LISTEN TO JIM GRAHAM SPEAK AT THE SAVE OUR SAFETY NET RALLY:
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The District of Columbia is divided into two groups: the 85 percent who prioritize holding the line on safety net services over holding the line on taxes vs. the 15 percent who favor the reverse.
The D.C. Council consists of thirteen members, all of whom oppose the District’s lack of statehood and voting rights. Recently, several councilmembers went so far as to be arrested in the struggle to achieve democracy for D.C., including Council Chair Kwame Brown.
Wednesday, the Council votes on the 2012 budget. In order to avoid ever more cuts to needed services Mayor Vincent Gray proposed a tax increase of 8.5 to 8.9 percent on income earned in excess of $200,000.
It appears the Council may be one vote short of passing the mayor’s moderate tax increase despite the overwhelming support for it.
Several councilmembers have spoken out against balancing the budget on the backs of the poor, none more eloquently than Jim Graham. “Who is going to pay the most? It’s going to be the little babies in our city,” said the Ward 1 councilmember who chairs the Committee on Human Services.
On the subject of the proposed cuts to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Graham explained, “There are 31,000 people receiving TANF benefits today in the District of Columbia. 14,000 of them are children. 70 percent of those are under the age of ten. And that tells you who the real victims will be here.”
Ellie Walton, a talented local filmmaker, documented the efforts of the more than 200 residents who descended on the John A. Wilson Building May 18 to urge councilmembers to protect safety net services.
Chair Brown came out of his locked office to address the crowd and reaffirmed his position that holding the line on taxes was a higher priority for him than maintaining services.
Brown – who went to jail to protest Congress’s undemocratic treatment of District residents – appears unwilling to stand with 85 percent of his constituents.
Related Links:
http://www.saveoursafetynet.com/
Related Stories:
- 85 Percent of the City Can’t Be Wrong: Tax the Rich, Don’t Hurt the Poor
- On “NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt” Pete and Harry Jaffe Discuss D.C. Budget