TEF Lessons for Members and Citizens
Lesson 8
Moving from
Information
To Action
8-1
Objective:
Participants will:
• Explore state affiliate TEF activities,
• Examine a template for starting a
campaign, and
• Develop a state and/or local action plan.
8–2
As a group can we agree that we will:
1) Respect and value differences of opinions
and varying levels of knowledge
2) Be attentive
8–3
Question: What do the following have
in common?
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•
•
•
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The weekend
The 8-hour work day
The 40-hour work week
The minimum wage
Laws prohibiting child labor
8–4
Answer:
• All are the direct result of people
organizing collectively, through a
union, to establish rules and
policies that address economic
inequality and maintain fairness.
• Are these things society
sometimes takes for granted?
8–5
POWER
8–6
Why Is this Our Business?
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It’s about our students.
It’s about our community.
Education represents roughly 1/3 of the state budget.
We have clout.
Educators represent a significant and sizable
voting block.
• Educators have power (if we choose to use it). With
the Union/Association’s representative councils, we
are one of the best organized groups in the
United States.
8–7
Why THIS IS Our Business.
• Teachers consistently poll as one of the
most — if not the most — trusted voices
within a community.
– You are the best messenger.
• We need to educate our colleagues, our
leaders, and the general public.
– Who is better equipped to do this than you?
8–8
What’s Happening Around the Country?
A number of state education associations are
proactively taking steps to address these issues, and
fight back against the destructive impact of the
privatization/deregulation/shrink the size of
government campaign… Activities include:
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Building membership organizing campaigns on TEF issues
Fighting to close corporate tax loopholes
Educating policy makers on TEF issues
Winning public regard by exposing the pitfalls of giving away
corporate subsidies in the name of economic development
8–9
What’s Happening Around the Country?
Building membership organizing campaigns
on TEF issues
State education associations are
embarking on pilot projects to recruit
and engage members through raising
their awareness of TEF issues and how
it affects their ability to do their jobs as
well as the quality of their students’
education.
8–10
What’s Happening Around the Country?
Education state policy makers on TEF issues
State education associations are
currently organizing TEF Forums
for Policy Makers, with an eye
on the 2012 legislative sessions
and beyond.
8–11
What’s Happening Around the Country?
Fighting to close corporate tax loopholes
A number of state education
associations are on the offensive,
challenging states to Close
Corporate Tax Loopholes First!
before cutting education budgets,
rolling back teacher salaries and
benefits, or causing class sizes to
balloon.
8–12
What’s Happening Around the Country?
Fighting to close corporate tax loopholes
NEA Research has developed
a Close Corporate Tax
Loopholes First! Toolkit
It can be accessed here, on
InsideNEA:
https://insidenea.nea.org/NEABiz/ResearchInfo/Documents/Close
Tax Loopholes First For Education.pdf
8–13
What’s Happening Around the Country?
Fighting to close corporate tax loopholes
ASKING QUESTIONS.
8–14
8–15
GETTING ANSWERS.
What’s Happening Around the Country?
Fighting to close corporate tax loopholes
GETTING ANSWERS.
8–16
What’s Happening Around the Country?
Fighting to close corporate tax loopholes
In 2003 Exxon made $89 million in
Alabama and paid zero income tax.
TAKING NAMES.
•They deducted $418 million in payments to themselves.
•They deducted 6 times the Federal Depletion allowance.
•Deducting 6 times the Federal Depletion Allowance
allows Exxon to deduct more than the oil and gas is
worth.
8–17
MAKING A LIST.
8–18
What’s Happening Around the Country?
• The Oregon Education Association led in getting
ballot initiatives approved by the voters to raise
the minimum taxes paid by corporations while
adding a new tax rate for household incomes
above $250,000. 97.5% of Oregon taxpayers pay
no more, and 88% of businesses will pay only the
$150 minimum.
http://www.voteyesfororegon.org/
• The Colorado Education Association has used TEF
issues in its community outreach and coalition
building aimed at the significant tax reform
necessary to fund education and build a better
Colorado. www.believeinabettercolorado.org
8–19
What’s Happening Around
the Country?
In Illinois, where the state Constitution
requires that any income tax be a flat tax,
resulting in a huge burden on low-income
taxpayers, the Illinois Education Association
has launched an effort to amend the state
constitution to allow for a progressive
income tax, so that the state may
adequately fund education and other
needed services without undue burden on
working families.
8-20
What’s Happening Around
the Country?
The Michigan Education Association has, as part of
its Investing in Michigan’s Future campaign, earned
well-deserved accolades as a responsible steward of
public tax dollars by commissioning several studies
on the effectiveness of subsidies given as part of
state economic development programs.
Some programs were found to actually reduce jobs
resulting in less revenues for state and local
governments.
