Pennsylvanians are up in arms about Governor Corbett’s deep, draconian budget cuts to public education and basic services. It’s not because we don’t understand the need to balance the books, it’s that the disabled, the working poor, and above all young students are having to make do with less while corporate loopholes and giveaways like the Delaware Tax Loophole siphon off hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every year.
The idea of fully funding public education isn’t a new or radical idea – in a way, it’s old-school. The concept of parents working hard every day and paying their fair share of taxes in order to ensure that their kids could have a decent education and move up in life? That’s the American Dream in a nutshell, and it’s under attack in the Keystone State.
Working America member B.J. Campbell recalls a time where our elected officials believed in this idea too. She wrote a letter to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette titled: “Schools need help.”
After reading “Teachers’ Union Calls for Funding from Taxes, Drilling” (March 12), I recall my school days during the ’50s and ’60′s. Parents wanted their children to do better than they, and they knew taxes for public schools would actualize that dream. Students, families, communities and institutions thrive when a country invests in the future, its children. Yet after draconian cuts to education last year, Gov. Tom Corbett wants more cuts this year.
Average taxpayers pay their fair share of taxes and they cannot afford to contribute to offset the proposed education cuts. Working taxpayers are struggling with stagnant wages and rising prices for necessities like higher gas prices, food, shelter, clothing and public transit. They need a raise in wages, not in tax rates.
Corporations, conversely, are thriving (thanks in large part to the taxpayer-funded bailout), and are paying minimal taxes. It is corporations’ turn to contribute. Instead of the insubstantial impact fee recently enacted, extractors must pay a more accountable severance tax, like other states require. Also, let’s close the Delaware tax loophole so that wealthy corporations can no longer deflect their tax responsibilities.
Fair taxation is an important governmental function in creating a livable, well-educated, just and free society. It’s time for corporations to support the education of future generations who’ll pay for the bailout.
Corbett and his allies sold the cuts as “fiscal responsibility” and “shared sacrifice” – tough decisions he needed to make to balance the budget. But the sacrifice is very much felt on one side: $860 million cut from public education last year, and deep cuts to everything from services for the disabled to unemployment insurance.
Meanwhile, with whom are students, teachers, the disabled, and the working poor “sharing” these sacrifices? The Delaware tax loophole, which allows Pennsylvania corporations to pay taxes in nearby Delaware, caused the Commonwealth to lose $493 million – money that could be invested in schools support the most vulnerable. That loophole has remained untouched by the Corbett Administration, as have other corporate giveaways.
Steve, a Working America member from Monessen, PA, was particularly concerned with the cuts to schools while corporations get away scott free. Read his letter below, “Corbett’s chief concern should be the people of Pa.” which was published the Post-Gazette today:
In response to the budget references in “Poll Finds Corbett Job Approval Rating Down” (March 16): I would like to note that The New York Times reported recently that a nationwide survey of teachers, parents and students indicates that teacher morale is lower than it has been in many years. This is a direct result of the coast-to-coast budget cutting and constant criticism that undermines the profession’s integrity.
I myself had excellent teachers. The daughter of a friend of mine is a teacher at the Monessen Elementary Center. She is idealistic, committed to excellence and gives 200 percent every day. She and her colleagues deserve our whole-hearted support.
With regard to Pennsylvania’s budget, my own evaluation leads me to conclude that Marcellus Shale operations truly should be taxed and that the Delaware corporate tax loophole should be closed. Education and social services would benefit immensely from the hundreds of millions of dollars thus added to the state’s coffers.
President Calvin Coolidge once famously said that “the chief business of the American people is business.” I’ve always disagreed with that. The chief business of the American people should be the health and well-being of the people.
During the year that I’ve been organizing with Working America members, I haven’t seen anything fire up our members in Western Pennsylvania more than Governor Tom Corbett’s state budget. The current budget slashed education and social services, demanded sacrifices from children and struggling Pennsylvanians, and caused some districts to increase property taxes – but continued to let corporations off the hook.
The proposal for the upcoming year’s state budget looks even worse. Here’s what some Working America members expressed to me last week about the Pennsylvania budget:
LaTonya Greene, mother and waitress:
This state budget has crushed education in PA, and we can’t afford for that to happen again this year. My six year-old son was in full-day kindergarten last school year, and he learned a lot. My daughter is in kindergarten now, but it was cut to half-day due to the budget cuts. She’s not learning, and I’m afraid she may have to repeat it.
My two year-old son entered an early childhood education program in September, but because of state budget cuts, it closed in November. To make things worse, some after-school programs here have been cut as well.
The government claims the state broke, but many corporations and gas companies here are getting richer, and not paying taxes. This is being done at the expense of our children’s education.
We need to make sure that our politicians know that we value education and want to see it funded in the state budget. Our elected officials need to put our kids over corporate profits, and finally require corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.
