Category: Events

Wells Fargo: time to pay your fair share!

By rachael_decruz | Published January 26, 2012

We want an economy that works for the 99%, not corporations and the top 1%. Yet our system continues to benefit the big banks, at the expense of the rest of us. So we’re joining together with Working Washington (props to them for the awesome photo) to put some pressure on the big banks to pay their fair share.

We’re targeting Wells Fargo for multiple different reasons. Below are just a few:

Since the 2008 bank bailout, Wells Fargo made more than $50 billion in profit — but their effective Federal income tax rate is 0%.
In fact, they got a $681 million refund.
Here in Washington State, Wells Fargo also benefits from a special $86 million tax loophole for big banks.
Wells Fargo spent $14 million lobbying in Washington DC and Olympia for rules that let the company avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
While compensation for top executives keeps growing, Wells Fargo has also laid off 6,000 workers across the country, including hundreds here in Washington.

Wells Fargo pays more on LOBBYING than they do on TAXES. That certainly doesn’t sound right to us. So, as usual, we’re taking our frustration to the streets.

Join us on Tuesday, January 31st at noon at Westlake Park. We’ll have a rally in the park and then march over to Wells Fargo to demand they listen to us.

If Wells Fargo and the other big banks (who by the way caused our financial collapse) paid their fair share, we could stop the cuts to education, health care and social service programs that are devastating our families. We could invest in our communities and our state, create much needed jobs and most importantly fuel our state’s economy.

Do the right thing. Join us on January 31st as we stand up against the big banks and tell them that it’s time to pay their fair share. Click here to register. For questions or more information, contact Chris at 206-805-6667, or at chris@washingtoncan.org.

Also posted in Economic justice, Featured, Social justice, Take Action | | Leave a comment

Where would MLK sit-in?

By rachael_decruz | Published January 5, 2012

Join us on Monday, January 16th as we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in Olympia. Our annual lobby and action day will use the tactics and teachings of Dr. King to continue the fight for a more equitable society.

As Dr. King famously said in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”:

You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.

We are at this point now with the state budget fight. Our communities simply cannot endure anymore cuts. Yet, the Legislature convenes on January 9th to do just that. Once again, Basic Health, interpreter services, education, Disability Lifeline, Maternity Support Services and other crucial programs are facing elimination or drastic funding reductions. We need to ensure that our state raises revenue instead of cutting the programs and services that families, communities and the vulnerable in our state rely on.

We’ll hold sit-ins in legislators offices on MLK day to shine light on the fact that we cannot withstand anymore cuts to the budget. As the 1% continues to prosper, the rest of us are struggling to get by. Help us fight for the kind of world Dr. King wanted to see.

Register now to attend our Martin Luther King Day Action and Lobby Day on Monday, January 16th from 11am-5pm at the Capitol Building in Olympia.

In addition to sit-ins, the day will also have a training on how to talk with lawmakers, meetings with legislators and a rally with allies. Join us for a fun-filled day of action and a celebration of Dr. King, who’s work continues to inspire and push our movement forward. We’ll provide meals and transportation for folks.

Questions? Contact Rachael at rachaeldecruz@washingtoncan.org.

Also posted in Economic justice, Education, Health Care, Immigration, Social justice, Take Action | | Leave a comment

Special Session ends, state still in need of new revenue sources

By rachael_decruz | Published December 27, 2011

The Special Session ended on December 14th, with the legislature passing a budget that reduces the deficit by $480 million. The budget that was passed only resolves a quarter of the state’s $2 billion deficit and leaves the more controversial cuts on the table for the regular session which begins on January 9th.

According to the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, The $480 million was a combination of cuts, fund transfers, and a small amount of additional revenue from the sale of unclaimed property (depicted here in graph form). The programs and services we’ve been fighting to protect were untouched for the time being. See below for some of the cuts that were highlighted in the Herald:

$49 million was saved by delaying payments to school districts for bus replacement by 10 months
Money was also saved by releasing 21 juvenile offenders early, trimming aid to TVW and not filling vacant positions in several agencies
$82.6 million that was unspent by state agencies in the last budget will get used to pay down the deficit
Another $96.5 million was saved because of lower-than-expected costs in many programs

Thankfully the Special Session didn’t bring about the end of the Basic Health Plan, the elimination of interpreter services, a shortened school year, or cuts to the multiple human and social service programs that support families and communities. However the fight for revenue will need to continue in the new year when all these programs are once again on the chopping block.

Throughout the whole first week of the Special Session thousands mobilized and brought their demands to Olympia. The message was clear – families and communities cannot sustain any more cuts, it’s time for everyone to pay their fair share. People shared their stories, spoke with their lawmakers, participated in rallies, and voiced their concern over the affects that another all-cuts budget would have on the people of Washington. Stories and news clips are compiled at occupythecapitol.org

Washington CAN! members also shared our new report: Facing Race: How Budget Cuts Are Increasing Racial Disparities with lawmakers to highlight the fact that communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the budget cuts.

In order to ensure that the upcoming Legislative session does not bring us another all cuts budget, it’s imperative that we continue to fight for a fair and just economy that works for everyone. We’ll be heading back down to Olympia on MLK Day (Monday, January 16th) to make sure that lawmakers hear in-person from their constituents about the need for revenue and the importance of the programs and services that are facing cuts. Register now to join us!

Legislators need to hear from their constituents. This New Year, join us in sending a letter to your legislators, urging them to close special interest tax breaks and raise revenue. We’re tired of budget cuts that are decimating communities, while big banks and big corporations aren’t paying their fair share. Let’s ring in the New Year differently this year, by putting people over profits.