Category: Take political action

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Pennsylvania’s Budget Choices This Year

  By Budget, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Budget, Take political action

As we head into what everyone hopes will be the last month of the Pennsylvania budget season, this is a good moment to take stock of where we are and what’s at stake in the decisions the governor and General Assembly will make this year. Doing so will also explain why the Pennsylvania’s Choice campaign is urging people to attend a tele-town hall on the budget at 7:15 on June 1, a budget rally at noon on June 5 in Harrisburg, and lobbying days later in the month. (More information and registration for these events can be found here.) Continue reading

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Take Action to Stop the Corbett Cuts to Education Now

  By Penn ACTION, Take political action

The budget battle in Harrisburg is coming to a close.  It’s critically important that you make your voice heard this week to let your state legislators know that you want them to make basic and higher education a priority for Pennsylvania.  Can you take a few minutes now to send an email to your state Senator and then follow-up with a phone call? Don’t let Harrisburg politicians let giant gas and oil companies get away tax-free while our children pay the price with underfunded schools and we are forced to pay higher property taxes. We want: To continue the funding at the levels that have improved education in Pennsylvania over the last 2 years. To address the inequitable cuts – poorer districts should not be getting higher cuts. To use the legal amount (75%) of the revenue surplus and other available resources such as a drilling fee, to restore funding to… Continue reading

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Take action: Call Mayor Nutter in support of the earned sick time bill!

  By Earned sick time, Penn ACTION, Take political action

At a time when working people are being kicked around in Harrisburg and Washington, Philadelphia’s City Council, today, stood against the tide and passed the earned sick time legislation. This legislation is a great victory for working people, as it enables workers to earn time that they can use when illness keeps them out of work. And like most legislation that helps working people, this bill helps the entire community as well. It is in all of our interest for people who have a cold, flu, or other communicable disease, to stay home rather than spread the disease to the rest of us. And that is especially important for people who work in restaurants and child care providers. The bill now comes before Mayor Nutter whose administration has qualms about it. So now we need to call Mayor Nutter at 215-686-2181, and tell him how important it is to sign… Continue reading

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Help hold Rep. Pat Meehan accountable for his support of the Ryan Budget

  By Health Care, Medicare, Penn ACTION, Take political action

Have you been wondering when Congressman Meehan will be hosting a town hall?  Do you have questions about his votes on critical issues like Medicare and taxes?  Well now is your chance.  Congressman Pat Meehan has set up a Twitter account to take questions from his constituents. Can you join us for a virtual rally tomorrow, Tuesday, June 21, between 12pm and 2pm by tweeting a question on Medicare? We want to ask Congressman Meehan the hard questions. He didn’t ask what we thought on Medicare before voting on the Ryan budget bill, so now is our chance. Can you join the rally by tweeting a question on Medicare to Congressman Meehan? Please be sure to use the #AskPat hashtag so that everyone joining us in this event can see each other’s questions.  Just click on the #AskPat hashtag or search for #AskPat at Twitter to see what people are… Continue reading

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Help Rebuild the American Dream

  By Penn ACTION, Take political action

On July 16 and 17, Penn ACTION and other US Action affiliates, MoveOn and other national organizations are sponsoring a series of American Dream house meetings. The main goal of these house meetings is to focus on the long term progressive agenda. We’ll share stories our personal and political difficulties and their interconnection; talk about where we are as a country; and develop offer ideas to move us in the right direction. I’d like to invite you, as a Penn ACTION activists, to host one of those meetings. You can do it in you home, at a your church, at a local coffee shop or even a bar. We and MoveOn will invite local activists to join you at your meeting. And we will provide some help to you in planning and carrying out the meeting and in doing follow up after it is over. To sign up to host… Continue reading

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Stop the education cuts petition: 34,000 signatures, delivery events ongoing

  By Education, Penn ACTION, Take political action

About a month ago, Penn ACTION joined with Education Voters to launch a petition against Governor Corbett’s million dolar cut to education. The petition took off like wildfire and in a little oer three weeks, 34,000 people had signed. (If you haven’t signed yet, you can do so here.) Last week we began recruiting volunteers to deliver the signatures to legislative offices. We have set up a separate web site www.stoppaedcuts.org at which we are posting reports and photos about our delivery events and recruiting more people to join them. So far we have made 40 deliveries. We recently completed deliveries to Bucks County and received press coverage of our efforts there and in Montgomery County. We are also planning a Harrisburg event at which we will deliver all 34,000 petition signatures to Governor Corbett. Details coming soon. Delivering a set of petition signatures is something you can do in… Continue reading

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Help Save Your Social Security: Call Today

  By Penn ACTION, Social Security, Take political action

Penn Action is proud to be part of the Strengthen Social Security Campaign.   We’re eager to continue the fight against the deficit hysteria used to call for benefit cuts to the most successful social program in the history of country.   Make no mistake: They are coming after benefits you earned. On Monday, March 28, the Strengthen Social Security Campaign joined U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Capitol Hill to demand a halt to needless attacks on Social Security and the citizens who receive it.  We can stop these cuts but all of us we need to take action to do it. Please call your Senators today and demand that they vote for the Sanders/Reid Social Security Protection Amendment. Please call now: 1-866-251-4044 ACT NOW!  Your voice needs to be heard. Senator Sanders and Majority Leader Reid are leading the Senate with an amendment to protect Social Security from drastic cuts.  Their amendment simply says: Social Security benefits for current… Continue reading

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Take action today to block tax cuts for the rich!–and some notes on where we stand on the tax issue

  By Federal Taxes, Penn ACTION, Take political action

The Senate is scheduled to vote today on the tax cut plan President Obama negotiated with Senate Republicans. Click here  to send an email to Senators Casey and Specter to urge them to vote no and encourage President Obama to stand united with Democrats in the House and Senate to seek a better deal. Urge them to seek a deal that continues extended unemployment benefits, that stimulates the economy, that cuts taxes for working people and the middle class and that stands against unnecessary, wasteful tax cuts for the rich. Click here  to send that message now. An interesting week This has been one of the more interesting weeks since I began at Penn ACTION in June. Our actions and emails about President Obama’s tax compromise have created more controversy among the people on our email list than anything else we have done. So this is a good opportunity for me… Continue reading

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Unemployed? Come to DC on December 1!

  By Penn ACTION, Take political action, Unemployment Insurance

Last week, the majority of Americans just celebrated the Thanksgiving Holiday with a feast. However, too many Americans, especially the 14 million who are unemployed, could not afford a feast this year. That’s why Penn ACTION has been fighting for fighting for the unemployed in many ways, including an event we did in Bucks County a little over a week ago. And it is why we are joining with the AFL-CIO and the Philadelphia Unemployment Project to take part in an event in Washington on Wednesday, December 1, to demand that Congress keep federal funding of extended unemployment benefits. If you are unemployed—or have suffered unemployment during the current recession and benefitted from unemployment insurance—please join us.  RSVP here  today or contact Robin Stelly at (203) 216-9719. (Given the short time frame before the event, we can’t guarantee you a seat on the bus if we don’t hear from you… Continue reading

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The Next Step in Building Progressive Power in Pennsylvania

  By Penn ACTION, Politics, Take political action

We won a big victory. But the struggle is not over, either for health care or for the larger progressive agenda. I’m writing to ask you to sign up so that together we can build a force in Pennsylvania to keep America moving forward.For over twenty months, we worked together to do something that will make us proud for the rest of our lives. Continue reading