Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thank you! Due to a massive effort and a lot of hard work, our voices have been heard loud and clear: Albany has raised the personal income tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers and asked the rich to pay their fair share.
It's a big victory for working New Yorkers, and it was the strength and energy of this people-powered movement that made it possible.
But the fight isn't over. This was a tough budget fight in a challenging economic environment and everyone had to sacrifice.
Watch this video of the inspiring rally on March 5, 2009, when 70,000 people came together to fight for Fair Share Tax Reform. Then take a moment to share your story and thoughts on the New York State budget, and help us take the next step towards economic justice:
Thanks for all you do! Live your values. Love your country. And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make aDIFFERENCE!
FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
There's a woman living in upstate New York. She's 78 years old and has a few health problems. She relies on four prescriptions to manage her conditions.This woman could be your mother or grandmother, or mine. She's the average enrollee of the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program, which provides 320,000 low- and middle-income seniors in New York with crucial prescription care.And she might not be able to get the prescription drugs she needs if Gov. Paterson's proposed budget cuts go through.
Funding for the EPIC prescription program has already been cut by $400 million over the last four years. But now Gov. Paterson has gone too far, proposing cuts of another $50 million in his current budget plan.
We can prevent these cuts by adopting a fair-share approach to closing New York's budget deficit: Fair Share Tax Reform.It's not an exaggeration to say our seniors' health is on the line.And, ironically, Governor Paterson's suggested cuts may end up costing the state more in the long run.
Continued access to prescription drugs doesn't just improve seniors' health and quality of life. It can also mean seniors will not have to resort as frequently to expensive non-drug care like hospital stays and emergency room visits.
Write your legislator now to ask him or her to oppose cuts that put our seniors' lives in danger:
Thanks for all you do! Live your values. Love your country. And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make aDIFFERENCE!
FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
How much do you have to make to be in the top tax bracket in NY? Watch the video to find out: Shocked? You should be.
Because while President Obama works to make America's taxes fairer, New York's tax code is anything but. Over the last 30 years, the rich have seen their state taxes cut in half. Today, nurses and firefighters pay the same state tax rate as Wall Street tycoons.
It's more than unfair--with the state facing a $14 billion budget gap, it's just madness.
By asking the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes, we could help balance the budget in a “balanced” way and prevent billions in cuts to classrooms, hospitals, and the elderly and disabled that Gov. Paterson has proposed.
The Facts:
Today, for a single filer, the top New York State personal income tax rate of 6.85% starts on adjusted gross income over $20,000 per year. That means a NYC police officer making $40,361 is in the same tax bracket as former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, who made $83.1 million in 2007. You can see the complete New York State personal income tax schedule from the department of taxation here (pdf)
Over the last 30 years, New York has cut its top income tax rate more than 50%, the majority of which went the wealthiest New Yorkers who needed tax relief the least. In the 2008 - 09 budget year, those cuts will cost the state nearly $20 billion in revenue - money we could use to keep hospitals open and schools thriving in tough times (Source: Fiscal Policy Institute).
There's a better way. The Working Families Party and our allies in the Fair Share Tax Reform coalition are fighting to modestly raise income taxes on those who can most afford it to help offset some of the Governor's most painful cuts.
Polls show it's a popular idea, especially once people realize how regressive New York's taxes have become. In the meantime, please vote on where YOU think the top tax rate should begin & we'll send the answers to Albany.Cast Your Vote HERE.
Thanks for all you do! Live your values. Love your country. And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make aDIFFERENCE!
FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
featured artist: Ben Heine: Belgian political artist, caricaturist and sometimes photographer.
FROM A RECENT BEN HEINE Q&A by NEW AMERICAN DREAM FOUNDER, Mike Palacek ---> Palacek:Where do you think your passion came from? What are your personal experiences of oppression, militarism, imperialism?Heine: My passion started a long time ago when I was a little boy. I didn’t live in an oppressed country, I read about it in books and news articles. And I do my best to denounce all kinds of social injustices, crimes against humanity, human rights infringements, racism and oppression with my pencils and brushes. Palacek:How long have you been making a living as an artist? You don't have a day job, do you? Did you use to?Heine: Are you joking? Do you really think I make a living as a political artist? Ha ha, no, I don’t. I do have a full time day job. I teach French, English and History in a Belgian high school. This is very challenging and time consuming. A few months ago, I was working in a communication agency. I didn’t really like it. I think we, artists, must accept making jobs that have nothing related to our passion. That’s stupid, I know, but that’s what society obliges us to do. A good friend of mine and a very talented Spanish artist, Juan Kalvellido, used to work many years at Burger King and make his revolutionary political creations beside! Palecek:Let me see, how do I want to put this... Do Europeans give a shit about America? Do we really affect your lives? How about our wars, our government? Our movies, entertainers? Or, do you have your own culture, exclusive of us. I have never been to Europe, you understand.Heine: Very good question you ask here. Yes, in my opinion, all European countries and people are very concerned about America’s decisions. Many European countries are involved in the same wars (sad to say, but for instance, the Belgian government sent some troops in Afghanistan too…) Many Americans used to be Europeans in the past. American culture affects us in a strong way too. We have all your big Hollywood movies in our cinemas. I’m not sure that this is positive because this is somehow a “brain colonization”. And we actually don’t have much choice. And yes, we have our own culture. We have our own movies too, ha ha! Each country in Europe has rich traditions. Belgium is in the middle of Europe. From Brussels, I can travel to Amsterdam, Paris, London or Berlin in just a few hours. We all have different languages. Although we all have different customs and standards of living, we still feel Europeans.Palecek:What else would you like to add? What else should I have asked?Heine: I would like to put here some questions that were recently asked to me by Joe Szabo (Joe Szabo is an American cartoonist, author, editor, public speaker and founder of WittyWorld International Cartoon Magazine). He is currently making a worldwide survey for his upcoming book on “The Image of America”. Szabo:If you could think of one word that could describe the United States best, what would that be?Heine: The US, as everybody knows, is a multicultural country. It is the fruit of the old European colonization. The practice of intense slavery gave the US African people. Now, people from all around the world (especially from South American coutries) are coming to live in the US, because they consider it as an "El Dorado". The US is a mix of nationalities, of origins and roots, that's, according to me, an explanation of its cultural wealth, but also of the growing xenophobia, and the fear of the foreigner…FULL INTERVIEW HERE: http://www.newamericandream.net/i
Faire Part Hubert Heine - 25 novembre 2025
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C’est avec une infinie tristesse que je vous annonce le décès de mon Papa
bien aimé, Hubert Heine, survenu ce mardi 25 novembre 2025.
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