As you read this article, there is a proposal making its way through Missouri that will have a devastating impact on your finances. It’s called the Everything Tax and it would create a sweeping new tax on nearly everything you buy.
The Everything Tax is being circulated as a proposed amendment to the Missouri state constitution and it would replace the state income tax with a new, 10-percent, statewide sales tax that increases the tax you pay on most everything you buy, every day. Milk, bread, groceries, emergency room visits, in-home care costs, and car repairs for example are all taxed.
Needless to say, the Everything Tax will hit senior citizens especially hard. First, most senior citizens don’t pay any income tax to begin with, so eliminating it does nothing for them. Second, seniors tend to live on a fixed income and the Everything Tax would create a new expense they can’t afford by taxing their groceries, emergency room visits, and in-home care.
In addition, the Everything Tax makes an already bad budget situation in the Show Me State worse. First of all, sales tax revenues in Missouri have been decreasing over the last five years, not increasing. Tying the state’s budget to a decreasing pot of money is bad fiscal policy. Second, and perhaps more importantly, creating a new, 10-percent, statewide sales tax to replace the state income tax will result in a massive budget shortfall. When fully implemented in 2016, the Everything Tax will create a shortfall of $3.2 billion, forcing cuts to crucial programs like Medicaid.
A newly formed coalition, the Coalition for Missouri’s Future, is working to defeat the Everything Tax and you can help. Visit our website at www.MissouriFuture.org and while you’re there, sign up for our e-mail list and, if you can, volunteer to help us out down the road. The other side will have millions to spend on this, but we have the power of the millions of Missourians. We just need your help to harness it.
This article is by Richard Martin and James Moody who are the leaders of the Coalition for Missouri’s Future. AFSCME Council 72 is a member of the Coalition for Missouri’s Future.
Early this morning, AFSCME leaders from Missouri and Kansas started streaming into a conference center in Mid Missouri, excited and ready to continue building and growing the Union. Sharing tips that have assisted members from Nevada to Farmington, St Joseph to Fulton, and Kansas City to St Louis in organizing for power, the energy in the room is one of momentum that can't be stopped.
Debbie Kistner, president of Local 622 in Nevada, told of organizing new members who see what the union is doing to fight back for workers' rights. From North Kansas City Local 3820 we've heard powerful stories of standing up and fighting back against forces that would have done away with the union.
Above all, we are hearing of the determination from leaders to continue developing a strong, powerful union that builds a community in the workplace, enables workers with the skills to increase membership and putting in place a clear vision for setting goals and putting action plans in place to achive those goals.
When your leaders return to your local, ask them what they learned this weekend and how you, too, can be more involved in the Union.
We're stronger together!
With the Occupy Wall Street protests resonating with citizens across the country calling for a fair economy and for the 1% to pay their fair share, an AFSCME brother from Wisconsin headed to Wall Street. This is what he found:
To get more involved with Occupy actions in Missouri, check out Occupy St. Louis, Occupy Kansas City and Occupy Springfield.
We've gotten word that the United States Senate will be holding a vote on President Obama's American Jobs Act today. This bill will assist our communities in rebuilding crumbling infrastructure and create nearly 2 million jobs for teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public workers. In addition, it will ensure that 5 million Americans who are currently receiving unemployment benefits continue to receive them.
With a majority of Americans asking that the rich pay their fair share, the American Jobs Act will be paid for by a 5.6% surtax on millionaires.
It's past time to put Missourians and Americans back to work, and this bill will do just that. Please join me in calling our Missouri Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt and telling them to vote YES on the American Jobs Act. We need our leaders in Washington to put workers and jobs before partisan battles.
Please take a minute to call Senator McCaskill and Senator Blunt: 1-888-665-9823.
Also, if you're in the St Louis area this Friday, October 14, we will be joining our sisters and brothers at a rally and march as we support Occupy St Louis in Kiener Plaza at 3:30PM. Wall Street bankers and fat cat corporate CEOs wrecked the economy, and we’ve been paying the price. While hundreds of thousands of Missourians are out of work, there are roads, bridges and schools crumbling in our own neighborhoods.
Day in and day out, St. Louisans have been protesting in Kiener plaza to demand that the voice of the 99% - all of us - be heard on Wall Street, in Jefferson City and in Washington, DC. We need good jobs now, not more of the same old politics. Be there Friday and send a strong message against corporate greed and for good jobs in our communities.
Parking will be a challenge, please take Metro to 8th & Pine. RSVP at 573-635-9145 to let us know you're coming!