan to Avert Automatic Spending Cuts (VIDEO)

  By New Hampshire Labor News | February 26, 2013 - 11:44 am | , ,
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Rep Annie Kuster in US House


Highlights new report showing middle class New Hampshire families will pay the price without it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) spoke on the House floor last night about the need for Republicans and Democrats to work together on a balanced, bipartisan plan to avert the automatic spending cuts that are scheduled to take effect on March 1. If Congress fails to act, these devastating cuts will hurt middle class families, undermine our economy, and threaten our national security.

“If Congress fails to act, the sequester is going to trigger mindless, across-the-board cuts that will hurt middle class New Hampshire families and undermine our economy,” Kuster said. “There’s no question we need to reduce the deficit. But we have to do it in a balanced way that distinguishes between wasteful spending we can’t afford to keep and critical investments we can’t afford to cut.”

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that these automatic spending cuts would reduce economic growth by half in 2013 and cost up to 1.4 million jobs nationwide. A recent study by George Mason University estimated that New Hampshire would lose more than 6,300 jobs. On Sunday, the White House issued a new report outlining the devastating impacts these automatic cuts would have on middle class New Hampshire families over the next year alone:

·         Teachers and Schools: New Hampshire will lose approximately $1,078,000 in funding for primary and secondary education, putting teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 1,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 10 fewer schools would receive funding.

·         Military Readiness: In New Hampshire, approximately 1,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $5.4 million in total.

·         Job Search Assistance to Help those in New Hampshire find Employment and Training: New Hampshire will lose about $138,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral, and placement, meaning around 4,950 fewer people will get the help and skills they need to find employment.

·         Work-Study Jobs: Around 120 fewer low income students in New Hampshire would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college and around 130 fewer students will get work-study jobs that help them pay for college.

·         Child Care: Up to 100 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care, which is also essential for working parents to hold down a job.

·         Vaccines for Children: In New Hampshire around 680 fewer children will receive vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and Hepatitis B due to reduced funding for vaccinations of about $46,000.

·         STOP Violence Against Women Program: New Hampshire could lose up to $28,000 in funds that provide services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 100 fewer victims being served.

Kuster has repeatedly called on Congress to replace these automatic cuts with a balanced plan to reduce the deficit. Last week, Kuster called on both parties to work together to avert the sequester during a visit to Polartec, which produces uniform and combat clothing for the Department of Defense and would be negatively impacted by the defense  cuts included in the sequester.

Kuster recently wrote an op-ed highlighting the damaging impacts the automatic cuts would have on families and businesses in New Hampshire, and urged Congress to take a more balanced, bipartisan approach to reducing the deficit that will spur job creation, grow the economy, and protect middle class families.

In February, Kuster also helped establish the United Solutions Caucus, a new bipartisan coalition of Republican and Democratic freshman focused on resolving our nation’s fiscal challenges in a common sense, bipartisan way.

Do Not Be Fooled By ‘FIX THE DEBT’, They Are Really Out For Themselves Leaving You Helpless

  By New Hampshire Labor News | February 24, 2013 - 7:00 am |
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Fix The Debt

There has been a lot of talk over the last few days about the impacts of sequestration. What will sequestration mean to regular people? What are other plans to reduce the $13 trillion dollars of debt?

Stepping in to offer convenient answers to all these questions is the well-funded ‘FIX THE DEBT’ campaign.

A little background on Fix The Debt campaign.  Fix The Debt is a group of CEOs and business executives trying to use their business experience to provide guidance to the federal government on how to control the growing debt problem.  Their plan is to reduce the budget by $2.4 trillion dollars. “The plan should combine targeted spending cuts, entitlement reforms and comprehensive tax reform in order to put the debt on a downward path.”

If you take this at face value, it sounds appealing.  It sounds like “responsible reform” with the goal of reducing the federal debt.  What they are not telling you is that these executives are the part of the reason that the country is in a fiscal hole.   All of these executives have worked for corporations who have been taking advantage of the US tax code for who knows how long.

 Fix The Debt

What’s their goal?  Fix The Debt is trying to make drastic changes to the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as part of their ‘plan’.

One of the biggest changes proposed to Medicare is the so-called vouchers for Medicare recipients.  These vouchers are a boost for the medical insurers, allowing them to collect more from recipients.  Three of the above executives have direct ties to medical insurance companies, or have lobbied for changes to Medicare in the past.  Is this a coincidence? Or are they using another front to push their corporate agenda?

After they have made millions of dollars in profits off of the government, are they really going to consider “tax reforms” changes that will increase their taxes?  How much money would the government save if they cut the tax subsidies to the corporations?

