FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2005
STATEMENT FROM DAN CANTOR
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORKING FAMILIES PARTY
Reacting to news from the Census Bureau that the poverty rate in New York City rose significantly, from 19 to 20.3 percent, Dan Cantor, executive director of the Working Families Party said:
"It would be nice if the mayoral candidates talked less about tax cuts and rebates and more about realistic strategies for lifting the one out of five New Yorkers who live in poverty into the middle class."
The WFP has not yet endorsed a New York City mayoral candidate.
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1 comment:
Why not endorse Tomy Gronowicz, the Green Party candidate?
See his platform at http://www.bronxgreens.org/gronowicz/
It includes:
YOU can vote for a Green Mayor who’s for:
affordable housing for New Yorkers
strengthening rent control and rent stabilization
spending public money for science, language, arts and music programs in the public schools for our children.
enforcing the New York State Supreme Court decision demanding that the state release the $10 billion owed by the state to New York City schools.
expanding our mass transit system by extending subway lines and adding on light rail and trolleys to provide a clean, energy efficient alternative to auto traffic
emphasizing energy conservation and decentralized alternatives to fossil fuels, like neighborhood co-generators, solar cells,and wind and wave turbines. These will replace energy dependence, price gouging,blackouts, and projects to build more dirty power plants—all of which have led to record annual oil company profits at the expense of public health and pocketbooks.
legalizing gay marriage with the full rights accorded straight couples
YOU can vote for a Green Mayor who will implement Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1944 Economic Bill of Rights that called for:
a living wage through full employment through public works as in the New Deal’s WPA program
affordable housing
free health care
free college(as was the case with the City University from 1847 to 1975)
YOU can vote for a Green Mayor who will conduct city business transparently (as the current New Paltz Green Mayor and City Council do)
I will not engage in any backroom deals on city contracts.
I’ll hold public hearings with public bidding.
I’ll open the books to public inspection of the MTA and all other city agencies
YOU can vote for a Green Mayor who will support city workers. We say the municipal employees of New York have the right to:
a good, expansive system of public services
go on strike for a decent contract. The Taylor Law, enacted in 1967, forbids municipal workers (Transit, Police, Fire, Teachers, Professors, etc.) from striking, unlike the situation in other industrialized nations. An important objective of Greens is to get workers of all kinds unionized and to insure the right of all workers to unionize. The union movement is in a tragic decline and the Green Party stands for reinvigoration of the union movement.
HOW CAN WE PAY FOR THESE SERVICES
AND MAKE NEW YORK MORE LIVEABLE?
Instead of a sales tax that discriminates against poor and working people, a carbon tax on fossil-burning fuels that cause asthma and other health problems.
The Helsinki fine system that fines people according to income--not a fine system that penalizes poor and working people
Restoration of the stock transfer tax that we had until 1980
An annual tax of 1/100 of 1% on the net assets of all stocks represented, on private estates, banks and corporations worth over $2 million.
Restore the progressive income tax we had in the 1950s, when top income earners were in the 91% tax bracket..
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