U.S. Poverty Weekly Update November 21, 2017

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | November 21, 2017

“The tax plan recently proposed in the U.S. Senate focuses too much on cuts for the wealthiest among us while it does nothing to help the poorest.”

– RESULTS Spearfish, SD volunteer David Paul in a November 16 letter to the editor in the Rapid City Journal

Quick Action: Tell Congress to Reject Tax Cuts that Put Anti-Poverty Programs at Risk

RESULTS wishes you a delightfully Happy Thanksgiving. If you are traveling this week, please stay safe and we hope you enjoy your time with loved ones.

Got Two Minutes? Write a Letter to the Editor on Taxes while Congress is Home This week

When your senators are home for the Thanksgiving break, what will they see when they pick up the local paper? Let’s make sure it’s a clear message from you to reject the harmful new tax bill. One crucial detail has been missing from most of the coverage of the tax plan: who will end up paying for the massive tax cuts for corporations and the rich. It’s the lowest-income, most vulnerable Americans. This is plain wrong – and it’s time to get that message in print. The House passed its version, but the bill’s path in the Senate is still unclear. You can help stop it.

This will be a slow week of LTE submissions because of Thanksgiving. That means you have a better chance of getting published. Your media success has already helped stop harmful policies this year. You can do it again.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to send a letter to the editor to your local paper urging your senators to reject the current tax bills in Congress. Use our online tool or – better yet – use the template below to craft a letter of your own:

To the editor:

It's clear who will benefit from the new tax plan in Washington: the rich. What we're hearing less about is who will pay the consequences – and that's hardworking, low-income Americans.

This year we've already seen attempts to gut essential programs like Medicaid and SNAP (formerly Food Stamps). So, after giving away $1.5 trillion in tax breaks to millionaires, those same critical programs would likely wind up back on the chopping block. Meanwhile, the bill would unravel our health care system by repealing the individual mandate.

With one in eight Americans below the poverty line, this is both bad public policy and just plain wrong. I hope we can count on our Senators [insert yours] to stand up against this plan.

[Your name]

More Media Tools

• Full analysis of the Senate’s CTC provisions.
• Interactive maps on how the House and Senate tax bills impact your state, and how the Senate’s CTC provisions impact children in your state.
• Never written a letter to the editor before? Here’s a step-by-step guide.
• Ready to take the next step with an op-ed or an editorial? Here’s a media memo on the tax plan to get you started.
• Check out your incredible work so far, calling on Congress to protect anti-poverty programs. We only need 9 more pieces to hit 400 for the year.

Got Ten Minutes? Write Letters Urging Congress to Reject Unfair Tax Cuts that Put Low-income Americans at Risk (November Action)

The House passed their tax bill last Thursday, 227-205. The Senate Finance Committee followed suit, passing their bill later than evening. Both chambers are on recess this week, but the Senate hopes to move quickly and pass their bill in the full Senate next week. The momentum is strong and leaders are taking advantage of it to ram this unpopular bill through before Americans truly understand how bad it is.

We’ve already outlined how harsh these proposals are to low-income Americans, but they are not the only people negatively impacted by these proposals. While the Senate bill initially gives most Americans a tax cut, by 2027, tens of millions will see their taxes go up. According to Joint Committee on Taxation figures, the Senate bill will give millionaires $16,810 tax cut in 2027, while households earning less than $75,000 per year will see their taxes go up. Not to mention that senators also want to repeal the ACA’s requirement to have insurance (the individual mandate), which will cause 13 million people to lose health coverage and cause premiums to increase for those covered (and this will happen long before 2027). If you are paying more for medical expenses after this bill passes than you are now, that’s a tax increase by another name.

Worst of all is that these convoluted, unfair policies are being pushed to give giant tax cuts to the rich and big corporations. But it’s not over yet. If your members of Congress get the message while they’re home that their constituents strongly oppose this bill, it might be enough to stop it. But there is no time to waste.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to make it clear to your members of Congress that increasing economic insecurity for most Americans to finance tax cuts for the rich is unacceptable. Use the talking points in the November Action and state-by-state CTC numbers to do the following things:

1. Write letters urging your representatives and senators to oppose any tax bill that cuts taxes for the wealthy and puts anti-poverty programs at risk. Fax your letters to their offices ASAP (before Monday). Find fax numbers here. Urge people in your local action networks to write letters as well.
2. Call senate tax aides to tell them to urge their bosses to oppose the Senate tax bill. Find aide names and contact info here.
3. Look for events and town halls this week and plan to attend. Use our updated Laser Talks for your questions. Be creative like our advocates a Kansas State University who frequently see their senator at the gym and talk to him about our issues.
4. Generate media as outlined in the Two Minute section above.