Legislative fixes have been introduced and enacted.
http://www.mea.org/investing/
8-21
THINK—JOURNAL
8–22
1. Thinking about the changes that are
needed in your state and local to
address these issues, what changes
can you envision that would make
the most difference in your students’
lives? What would those changes
look like?
8–23
2. What would you have to let go of
to bring this vision into reality?
What would you do to begin?
8–24
3. Who are the core partners and
helpers that would help you
bring it into reality and that
could support you in these
efforts?
8–25
4. If you committed to taking on the
project of bringing your
intentions into reality, what
practical steps could you take in
the next three to seven days?
8–26
Your Steps and Moving
Forward Together
A Template
8–27
TEF Tools and Resources
TEF Website: http://www.nea.org/tef
1
Publications
Studies supporting TEF concepts:
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The Effects of State Public K-12
Expenditures on Income Distribution
•
K-12 Education in the U.S. Economy
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Protecting Public Education from Tax
Giveaways to Corporations.
•
School Funding, Taxes and Economic
Growth
•
TEF Series
Why invest in education makes sense:
Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation
Corporate abuse:
The Great American Job Scam - corporate tax
dodging and the myth of job creation.
Your Tax Dollars At Work…Offshore - foreign
outsourcing firms are capturing state
government contract.
No More Secret Candy Store - A grassroots
guide into investigating corporate
subsidies.
2
State-Specific
Data Sources
States Facing Budget Shortfall – Center for
Policy and Budget Priorities (CBPP) reports
state fiscal profiles.
State-by-state tax news and policy analysis
provided by the Institute of Economics and
Policy Analysis (ITEP).
Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) new report
analysis rank states by overall unemployment as
well as the change seen since the start of the
recession in December 2007.
Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation show
state returns in budget, salary, crime reduction by
investing in Pre-K thru 12.
Find out how much Wal-Mart is costing your state
in subsidy deals, healthcare cost, and property tax
appeal appeals.
Combined Reporting, How Does Your State
Stack-Up? Institute on Taxation and Economic
Policy (ITEP) This reporting requires multi-state
corporations to report the income earned by both
the parent corporation and all of its subsidiaries
and to determine their income tax liabilities on that
basis.
Good Jobs First state-by-state corporate subsidy
websites.
3
State affiliates in
TEF Action
A few examples…
This video address from Alabama EA
President, John Wright.
Alabama EA sheds light on corporate
tax avoidance in Alabama
Detroit News, Friday, July 25, 2008
MEA Press Release: Drop-outs One
Too Many, April. 4, 2008
Honolulu Advertiser, Dec, 2006
Honolulu Advertiser, Feb. 2007
Iowa State EA News Article
Kentucky EA - School Funding
Statement.
Michigan’s Business Tax Incentives:
A study commissioned by MEA and NEA
to improve the quality of the debate on
business tax incentives.
Mississippi EA op-ed piece.
State Affiliate TEF Websites: Colorado,
Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New
Jersey, Oklahoma
8–28
TEF Tools and Resources
TEF Website: http://www.nea.org/tef
4
Customizable Tools
Community Organizing
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Business Outreach
Sample Political Action Tools
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Corporate Legislation
TEF Model Legislation
5
Other
Useful Links
6
Introducing a
New TEF
Interactive Tool
NEA Information on establishing a social
networking site to use as an organizing
tool.
Others are: (http://www.ning.com/ ) and
(http://www.groupsite.com/)
http://www.faireconomy.org/tfoc to locate
your state’s tax fairness organizing
collaborative. These groups are
located in 21 states.
www.nea.org/tef
8–29
Other Resources
7
On Taxes…
Videos
PBS Now, "Taxing the Poor" ((26.03)
Wal-Mart Subsidies (7:48)
Warren Buffett's Tax Rate is Lower than His
Secretary's (4:39)
TAXES: Warren Buffett - Rich Taxed Too Little,
Poor Too Much (5:17)
Eye To Eye With Katie Couric: Buffett's Tax Code
(CBS News) (1:40)
8
On Economic
Policies
Videos
U.S. PIRG on Countdown. Olbermann talks about
U.S. PIRG's report "Tax Shell Game.”
Free Lunch, Corp Welfare, Bill Moyers and David
Cay Johnston (9:49)
David Cay Johnston - A History of
Government Subsidies (3:08)
9
Funding for Schools
Access Quality Education: School Funding
Litigation A National Network of
Advocates Involved in Education
Finance Litigation,
Abbott vs. Burke is the New Jersey Supreme
Court ordered a set of education
programs and reforms widely recognized
to be the most fair and just in the nation.
David Cay Johnston - Are Government
Subsidies Unfair? (4:43)
David Cay Johnston - A Moral Argument for
Progressive Taxes (3:04)
8–30
“Knowledge without action leads to despair.”
— Anonymous
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's
the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead
“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream
things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’ ”
--- George Bernard Shaw
8–31
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about
things that matter.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
8–32