The Campaign for Our Communities was formed to improve the quality of life for Massachusetts families and the strength of our economy; we need to make smart investments in our people and communities. To fund those investments we support tax reforms that will raise substantial new revenue while holding down increases for low and middle income families.
Our Principles:
- Our families and our communities need investments in the services, schools, and infrastructure that make Massachusetts a great place to live and work.
- In order to make the necessary investments, we will need to raise significant new revenue.
- That revenue should come primarily from the highest income earners.
Our model legislation, An Act to Invest in Our Communities, would raise $1.37 billion dollars by restoring the income tax rate to 5.95% while increasing the personal exemption to hold down increases for low and middle income families, and raising the tax rate on investment income to 8.95%, with an exemption for low and middle income seniors.
Our plan is to pass major revenue reform in the Commonwealth in 2013. In order to do that, we are engaged in an 18-month campaign to make the demand for investment in our communities clear by:
- Mobilizing activists to call for adequate revenues to invest in our communities through local grassroots organizing and social media outreach.
- Demonstrating local support through municipal resolutions, forums, and press coverage.
- Building a broad coalition of allies from business, healthcare, transportation, and higher education.
- Educating the public on the need for revenue and community investment.
- Lobbying the Legislature
RESOURCES:
- Visit the Campaign for Our Communities website
- Draft Letter/Email to Legislators
- Draft Letter to the Editor
- Learn More about An Act to Invest
- Learn more about how local aid works
- Watch the MassBudget presentation on Taxes and Our Communities (YouTube)
We spend 47 thousand dollars per year keeping one person in jail in MA. Our jails are filled to 140% capacity. Half of the people in jail in MA are there for non-violent drug offenses. As progressives we need to stop looking to tax first and figure out how we spend later but focus on being smart with the money the government has. Ending the drug war in this state needs to be the number one priority for progressives if we want to do some real good. Raising taxes does not address the real issues in this state.
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