[statecom-discuss] Tax ballot questionRe: Draft 2008 Public Policy Question Campaign

Sun Dec 16 17:57:54 EST 2007

Nat & Mike - trying to keep on just two threads at a time - I moved your 
comments here, Mike even though you were responding to Nat!   and I renamed this 
thread to the tax ballot question idea.

I think , Mike, that the income tax repeal folks are probably counting a huge 
turn out for the PResidential candidates which is uneducated on tax policy 
and are hoping everyone progressive will be only focused on national policy - 
which is a general problem I suspect with very likely voters who are progressive 
- they tend to ignore local or even statewide issues.

If we are to become genuinely alternative to the corporate parties, we have 
to fight that more privilieged tendency-

Love, grace

Mike Heichman writes:

Hi Nat,

An interesting idea Nat.

Any ballot question that we create should be brief and have simple
language. We would also create literature which would allow us to
provide more information and a deeper analysis.

One of the strengths of your proposal is that it could at a local level
counter the reactionary propaganda of the proposed statewide initiative
that would be devastating to our Commonwealth.

For me the weakness is that it just reshuffles the current tax burden,
which is a good thing, but it doesn't provide any additional resources
that is desperately needed. One of the characteristics of any single
statewide questions (even on at a local level) is that it must identify
the GRP as a party that is substantially different.

I also think that the major focus of the media and public this year will
be on national and international issues. In 2006, the  major focus in MA
was on the statewide campaign for Governor and on statewide issues.

At this point in time I would like us to focus on the national picture
and how it connects to our state and local economies. However, this is
just my opinion. I urge you to develop your idea and present it again.

Thanks,

Mike Heichman
In a message dated 12/16/07 5:37:58 PM, Gracegrnrnbw at aol.com writes:

> Nat    :-)    !
> 
> Ah, this is getting interesting.   If we did a legislative level campaign -
> we could essentially put an educational alternative to the proposed 
> statewide
> initiative - that would be great, because it would engage local people in
> direct education but offer a real alternative - it could also cover how cuts 
> that
> don't shift the tax burden will continue to damage our schools, our basic
> services, our environment, etc.
> 
> In terms of specifics, I want to point out, though that major moves towards
> more regressive taxation in the past few years have been because of the
> increase in property taxes and more burden on sales taxes because of the 
> decreased
> burden carried by businesses and higher income folks.
> 
> So I really think we should go with the initiatives moving towards fairer
> taxation already on the table - like expanding the property tax 
> circuit-breaker
> that gives you a tax deduction for your property taxes -(renters and 
> property
> owners equally pay these texts since they are passed directly onto 
> renters).  
> We have to shift the fundamental misunderstanding that income taxes are bad 
> -
> they are the only thing that reaches hte richer echelons of society   - so
> they are the relative friend of most of us (even if they are flat they are 
> more
> progressive) than any other kind of tax we have now.   Sales taxes since 
> they
> don't tax upper-end services fall more on you the lower income you are!
> 
> If our basic thrust is not that other tax cuts are more progressive and that
> cutting the overallincome of the state really screws regular people mroe 
> then
> I think we are not talking at a fundamental enough level.
> 
> This will certainly separate us from the libertarians and could connect us
> (if we have a real commitment, as I said to talking to the voters usually
> ignored) with both lower income/more people of color voters and the unions - 
> which
> are already the driving force behind the opposition to the initiative to
> eliminate income tax.
> 
> Grace
> In a message dated 12/16/07 5:00:48 PM, nat.fortune at comcast.net writes:
> 
> 
> >
> > > On Dec 16, 2007, at 4:06 PM, Gracegrnrnbw at aol.com wrote:
> > >
> > > Equally important is that there may well be a ballot question 
> > > attempting to
> > > eliminate income tax - moving us ever more regressively on 
> > > taxation, crippling
> > > what is left of our state economy, and hurting those the most (both 
> > > in terms
> > > of shifted tax burden and cuts in services) who can least afford it.
> > >
> > > If we are going to mount a statewide ballot campaign, what about 
> > > actually
> > > doing organizing and voter registration with a broad-based message 
> > > that really
> > > empowers people around taxes and voting (using their initiative as 
> > > the target)?
> > >  And reaches the people no one else is willing to take the time to 
> > > reach?
> >
> >
> > Grace is right: paying attention to the questions already on the 
> > ballot and posing an alternative that focuses on what the state 
> > legislature could do is a very good idea. It would show how the GRP 
> > would govern differently and could do it in a way that would have 
> > direct appeal to voters already confronted with questions about taxes.
> >
> > Here's one possibility but there are many others (for example a 
> > carbon tax)
> >
> > Let's start with the assumption that our goal is an honest sharing of 
> > burdens and benefits, so that everyone can afford to live in 
> > communities worth living in. Instead, we have a tax system that 
> > steals from the poor to give to the rich. What we ultimately need is 
> > a progressive tax system, but that requires a constitutional 
> > amendment that wouldn't be on the ballot this time, and the average 
> > voter seems to mistakenly believe that they would pay more taxes 
> > under such a system.
> >
> > So how about an advisory question that makes the existing system more 
> > progressive, spells out how the average voter would benefit in a way 
> > that is easier to understand, and builds the base needed to actually 
> > pass a progressive tax system amendment (which has been repeatedly 
> > defeated).
> >
> > Here's my idea, but it needs work to make it easier to follow.
> >
> > (1) Exempt anyone earning less than a living wage from paying any 
> > state income taxes. Give the same size exemption to every additional 
> > member of a family.
> >
> > Example: if living wage is $10/hour (just to pick a round number) and 
> > you work full time 50 weeks a year with two weeks off, then you earn 
> > $10/hour x 40 hours/week x 50 weeks/year = $20,000 year. So if you 
> > are single, the first $20,000 is exempt. If you are a couple, the 
> > first $40,000 is exempt. If you have two kids as well, the first 
> > $80,000 is exempt.  Likewise, f the living wage is $12/hour, then the 
> > first $24,000 is exempt, etc. etc.
> >
> >
> > (2) change  the tax rate on what you earn over and above a living 
> > wage so that  If you earn twice the living wage , then you pay the 
> > same as you did before (or less)  in taxes and if you earn less than 
> > double the living wage then you pay less than you do now. If you earn 
> > more than that, then the poor have been paying your way for a very 
> > long time and you can afford to start pulling your weight!
> >
> > Example: Assume a living wage of $10/hour like before. So if you are 
> > a couple with two kids earning $160,000/year, then you pay the same 
> > as before.
> >
> >
> >
> > The official living wage for Brookline MA was $10.30 as of July 
> > 2006   and for Boston was $11.95 as of June 2006.
> > <http://www.livingwagecampaign.org/index.php?id=1958 >
> >
> > Nat
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > statecom-discuss mailing list
> > statecom-discuss at green-rainbow.org
> > http://www.green-rainbow.org/mailman/listinfo/statecom-discuss
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
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