Dr. Ronald Ladick, former Assistant Superintendent:
The serious defunding of public education in last year’s state budget caused school districts in my area to eliminate after-school tutoring, cut kindergarten, axe staff development trainings and programs, and scale back truancy remedies.
We have to hold our politicians accountable for a decent state budget. They want to keep their jobs, and they’re accountable to us. We need to write letters, call, and meet with our elected officials to demand a decent state budget.
Cindy Frye, mother:
State budget cuts are hurting education, overtaxing the little guy, and driving people out of the area.
My school district recently merged with another school district, in part to avoid having to raise property taxes… but because of the severe state defunding of education, our property taxes are still going to go up! Houses by me went up for sale after the millage increase was announced. How will there be a future here for the upcoming generation? The good jobs (manufacturing jobs) have been outsourced, education cuts are underway, property taxes are being increased, and public transit is on the chopping block.
Robert D’Angelo, music teacher:
I worked as a music teacher for 25 years, and my wife teaches family consumer science as well as gifted education. Due to the severe state budget cuts, programs like music, family consumer science, computer science, and libraries in or near my district have been scaled back significantly.
Computer science and library class are now only available to certain grades. Books aren’t able to be maintained or replaced. Family consumer science classes have been reduced, and they now charge students a fee in order to participate in class (the fee is needed to pay for the food). Our school district can only afford 2 music teachers, and the band and theatre programs are weakened as a result. Instruments are falling apart. The school musicals are have decreased in size and scope, and can no longer include as many kids. Kids who would be involved in theatre if there were space for them are now getting into trouble instead.
People need to speak up for a budget that restores funding to education. We need to let our elected officials know what we’re experiencing so that they can shape a budget that reflects our values and needs.
Working America members recognize that Pennsylvania’s state budget is crushing communities, compromising children, and slashing educational resources. We need to speak up to our elected officials and demand a state budget that restores funding for education and social services, and requires corporations to pay their fair share of taxes to our state.
If you’re a regular reader of our AFL-CIO Now news blog, you might come to our site without stopping first at the AFL-CIO home page here. If you haven’t been there recently, you’ve missed a couple of additions and new features on how unions and union members are connecting with communities.
There is a great video addition to the “In Our Communities” section from the AFT that explores the work the union and its partners in the Reconnecting McDowell initiative are doing to improve education and the economy in McDowell County, W.Va., one of the poorest counties in the nation. After you watch the video, click here to learn more from AFT about Reconnecting McDowell.
In our "What I Do" feature, hear from James Petersen, head custodian—and more—in the Modesto (Calif.) City school system. Says Diane Scott, principal of Rose Avenue Elementary School:
Jim sees the big picture of education, not just ‘I’m here to clean the room.’ He understands the importance that the kids learn in a great environment. What he does is way beyond what he is contracted to do, it’s more than a job for him.
Find out how Petersen—a member of the California School Employees Association (CSEA)—helps kids learn and grow through his “From Rose Buds to Roses” school gardening project.
Education seems to be popping up as a hot topic everywhere in Ohio. After Governor Kasich pushed through his radical agenda last year, including Senate Bill 5 which attacked our teachers, Ohioans have every reason to support education reform while being wary of proposals that deal with “education reform” – that is, policies that are sold as “reforms” when in fact they simply cater to corporate interests.
That wariness is definitely warranted with House Bill 191, which would shorten the school year. I will let that sink in for a second.
Okay. Yes, the legislation actually “prohibit[s] public schools from being open for instruction prior to Labor Day or after Memorial Day.” That could be about five weeks less than schools are currently open.
Who is behind this proposal? Hint: It’s not teachers! It’s actually corporate lobbyists – specifically for the amusement parks and tourism industry. They are more concerned with inexpensive child labor and their bottom line than with children getting a decent, adequate education.
Think this is a joke? I don’t blame you. There is general disbelief among the Ohioans we talk to at the doors that this bill could actually be a serious proposal (which it is), and that it would have enough support in the General Assembly to pass (which it does). But we can’t be fooled into thinking it won’t actually happen, because our Governor and legislature have shown they will stop at nothing to further a pro-corporate agenda at the expense of working families.
Fortunately, Working America members in the Greater Cleveland area recognize how detrimental HB 191 would be for our children and the future of our state, and they’re refusing to accept that this proposal is a done deal. We’ve collected hundreds of letters to State Representatives on the Education Committee, so they’re aware that their constituents are aghast at the idea that amusement parks would be allowed to set education policy. Our members are also writing letters to the editor to raise awareness about the bill and point out why this is bad education and labor policy.
