ES2 Economic Security Campaign

Empire State Economic Security Campaign (ES2)
Legislative Agenda for SFY 2009-2010

Good jobs require educated New Yorkers, safe communities, affordable health care, reliable transportation and other essential public services. With the state facing a projected budget deficit of $6.4 billion for FY 2010, many needed investments in critical human services, education and jobs programs are being cut. And the poorest of the poor remain largely neglected, starting with the failure to raise the welfare basic grant for the 18th year in a row.

In 2003, the state faced a similar deficit problem with the state budget. The Legislature, over the veto of Governor Pataki, increased the top marginal rates on the personal income tax for wealthy filers for three years to help balance the budget. During those three years, New York saw a substantial increase in the number of high income taxpayers and in the amount of their income despite Governor Pataki’s claim that the temporary increases in the top PIT rates would have the opposite effect. These top rate increases have since been phased out and we have returned to a tax system where the majority of working class New Yorkers now pay almost twice the percentage of their income in state and local taxes as the richest 1 percent.

We must look at the overall tax burden in this state and realize that over the last two decades, as we have continually cut the top rate of the income tax, we have seen dramatic increases in property taxes across the state. New York’s leaders could relieve the pressure on the property tax, increase funding for critical services, restore revenue sharing and make sure that working families are not shouldering the tax burden for the rich by restoring some of the personal income tax’s lost progressivity. We must start undoing the damage that has been done to the tax system over the last 20 years.

To focus attention on these concerns, a coalition of over 200 groups across New York State have endorsed the EMPIRE STATE ECONOMIC SECURITY CAMPAIGN – ES2. ES2 is a statewide coalition of social service providers, faith based groups, and concerned citizens coming together to say that New York can do better. We seek to improve the lives of low and moderate income New Yorkers by challenging our state leaders to make better choices for our families. Specifically, ES2 promotes ongoing access to education and training; good jobs for all; affordable, high quality health care; income security for all; decent, affordable housing; high quality, affordable child care; and affordable, accessible transportation.

The following pages outline ES2 positions on each of our core issues, our long-range objectives and our priorities for this legislative session. Although we cover seven different issue areas, the broad themes are clear.

We need:

Income security for all that enables New Yorkers to meet their most basic needs;
Opportunities to learn, to develop skills, and to expand employment options;
Measures to ensure the availability of jobs that pay a living wage; and
Policies and programs – in transportation and child care – without which, education, and training efforts cannot be meaningfully pursued.

How Can New York State Address these Problems and Pay for ES2 Proposals?

We urge the Governor and the Legislature to work together to ensure that the 2009-2010 state budget meets New Yorkers' needs and does not balance the budget on the backs of the poor and working families. The revenues necessary must be raised in a fair and equitable manner

We can promote tax fairness, strengthen local economies and help struggling families by:

Creating a Tax System that is FAIR to all New Yorkers: The wealthiest New Yorkers’ pay a much smaller percentage of their incomes in state and local taxes than low and middle income working families. Seniors on fixed incomes, working families and young couples are among the New Yorkers who suffer from the inequities in the current state-local tax structure. New York’s policymakers must take the pressure off the property tax by restoring some of the income tax system’s lost progressivity and closing corporate tax loopholes that allow some of the nation’s largest corporations to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Most of the state’s tax cuts over the last three decades have primarily gone to the wealthiest New Yorkers, shifting more of the tax burden onto low and moderate income families. If New York for instance still had the same tax system of thirty years ago, adjusted for inflation, 95% of us would pay lower taxes – and the state would raise nearly $8 billion in additional revenues.

Strengthening Local Communities: Rather than putting increased pressure on the local property and sales tax bases and then providing “relief” to local taxpayers in the form of state rebate checks, New York State policymakers must work together to reduce the pressure on local property and sales tax bases by restoring the state’s commitment to “revenue sharing” with its local governments and having the state government take over a greater share of local education and healthcare costs. And the state’s STAR programs must be targeted to provide adequate relief to those families that are most in need.

It’s time for New York State to end the special treatment of the favored few by:

Closing loopholes that allow large, profitable corporations to avoid paying their fair share of state taxes.
Stopping sweetheart deals with high-priced consultants who are being overpaid to do jobs that state workers can do better and cheaper.
Lowering drug prices for state and local governments by using New York’s purchasing power to get a fair deal from the drug companies.
Reforming economic development programs by improving the effectiveness and accountability of Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs), the Brownfield Clean Up Program (BCP) and the Empire Zones program.
Enacting the Bigger, Better Bottle Bill and making the beverage bottling industry return unclaimed bottle deposits.
Making New York's tax system fairer and more equitable by increasing the top marginal tax rates on the highest income households.