When Congress returns to DC next week, RESULTS will send out action alerts on the Senate tax bill letting you know when to call and what to say. If you want to get started now, send an e-mail telling them to oppose the Senate tax bill (make sure to customize the subject line and content).

Got Twenty Minutes? Take Our New Grassroots Survey

We certainly have a lot of work cut out for us for the rest of 2017. But we are also looking ahead. What issues should we focus on next year? How can we help our volunteer groups grow and thrive? How can we better support you in your media and lobbying work? As a grassroots organization, we value greatly your opinion and input. It is your input that has prompted us to look internally and externally at reducing societal oppression. It is your input that shapes the agenda for our monthly webinars. It is your input that prompts us to improve upon the RESULTS International Conference each year. Help us be better at supporting you by taking the survey today.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to take our 2017 U.S. Poverty Grassroots Survey. Give us input on possible 2018 campaigns, better supporting your volunteer work, and how we can better communicate with you. You can find the survey here. We encourage all active volunteers (in groups and Free Agents) to participate and urge you to complete the survey by November 30.

Quick News

Tax Plans Would Hurt Communities of Color. Whether it is repealing the estate tax, eliminating tax incentives targeted at communities of color, or denying benefits to low-income Americans, the GOP tax bills will only make the racial wealth and income gaps worse. Yet another reason to demand that your members of Congress reject these proposals.

Unlock the matching gift on Giving Tuesday. The RESULTS Virtual Thanksgiving Feast is in full swing. It ends next Tuesday, November 28, which is also Giving Tuesday, a national day of giving back. RESULTS is also participating in Giving Tuesday with a special one-day matching offer: if we raise $5,000 on November 28, all donations will be matched 2:1! Your gift will go even further to provide resources and support for your work to end poverty. Pledge now to participate in our #GivingTuesday challenge, and we'll remind you when it's time to unlock the 2:1 match!

ME and AK Outreach Events a Great Success. Last week, we kicked off our fall outreach bonanza with events in Maine and Alaska. Maine focused on racial injustice and poverty, while Alaska focused on the impact of poverty on young children. Both events were well-attended and inspired people into action. We are continuing this push for the next few months. In the Events section below, see a list of the events already planned and we’ll be adding more in the coming weeks. If you want to join this bandwagon and do your own local event, please contact Jos Linn for help in getting started.

ACA Open Enrollment Continues. If you or someone you know needs health coverage, go to https://www.healthcare.gov to find a plan that works for you. The enrollment period runs until December 15.

Upcoming Events

Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events. Also, find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.

Staff Vacations: Meredith Dodson, November 23-27 and December 21-January 1. Jos Linn, November 22-26 and December 21-January 7. Kristy Martino, November 22-27 and December 23-January 1.

Upcoming Congressional Recesses: House and Senate: November 20-24; December 18-29.

Thursday, November 23 – Happy Thanksgiving! All RESULTS offices closed on November 23 and 24.

New Jersey Advocacy Training, Tuesday, November 28 at 9:00 am ET. HomeFront, 361 Scotch Rd, Ewing, NJ. Featuring RESULTS Expert on Poverty Asia Bijan Thompson. More details soon. Contact Kristy Martino for more information.

West Virginia “Let’s Put Kinds First” Storytelling Workshop, Thursday, November 30 at 6:00 pm ET. Morgantown Public Library, 373 Spruce Street Morgantown, WV. Featuring RESULTS Expert on Poverty Pamela Covington. RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/147178689242270/.

Missouri Ending Poverty Advocacy Training, Thursday, December 7 at 6:30 pm CT. Keystone United Methodist Church, 406 W. 74th St, Kansas City, MO. Presented by RESULTS Kansas City. Contact Jos Linn for details.

Indiana Advocacy Training, Monday, December 18. Indianapolis, IN. Featuring RESULTS Expert on Poverty and RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Maxine Thomas. More details soon. Contact Kristy Martino for more information.

RESULTS Introductory Calls, Monday, December 11 at 9:00 pm ET and Friday, December 15 at 1:00 pm ET. Register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, December 12 at 8:00 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

Pennsylvania Storytelling Workshop and Media Training, Saturday, December 16 at 9:00 am ET. Featuring RESULTS Expert on Poverty Asia Bijan Thompson. Misericordia University, 301 Lake St, Dallas, PA. RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/126506608021972/.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, December 19 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. To participate, login at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#.

RESULTS Holiday Break, December 23-January 1. All RESULTS office closed.

2018 RESULTS International Conference, July 14-17, 2018, Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. Save the date and keep an eye out for more details.

If you have a question, comment or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Steven McGee at [email protected]. You can view the most recently published minutes from Board meetings on the RESULTS website, as well as download RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report.