Charlie Balban President of the NH Alliance for Retired Americans spoke out against David Cote and the Fix The Debt coalition at the recent event in Manchester.

“They really don’t get it,” Charlie Balban, president of the state Chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans, said of Cote and other business leaders and politicians seeking entitlement reforms.

“To change it is just going to hurt so many who are already hurting,” said Balban, a retired construction worker from Manchester. “They just live in a different world.”

(from the Nashua Telegraph)

 

For more in depth coverage on ‘Fix The Debt’ check out SourceWatch’s wiki

The NH Tax System Unfairly Takes More From Middle and Low Income Families

  By Matt Murray | February 21, 2013 - 10:04 am |
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We have all heard the debate, income tax or no income tax. This debate dominated the headlines durning the NH Governor race.  Maggie Hassan vowed to oppose an income or sales tax, while Jackie Cilley would not take the ‘pledge’ to oppose the taxes.

While I fully supported Maggie Hassan in her eventual win as New Hampshire’s Governor, I was a fan of Jackie Cilley’s tax plan.  ( I am sure the NH GOP are going to have a field day with that.)

The evidence is clear, that NH needs to increase revenue if we want to restore some of the massive cuts to our schools, our Health & Human Services projects, UNH funding and  more.

The problem is that right now, New Hampshire’s tax system favors the wealthy by taking more from the lower income families.  This is called a regressive tax structure.  The NH Fiscal Policy Institute talked about this recently.  In fact the overall tax rate of the top 20% is just over half of the bottom 20%.  The top 5% are just under half of the bottom 20%. rates, and the top 1% pay less than a quarter of the bottom 20%. rates.

NH Taxes

NH Taxes

Think about it this way. You own (or rent) a home and the property taxes are $4,000 per year.  I know, unrealistic for New Hampshire, but play along.  Your taxes are $4,000 dollars, and you make $40,000 per year.  Your property taxes would be 10% of your yearly wages.  Now if you made $80,000, it would be 5%.  The higher your income bracket the less the percentage of your income it effects.

So what do we do? First is should be known that NH is not alone, and we are far from the worst when it comes to taxing the poor.  With all that said, we are not really that far off from the national average either.

New Hampshire is about 3% lower than the average.  This would is also one of the reasons New Hampshire has the highest number of millionaires per capita.  This regressive tax structure does not help our state when it comes to creating budgets.   So when the town raises taxes, like many in New Hampshire did, the lowest incomes bear the brunt of the pain.

How can we fix this problem?  New Hampshire politicos talk a lot about helping the middle class, and protecting the lower income families.  If they truly wanted to help the low income families they would be pushing for a completely new tax structure.  Without an income tax you cannot balance the regressive tax structure with a progressive income tax. This way when all is said and done the share of tax relative to  income would be equal and nobody can complain they are being treated unfairly.  It would end the debate that the 1% of New Hampshire is benefiting while the 99% are being punished.

SONH 2013 Revenue Plan Property and Business taxes

A revised tax system would have a significant impact on our small business community.  The GOP in the House are always complaining that taxes on businesses are too high.  Look at this chart of the New Hampshire revenue stream.  An income based tax would allow New Hampshire to drastically reduce the business profits tax and enterprise tax.  This would be encouraging for businesses to expand and would strengthen the ‘New Hampshire Advantage’ for businesses.

 

Yet this is not happening in New Hampshire because legislators took pledges, and secret vows, to oppose an income tax because it make New Hampshire a better place.  WRONG! It makes New Hampshire a better place for wealthy people to live.  This is why New Hampshire is loosing young people by the thousands every year.  They cannot afford to live here and pay the taxes on the pay they are making.  At least in Massachusetts they will get better pay before they are hit with an income tax.  Even with the Massachusetts income tax added in they only pay about 1.4% higher for the bottom 20% but significantly more for the top 1%.

I would also like to point out that Massachusetts or ‘Tax-a-chusetts’ as many Granite Staters like to call it is still less than the national average.  Even Massachusetts taxes are regressive, better than NH, but regressive.

If New Hampshire is serious about helping the low to moderate income families in New Hampshire then talking about a progressive income tax should be on the table.  We want to build a tax structure that effects everyone equally and does not punish people for making too much, or those struggling to get by.

Like I said the radical right and even some of the moderate middle are going to hate me for saying this.  We need to institute some type of income tax to balance the pain of taxes.  This will also help to lower our property taxes, making rent and home ownership costs go down, encouraging more younger people to buy homes here.  It will grow our state budget so we can finish the projects we have been talking about for decades.  We can make New Hampshire a better place to live than it already is.

