New Yorkers protest education cuts

Teachers, students and others are horrified at the prospect of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of mid-year budget cuts to public education as the state faces a $3 billion budget shortfall-and they're fighting back.

The Alliance for Quality Education, a coalition of more than 230 organizations of parents, children's advocates, schools, teachers and others, is organizing people to contact their representatives as well as to attend hearings sponsored by the legislature. Under Governor David Paterson's (D) plans, public schools across the state would be hit with a whopping $686 million mid-year cut.

At an October 23 meeting in Syracuse, AQE members broke pencils during the meeting to symbolize "the state's broken promise" to public schools. Because so many people showed up to speak against the cut, the meeting went on for nearly six hours.

Revenues have been lower than expected, leaving the state with a $3 billion budget shortfall. Paterson has called a special meeting of the State Senate and Assembly to discuss his plans, which include $1.3 billion in cuts to local governments, health and education. The rest is to be made up, mainly, of extraordinary borrowing from the state's rainy day fund.

In higher education, Paterson proposes slashing $53 million in funding to the City University of New York alone. These cuts, as well as proposed cuts to health care, public schools and municipalities, all require legislative approval. However, millions of dollars have already been cut at state agencies, where the Governor doesn't need to seek legislative approval. He has already ordered an eleven percent cut, amounting to $90 million, to the State University of New York.

Mid-year cuts are considered to be the most devastating, because institutions have already made their budget based on projected funding.

Across New York City, protests have erupted at various CUNY campuses, and have included students, professors, city school teachers, labor unionists and others. Organizers of the various campaigns include the United Federation of Teachers and its parent organization, the New York State United Teachers; United University Professionals and the Professional Staff Congress, which represent professors at SUNY and CUNY respectively; the New York Public Interest Research Group; student organizations other labor unions and community residents.

At Hunter College, an October 28 demonstration brought out hundreds of people. "Now is the time we should be supporting schools, now is the time to be building schools," NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin told the crowd.

Education advocates point out that the proposed cuts are on the heels of tens of millions of dollars in cuts to education in the past year, as well as a tuition hike. They are demanding that there be no cuts to education going forward, and that the legislature roll back Paterson's cuts to SUNY.

"Students are already being squeezed into overcrowded classes, missing out on courses we need, and paying more for school," said Chris McCall, NYPIRG's higher education project leader.

Similar actions are being proposed to fight the proposed health care and municipal cuts.

Others have suggested that there should be no cuts at all. Suggested ways of increased savings include cuts in spending that benefit only the wealthy and big corporations, such as: the ending of subsidies for "industrial development zones," (saving the state $4 billion), reducing the number of governmental units down from the current 10,000 , the ending of subsidies and tax breaks to developers of housing for those above the median income ($3 billion) and other such measures.

Proposals for increased revenues include a one percent surtax on people making over $1 billion yearly (there are 60 such people in New York City alone, meaning a possible billion dollars in revenue), a one percent stock transfer surtax on those with net assets above $500,000 (another billion dollars) and other proposals.

PHOTO: A student at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, where NYPIRG kicked off its campaign against budget cuts, holds a "CUNY withdrawal slip" for $53 billion.

SUNY unions demand progressive taxation

31 JANUARY 2009

SUNY Professors and Staff Demand:
Tax the Rich; Not Us


Mike Tolochko


The United University Professions, an affiliate of the New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers passed a resolution today demanding that the Legislature and Governor enact a progressive tax to get New YORK STATE out of the financial crisis. If revenue is the issue, UUP said that revenue must not come from those who are already in crisis.

UUP represent 35,000 all teaching personnel, professors, etc, and, also professional personnel in NY State hospitals. There are also over 3,000 retirees of the UUP.

The resolution passed today's Delegate Assembly of 286 by a 123 to 67 margin. Most of the 67 were delegates who didn't think the progressive tax should be the TOP legislative issue. Overall, the resolution enjoyed overwhelming support. The resolution came from the economically hard hit Buffalo area UUP Chapters where the president of SUNY Buffalo is attempting draconian measures to balance his budget.

HERE IS THE RESOLUTION


Progressive Tax in New York State

Whereas levels of taxation, under balanced budget requirements, drive the ability of the state to fund services, while high income persons are most able to pay taxes,

Whereas state-supported services provide very many of the needs of the residents of New York State, and the incomes workers receive in providing these services sustain their families and their communities and improve the welfare and economic activity of the state,

Whereas more than one hundred economists in New York State on December 13, 2008 called for an increase I the taxation of high income earners as a significant aid to improving the state's economy and sustain those in most need,

Whereas the press release of the Fiscal Policy Institute, dated August 5, 2008, reminds us that New York has the most unequal distribution of incomes among the fifty states, and that in no other state does the highest one percent [1%] of taxpayers receive so much more relative to the entire bottom half [50%] of taxpayers, i.e., 2.68 to 1.

Whereas the top income tax rate in New York has fallen from 15.375% in 1976 to 6.85% presently, and the top rate is achieved for those filing jointly with income levels merely passing $40,000,
Whereas, the state budget crisis can be overcome through restoration of progressivity across the three major tax revenues – sales, property and income – and that income tax is the principle means of overcoming regressivity of taxation,

Whereas adding progressivity into the New York State income taxation – in which the tax income rate begins to rise from 8.375% at $200,000 incomes to 12.375% for incomes above $10 million – would, together with the anticipated increase in federal disbursement to New York State, solve the budget balance starting with the upcoming fiscal year, and

Whereas a campaign centered around restoring progressivity to the New York State taxation would place UUP in a leadership position across the unionized work force, as well as with wide sectors of the New York State population, at a time when such consideration is more needed than ever,

THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED that UUP adopts a policy that restoring progressivity to New York State's taxation through increasing the income tax rate on the high-income earners is the most equitable and effective means of maintaining services for residents across the state and furthermore significantly aids stabilizing the economy, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of UUP set up an urgent task force to place this policy before the people of New York, our representatives in the legislature, the Governor; and work with public-and private-sector unions, including affiliates NYSUT, AFT, and the NYS AFL-CIO, toward the same objective, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UUP use at least one-third of its media outreach budget to focus specifically upon this policy, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UUP request of other unions and our affiliates to their using part of their media budget toward the same policy

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