On Wednesday, members from Lake County gathered in the home of Nancy Bihary and got down to business to mobilize against HB 191. We brainstormed all the myriad reasons this legislation is a bad idea, and began drafting individual letters to the editor on the issue. Nancy said:
“If anything our legislators should pass laws to improve education, not sabotage it. Three people like me took time out of our day to meet and plan a response to HB 191 to protect education in Ohio. Surely we represent the feelings of most of Ohioans, so our elected officials should take note.”
The seriousness of the proposal is best underscored through the story of Working America member April Sabol. Her work history is full of low-paying, dead-end jobs and periodic lay-offs, interspersed with attempts to improve her career prospects through education. She emphasized that she just wants her children to have a better future and that she believes education is the way to do that. (Incidentally, she also pointed out that even if her children’s summer vacation was longer, she couldn’t afford to take them to Cedar Point anyway.)
April’s story highlights the importance of a strong educational foundation in life, and that more time in the classroom – not less – is the beginning of a successful future.
House Bill 191 seems laughable, but if it passes it will be no laughing matter for working families trying to give their kids a better life, or for any Ohioan concerned about the economic future of our state.
The results of a new teacher survey, from New York Times
The slump in the economy, coupled with the acrimonious discourse over how much weight test results and seniority should be given in determining a teacher’s worth, have conspired to bring morale among the nation’s teachers to its lowest point in more than 20 years, according to a survey of teachers, parents and students released on Wednesday.
More than half of teachers expressed at least some reservation about their jobs, their highest level of dissatisfaction since 1989, the survey found. Also, roughly one in three said they were likely to leave the profession in the next five years, citing concerns over job security, as well as the effects of increased class size and deep cuts to services and programs. Just three years ago, the rate was one in four.
and
More than 75 percent of the teachers surveyed said the schools where they teach had undergone budget cuts last year, and about as many of them said the cuts included layoffs — of teachers and others, like school aides and counselors. Roughly one in three teachers said their schools lost arts, music and foreign language programs. A similar proportion noted that technology and materials used in the schools had not been kept up to date to meet students’ needs.
In most places, teachers have to live in fear of losing their jobs every single year. That’s a level of uncertainty that only the truly dedicated would endure. It’s disheartening to read that one in five teachers surveyed are considering leaving the profession in the next few years.
Given the increased pressure to evaluate teachers, while budgets are being slashed, and class sizes are increasing – and add the anti-union/anti-public employee sentiment coming from some quarters, and the results of this survey can’t come as any surprise.
There are signs of life in the economy, and we’re hoping for a good jobs report at the end of the week—but the recovery from the devastating Great Recession is still fragile, with a number of dangers that could tip us backwards. The most irritating threat to the recovery, however, is a self-inflicted wound: the shredding of public sector jobs as austerity fever hits state budgets.
In education, in public safety and in other vital services, states are kicking people off the job rolls—even as, in many cases, they’re cutting taxes for corporations. When hundreds of thousands of teachers, firefighters and other public workers lose their jobs, it’s just like when anyone else loses a job: they end up competing in the job market for a smaller number of openings, they draw on unemployment insurance, they have a harder time making mortgage payments and feeding their families, and they have less money to spend to support businesses in their community. What’s more, their neighbors are getting a lower level of public service. It’s lose-lose. Newly-elected state legislators on an ideological quest to shrink the services states provide are playing their games at the expense of actual people’s actual paychecks.
As Paul Krugman notes, the right wing is fond of contrasting the current recovery with the recovery from the recession of the early 80s, during Reagan’s first term. But during that era, the public sector was adding employees, not losing them. Krugman estimates that if we weren’t turning teachers and other public employees into the unemployed, our economy would be much stronger and the unemployment rate almost a full point or more lower than they are now.
And as David Dayen notes, these cuts aren’t just short-term: “when you scale back public education and investment, the practical effect of those job losses, that has far-reaching effects into the future.”
Of course, President Obama’s American Jobs Act could have helped in this regard—it would have given states money to invest in keeping teachers and public safety employees on the payroll. But it was repeatedly filibustered by Republicans in the Senate who are about as interested in how the economy works for real people as their colleagues in state capitols are.
Thousands of AFL-CIO union members, civil rights, community and faith activists yesterday began a five-day re-enactment of the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery, Ala., civil rights march.
Sunday marked the 47th anniversary of the historic Civil Rights march from Selma-to-Montgomery, and the week-long series of events will focus attention on new attacks on voting rights, immigrants, workers’ rights and education.
If you can’t be there in person, you can be there online. Click here to sign a pledge of solidarity with the marchers and tell us why you are joining the virtual march. Your comments will be shared with the marchers on the ground so they know there are tens of thousands standing with them.
See more photos here and check out photos on the Facebook page of AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker, who is among leaders of the march and has posted photos of Martin Luther King III, the Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders.