The New Hampshire Alliance For Retired Americans Rejects Honeywell CEO Cote’s Plan To “FIX THE DEBT”

  By New Hampshire Labor News | February 12, 2013 - 4:11 pm |
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Hands off my social security

The New Hampshire Chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans asked some tough questions at the FIX the DEBT meeting at Saint Anselm’s College yesterday.

The Fix the Debt coalition is a group of CEO’s and business leaders who are pushing for over $4 trillion dollars in cuts to the federal budget to reduce the national debt.  The Fix the Debt coalition is looking to make significant reforms to the Social Security and Medicare programs.  The so-called ‘entitlement’ programs.

Both of these programs are fundamental for seniors and their ability to retire.  In New Hampshire the average Social Security payment is a little over $1200 per month.  At a recent protest of Social Security cuts New Hampshire AFL-CIO President Mark MacKenzie said, “tens of thousands of Granite Staters depend on safety net programs, yet our elected leaders are still choosing to use them as bargaining chips in negotiations over the deficit.”

The coalition is led by Honeywell CEA David Cote.  Honeywell has come under great scrutiny due to the fact that they received $725 million dollars in government deals, and only paid a net 2% in income taxes.

“Early in Cote’s presentation, a pair of protesters interrupted the Honeywell president, accusing his company of paying a low 2 percent income tax rate, far lower than most taxpayers. “Read our lips, pay your taxes,” they shouted before being escorted out.”

(from the Nashua Telegraph)

Charlie Balban spoke out against David Cote and the Fix The Debt coalition at the event in Manchester.

“They really don’t get it,” Charlie Balban, president of the state Chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans, said of Cote and other business leaders and politicians seeking entitlement reforms.

“To change it is just going to hurt so many who are already hurting,” said Balban, a retired construction worker from Manchester. “They just live in a different world.”

(from the Nashua Telegraph)

According to the Nashua Telegraph David Cote does not want to remove Medicare or Social Security only wants to “to tweak the program by amending the cost-of-living increases or raising the age of eligibility.”

Seniors are already struggling, making further cuts to Social Security would only put more pressure on them.  At the same time raising the Social Security age requirement only compounds the unemployment problem in America.  By forcing more Americans to work longer till reaching eligibility, means that less jobs are available for the younger generation.

Another member of the NH Alliance for Retired Americans,  Jane Lang, spoke very harshly of Cote’s plan to “tweak” the program.

“As a senior, I’m totally appalled that you, as a CEO … can stand up there and tell me that you’re going to take my Social Security, which I’m just recently getting on,” Jane Lang, a retired nurse from Salem, told Cote. “I just hope a lot of seniors understand what’s going on.”

(from the Nashua Telegraph)

Seniors are not the only ones who should be appalled by the actions of Honeywell CEO David Cote.  His plan would put force Americans to work longer by raising the age and reducing benefits by changing the cost of living adjustments.  All of these actions would result in less money being paid from Social Security.  Everyone needs to understand that Social Security is not a gift for reaching retirement age, it is a self funded program.  We pay into the program all of our working lives and the money is invested through the government and paid out to you in retirement.

After Failing To Pass CACR 13, The NH Legislature Introduces It Again As CACR1

  By New Hampshire Labor News | January 12, 2013 - 10:31 am |
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Taxes Cartoon

If at first you don’t succeed,  try try again.

This is the matra of the NH GOP in the 2013 legislative session.  After the two year battle over Right To Work (for less), former House Speaker Bill O’brien, once again submitted the Right To Work (for less) bill.  That is not the only bill making a comeback this year.

Last November Granite State voters rejected the idea of handcuffing the state budget in voting down CACR 13.

CACR13: [Art.] 5-c. [Income Tax Prohibited.] No new tax shall be levied, directly or indirectly, upon a person’s income, from whatever source it is derived. (1)

The bill would have mandated 3/5 majority to pass any tax or fee increases by the legislature.   Now in the 2013 session we have CACR 1:

[Art.] 5-c. [Increase in Rate of Taxation.] A 3/5 vote of the members present and voting in the house of representatives and the senate shall be required to pass a new tax or license fee or to increase a tax or license fee that has been levied by the state, or to authorize the issuance of State bonds.

I will tell again that this is a bad idea.  This was a bad idea last year, which is why voters rejected it.  I hope that this legislature rejects this amendment before it has the chance to be voed on again.

*    *   *   *   *

We have done a lot of research on CACR 13 and here are a few of the posts we put together in opposition to the Tax Change.

CACR 13 A Tax bill that will ultimately crush New Hampshire

CACR 13: Putting New Hampshire in a Financial Straightjacket

CACR 13: The Amendment To Stop Moving NH Forward

 

 

The Wealthy Have To Pay A Little More As We Avoid The Fiscal Cliff, or Did We?

