Seattle Residents Take Their Demands to Chase Bank

On a beautiful sunny Seattle Saturday, 400 south Seattle residents took to the streets to demand that JPMorgan Chase Bank reinvest money in the communities they have destroyed. The community members — parents, students, workers, homeowners — demanded that Chase reinvest money in the form of principle write down for every Washington homeowner. They alsoContinue reading “Seattle Residents Take Their Demands to Chase Bank”

Thousands of New Yorkers Take Over Wall Street

On Thursday, May 12, 20,000 community members from New York City and beyond descended on Wall Street. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had just released his budget which cuts 6,000 teaching jobs and slashes vital social services the city relies on while keeping in tact tax breaks for his billionaire friends and the corporations that house them.Continue reading “Thousands of New Yorkers Take Over Wall Street”

Montanans Stop Drastic State Budget Cuts

Last week, on April 28, the 62nd Montana Legislative Session came to a close. The session was a contentious one, featuring some of the worst budget cut proposals in state history. Faced with devastating cuts to health and human services, education, and public employee jobs and salaries, members of the Montana Organizing Project responded byContinue reading “Montanans Stop Drastic State Budget Cuts”

Two Steps Backward for Bankers — 100,000 Steps Forward For the People

Last Thursday, April 14, Washingtonians from all walks of life put on their walking shoes and set out on the People’s Walk for Our Future. The five-day, 50-mile walk included stops at places in communities that are facing devastating cuts because of Washington’s $5 billion revenue shortfall: schools, mental health clinics, and many more. LegislatorsContinue reading “Two Steps Backward for Bankers — 100,000 Steps Forward For the People”

On Tax Day, Time to Tell Corporations that the Game of Tax Dodgeball is Over

This year Uncle Sam pushed Tax Day back to April 18, giving us all a three-day tax filing holiday. It’s almost enough to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Until, that is, you hear about GE, which apparently is on extended vacation, paying essentially nothing in taxes for 2010 despite raking in $5.1 billionContinue reading “On Tax Day, Time to Tell Corporations that the Game of Tax Dodgeball is Over”

Why Medicaid Matters

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicaid and Medicare into law. At the signing ceremony, he spoke of the tradition of leadership that compelled the country to create such programs. He also spoke of another tradition, one embedded in our national identity and values. He said this value “calls upon us never to be indifferentContinue reading “Why Medicaid Matters”

Big Banks Must Step Up to Address the Revenue Crisis

The big banks live in a parallel universe. In their universe, the financial meltdown was beyond their power to stop.  The recession that left more than 1/10th of the American workforce unemployed is a shame they had little to do with.  The massive government bailout of the financial system was an opportunity to make aContinue reading “Big Banks Must Step Up to Address the Revenue Crisis”

Money in Politics: The Best Tax Break Half a Million Dollars Can Buy

The first in a series of articles exploring the influence of corporate money over our political system. When Microsoft filed pay disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission last year, it reported a $670,000 bonus for company CEO Steve Ballmer. But the company didn’t mention how Ballmer spent the bulk of that check – onContinue reading “Money in Politics: The Best Tax Break Half a Million Dollars Can Buy”

Washington CAN! Stages Sneak Attack at CHASE Bank’s Winter “Schmooze Fest”

On Wednesday, January 26th, Washington CAN! members gathered outside the CHASE building in Seattle to take action against one of corporations who, by successfully lobbying for tax exemptions, is responsible for the current state budget deficit and state fiscal crisis. This is the start of a series of direct actions planned against greedy banks andContinue reading “Washington CAN! Stages Sneak Attack at CHASE Bank’s Winter “Schmooze Fest””

Idaho Community Action Network Calls for a Fair and Equitable State Budget

State legislatures are now in session. Lawmakers in nearly every state, including Idaho, are faced with budget shortfalls that will mean devastating cuts to the social safety net: health care, education, and services for immigrants. In response to this crisis, Idaho Community Action Network, an Alliance for a Just Society affiliate, kicked off a seasonContinue reading “Idaho Community Action Network Calls for a Fair and Equitable State Budget”