Why citizen advocacy makes a difference
While at the State House with other Stand for Children members advocating for resources yesterday, it occurred to me as legislators gave us their “doom and gloom” response that they must sit through dozens of these meetings, especially during budget time. Yesterday’s Boston Globe article about the corporate tax changes Stand sees as vital revenue for the state’s education needs illustrates the point further by citing pro-business groups such as the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation and the Boston Chamber of Commerce warning against these revenue initiatives. It’s no surprise these groups do not want to pay more taxes, even closing unfair corporate tax loopholes such as combined reporting and check the box without looking for a “give back” in terms of tax-rate reductions. Similarly, the tobacco industry doesn’t want more taxes on cigarettes, nor does the oil industry (which enjoys record profits as gas prices skyrocket) want to provide its fair share to government (less than one percent of the federal budget funds education). These groups spend lots of money, run scare campaigns, and hire professionals to lobby our elected leaders who must make difficult decisions regarding raising revenue and who gets limited funds—yet the needs do not go away and the costs continue to rise.
Given that context, it’s obvious why 400 Stand members speaking to 39 state senators and 48 representatives and their staff offers an important perspective. Stand’s purpose yesterday was to advocate for our legislators to make children and the future of the Commonwealth a priority by closing corporate tax loopholes without cutting corporate tax rates and investing that revenue into education, infrastructure, and reduction of the property tax burden on low-income homeowners. At the end of the day, if we do not speak up for the children and citizens of our state, who will?