{"id":10303,"date":"2022-06-14T20:29:07","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T00:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/?p=10303"},"modified":"2023-12-26T21:11:01","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T02:11:01","slug":"pennsylvanians-from-across-the-commonwealthjoined-we-the-people-pa-campaign-partners-to-call-for-fair-budget-for-all-pennsylvanians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/?p=10303","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvanians From Across The CommonwealthJoined We The People \u2013 PA Campaign & Partners to Call for Fair Budget for All Pennsylvanians"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kirstin Snow and Marc Stier\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n


\nHarrisburg, PA <\/em>\u2013 For the first time in years, the Commonwealth will have a surplus of more than $15 billion from state budget surpluses and unspent federal pandemic relief funding at the end of this fiscal year. If this is not the moment to enact a budget that works to help hard-working Pennsylvanians and their communities, when will that time come?<\/p>\n

Earlier today, the We The People \u2013 PA campaign and its partners gathered alongside legislative leaders on the capitol steps to demand a just budget for all Pennsylvanians.<\/p>\n

During this rally, activists called on legislators to stop hoarding and to spend Pennsylvania\u2019s accumulated surplus the way it\u2019s intended to be spent\u2014meeting the state\u2019s responsibilities to our families and communities and to our democracy.\u00a0<\/strong>The state has the money to do big things this year, and even a bold, inclusive spending bill would leave a substantial surplus for years to come!<\/p>\n

House Democratic leader Joanna McClinton<\/strong>\u00a0called on her colleagues in the majority caucus to\u00a0\u201c<\/em>come to the table and invest wisely\u201d highlighting that \u201cour schools need it, our seniors who haven\u2019t been able to access the property tax rent rebate program, they need it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur state\u2019s $15 billion extra dollars aren\u2019t actually a surplus\u2014it\u2019s our tax dollars that legislators are hoarding instead of spending responsibly on what our communities need. We kept our end of the bargain by paying our taxes, now our legislators have to keep up their end by spending the $15 billion on the education, homes, and communities we need and deserve\u201d said\u00a0Lorena Arias<\/strong>,\u00a0Make the Road PA <\/a>member leader.<\/p>\n

Hildamarie Hernandez<\/strong>\u00a0spoke on behalf of\u00a0CASA Pennsylvania<\/a>, highlighting the urgency of climate justice, and advocating for voting modernization \u2013 in particular implementing the voting law from 1965 Section 4e because \u201cvoting with knowledge and fully understanding the process can make a difference in the public offices that represent us [\u2026] The ones who move all of Pennsylvania is us!\u201d Quien mueve todo Pensilvania somos nosotros, WE THE PEOPLE!<\/p>\n

Rev. Gregory Holston<\/strong> reminded us that \u201cthe problems of gun violence are merely a symptom\u201d and that when we invest in our children and our communities, and our neighborhoods, \u201cwe create the safe-havens. We reimagine public safety in a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Legislators can, and should, act boldly to enact a state budget that includes affordable college and workforce training, economic relief for families dealing with rising costs of gasoline and child care, aid to small businesses recovering from the pandemic, affordable housing and aid to repair homes, environmental sustainability, funding for elections, and a $15 minimum wage by 2027. We the people want to see a state budget that deals with immediate economic problems *and* addresses long-term inequities.<\/p>\n

Representative Sara Innamorato<\/strong> called out the harms of austerity and the \u201cpain caused by an upside-down tax system that favors the hoarding of wealth over hard work.\u201d Adding, \u201cwealth and power will always tell you that basic dignity for Pennsylvanians, it\u2019s just too expensive. That it can\u2019t be done. but somehow they always find the money to protect their own wealth and power. And to that, we say: no more!\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Catanese<\/strong>, SEIU Local 668, emphasized that point, saying: \u201canyone who tells you we can\u2019t afford to invest our communities, they\u2019re lying to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa<\/strong>\u00a0lifted up the programs that the budget could invest in, such as a program to invest in small businesses in disadvantaged communities, saying \u201cthose are the types of thoughtful things that we need to do as we go forward because that\u2019s what\u2019s going to make an impact. That\u2019s what\u2019s going to make the difference in the lives of many Pennsylvanians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re facing here is a decision. A choice.\u201d said We The People \u2013 PA director of campaigns Nick Pressley<\/strong>, pushing legislators to make the choice to prioritize helping people, not large, wealthy corporations. \u201cWe can ensure that families in Butler County aren\u2019t dealing with poverty at the same time as we can help families in Philadelphia. We can address the failed infrastructure and aging homes in Blair County alongside addressing the same issue in Allegheny County.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler<\/strong> stood with activists and called on her colleagues to make the right choice, stating: \u201cIt\u2019s disgusting to me that any lawmaker sitting on a giant pile of cash would be part of a scheme to hoard billions of dollars and refuse to invest it in the working people of this state. It doesn\u2019t have to be that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a moral obligation to start addressing what has been put off for too long. The simple reality is that Pennsylvanians have been hurting, dollars are in the bank. The question is about priorities. Is our priority about addressing those who have been left behind?\u201d said\u00a0Representative Matt Bradford.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marc Stier<\/strong>, PA Budget and Policy Center director, stressed the importance of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by asking \u201cIf federal funds specifically enacted to help Black, brown, and white Pennsylvanians deal with the impact of COVID doesn\u2019t justify spending to help small businesses recover and families deal with the high costs of housing, child care, and gas, what would justify it? If not now, when?\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott Seeborg,<\/strong> PA state director of All Voting is Local<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>connected these discussions to the importance of free and fair elections, stating:\u00a0<\/em>\u201cSitting on billions while Pennsylvania continues to recover from the pandemic is shameful, and pointing the finger at elections as the problem while also not funding them or giving counties what they need is so cynical, so shameless, that it would be hard to believe if it wasn\u2019t happening under our noses.\u201d<\/p>\n

We call on lawmakers to take action to meet the needs of Pennsylvanians, and enact a people\u2019s budget to build a stronger, healthier, and more just future for us all!<\/p>\n

As Senator Vincent Hughes said in his speech,\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIt is the people\u2019s money! Therefore it needs to be the people\u2019s priorities!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Speakers:<\/p>\n