  By New Hampshire Labor News | January 1, 2013 - 2:53 pm |
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Joe Biden In Merrimack

Late last night Vice President Biden and  Senate Leaders worked out a deal to temporarily avoid the so-called Fiscal Cliff.  The plan was brokered after midnight even after the US House said there would be no vote on the Fiscal Cliff, and had basically given up on the idea of compromise.

The deal is good in many ways.  It permanently  secures the tax cuts for the middle class to avoid a huge jump in taxes for all Americans.  The biggest news is that the deal, which moves to the House today, includes a significant revenue increase.  For those who make more than $400,000 ($450,000 for couples) will see a 4% increase.

The bill also increases the rates on capitol gains taxes from 15% to 20%.   While this is not the rates and numbers that President Obama campaigned on however in a negotiation you have to give a little as well.

“This agreement will also grow the economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way – by investing in our middle class, and by asking the wealthy to pay a little more.”
-President Barack Obama 1-1-13

The proposed bill includes a “cap on personal exemptions and itemized deductions for income above $250,000, or $300,000 per household.”

Another fabulous part of this bill is that it extends the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Tuition Tax Credit for the next five years.  These are tax credits that are specifically designed to help the middle and lower class families.

For labor this bill is a huge win.  VP Biden included a one year extension of the unemployment insurance for more than two million Americans.  The UI helps those who are still struggling to find meaningful work, survive, while the economy is still recovering.

The big draw back to this agreement is that it does not solve the Debt Ceiling issue. As we all remember the House GOP held American’s hostage by refusing to raise the debt ceiling and nearly shut the government down.  This also resulted in a downgrade of our national credit rating.  Early proposals of the Fiscal Cliff negotiations allowed the President to raise the Debt Ceiling without Congressional approval.

President Obama released this statement last night.

“There’s more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I’m willing to do it. But tonight’s agreement ensures that, going forward, we will continue to reduce the deficit through a combination of new spending cuts and new revenues from the wealthiest Americans.  And as we address our ongoing fiscal challenges, I will continue to fight every day on behalf of the middle class and all those fighting to get into the middle class to forge an economy that grows from the middle out, not from the top down. ”

This may not be all we wanted or what we have been fighting for, however we made some great advances.  We removed any Social Security cuts, and made positive changes to the Medicare program.

Now we all wait and see what the House does with the proposal.

Read the entire bill

UPDATED 1-2-13

Late in the night the US House passed the bill 257-167.  Only a handfull of Democrats opposed the bill however the Republicans opposed it.  Republicans voted 85 for to 151 against the bill, showing that only some were truly willing to do their jobs as elected leaders.  I applaud these 85 Republicans who help get this legislation through, including Lame Duck Congressman Charlie Bass.  Congressman Frank Guinta voted against it, showing that he is true to his “NO TAX” pledge and Tea Party politics.

See where your Congressional Reps voted.

Citizens from across the state call Sen. Ayotte’s office urging her to reject Boehner’s so-called “Plan B”

  By New Hampshire Labor News | December 21, 2012 - 4:15 pm |
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TheAction

Citizens from across the state call Sen. Ayotte’s office urging her to reject Boehner’s so-called “Plan B”

Activists working with The Action gathered in Concord to call, with an over 75% response rate

Concord – Activists working with the The Action, a joint project of Granite State Progress and the New Hampshire Citizens’ Alliance, spoke with  people from around the state asking them to help urge rejection of Boehner’s ‘Plan B’  – and nearly 80% of them of agreed to them to do just that. They agreed to call Senator Kelly Ayotte’s office in Washington, asking her to the so-called “Plan B” bill put forward by Republican House leadership.

“It seemed like everyone we called was eager to jump in and call,” said Melissa Bernardin, who captained the phone bank. “I’ve been involved in a lot of phone banks and I can’t remember a time when we got a more enthusiastic response – people are really fired up about the so-called ‘fiscal cliff.’”

The results speak for themselves – nearly 80% of the voters that The Action reached agreed to call Ayotte’s office and make their voices heard on Boehner’s so-called ‘Plan B.’

This measure, proposed by Speaker Boehner, would recklessly perpetuate tax cuts for the wealthiest few – and in fact would give millionaires an average $50,000 tax break – while at the same time raising taxes by an average of $1,000 on 25 million working families with children and students.

 

ABOUT THE ACTION: The Action NH is a joint project of NH Citizens Alliance for Action and Granite State Progress, and part of a national grassroots movement that demands Congress end the Bush-era tax cuts for the richest 2%—those making more than $250,000 per year. The Action is for critical investments that create and sustain jobs.