Last year, Pennsylvania residents saw drastic budget cuts to very important resources and services. K-12 public education was cut by $860 million. Health care and programs that help Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens were cut by $651 million. At a critical time when many are still out of work, it would seem that now would be an ideal time to put more resources in to the community; however, we are seeing the exact opposite of that. On Feb. 7th, Gov. Corbett laid out his plan for the Pennsylvania 2012-2013 state budget which includes even more cuts.
We are still seeing the devastation caused by last year’s budget. School districts like Chester Upland ran out of money half way through the school year and many more are on the brink of financial emergency. While citizens in the state are doing their best to recover from last year’s cuts, there are now even more cuts that have been piled on top. The truth of the matter is this; most of these cuts that have been implemented and currently being proposed do not have to occur. 70 percent of corporations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania currently do not pay income tax because of the Delaware tax loophole. Corporations have been able to escape paying income tax by simply having their headquarters (or in many cases P.O. box) in Delaware. By closing this loophole, additional revenue would be created that could restore many key programs and services in Pennsylvania.
Working America members are coming together to take action to stand up to these devastating cuts. On February 21st, three Working America members met to discuss the budget, how it’s impacting their neighborhoods, and ways to take a stand and fight back. They’ve written letters to their state legislators and are talking to family, friends, and neighbors to shed light on the inequality that is taking place. The budget cuts hit Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable communities the hardest.
Karen, from Northeast Philadelphia, has experienced firsthand the impact of the budget cuts. She has been diligently striving to find work for the past 16 months. “I am terrified about what will happen to me and my two children if I do not find work soon,” Karen says. In addition, she is also disheartened that key programs are being cut that have helped her family stay afloat during this recession. “I can’t believe that they would cut programs like Medicaid, LIHEAP, and CRISIS. These programs help families like mine keep healthy and stay warm during the cold winter months.”
Vicki, a retired teacher says, “I have worked for 35 years with special needs children. I have a grandson that qualifies for early intervention programs. Fortunately for me, he lives in a state where he will be able to get the attention he needs.” She shares that she is deeply concerned for those children who will not get the proper attention needed as a result of these continued cuts. She knows that these programs are vitally important. “I am particularly disturbed about what these cuts will mean to our youngest students in Pennsylvania as 100 million is being cut from full day kindergarten.”
“I have seen both friends and neighbors trying to take care of their families in this economic downsizing but it has been difficult since many are currently unemployed,” says Terry, a retired clerical worker. Terry has gotten involved so that she can give something positive back to her country and community. “I feel privileged to be giving something back so that generations to come will benefit.
Vicki, Terry, and Karen have this in common. They want to make their communities a better place in which to live both now and for future generations. They are each taking active steps to make that dream a reality by standing up for equality.
Working America delivered a thousand postcards to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett asking him to enact a fair budget. Learn more.
For some of us, this week brought some post-Super Bowl malaise. But we were snapped back to reality by the new fronts opened up in the coordinated, relentless, nationwide War on Workers.
In Arizona, Governor Jan Brewer and the runaway legislature went medieval on public workers, with four bills that go much farther than Scott Walker’s union busting measure in Wisconsin by banning public sector collective bargaining outright. Coincidence? Absolutely not. According to a report by John Nichols, Walker flew to Arizona last year to urge fellow ALEC-lovers to follow his lead. Even more reason to shut down the ALEC corporations on February 29.
Speaking of Walker, the Wisconsin governor has taken his act on the road, with speaking events and fundraisers in Naples, Florida and Washington, DC. Not only is he getting protested at every stop, but all this money-grubbing and glory-hogging is taking him away from his supposed “real job” of putting Wisconsinites back to work. But even as he ignores his state’s problems, he’s still getting help from the powers that be – a Koch-backed group just dropped in $700,000 of pro-Walker ads.
But the biggest news of the week came yesterday: after years of wrangling, the five biggest banks and 49 state Attorneys General came to an agreement on a $26 billion housing settlement. Sound like a lot? Well, not when you compare it to $700 billion in negative equity, and not when you consider the $2,000 pittance checks that will be sent to Americans who have lost their homes, or that this settlement only helps 300,000 homeowners refinance. Experts including our Executive Director Karen Nussbaum stressed that this settlement should not be the end – “this is like pocket change” – but a down payment on future assistance and future investigations of the abuses that wrecked the economy.
Meanwhile, Susan cheered the bipartisan opposition to voter ID in Maine, Mike Hall covered a bill that would end Cayman Island-style tax shelters, David Fernandez reflected on Working America and BCTGM’s work with Texas truck drivers, Seth clocked out with Stephen Colbert, and Doug explained why “ask Ellen Degeneres for checks” is not a long-term education funding policy.
Yes, this week brought challenges, but we all survived better than Rick Scott’s Facebook page. Have a great weekend, Working America!
