PEF budget proposals gain ground in Albany

By SHERRY HALBROOK
PEF’s vigorous fight-back campaign to save state jobs and services from the budget ax, appears to be gaining ground as New York moves into its second month without a budget.

According to published reports, Capitol insiders say the Legislature appears increasingly likely to pass a combination of new personal and business taxes to support restoration of some of the proposed spending cuts.

Two of the revenue measures PEF has been urging — a personal income tax surcharge on incomes of more than $100,000 and closing corporate tax loopholes — are among those getting the most serious consideration by legislative leaders. They would provide an estimated $3.4 billion to help bridge the projected state budget gap of $11.5 billion.

“Since we all depend on public services, we should all pay our fair share to support them,” says PEF President Roger Benson. “However, Citizens for Tax Justice reports that the wealthiest New Yorkers now pay less than 7 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the rest of us pay about 12 percent of ours. And, over the last 25 years, the portion of the New York State budget funded through business taxes has dropped from 10 percent to 4 percent.”

Meanwhile, PEF members keep up their all-out efforts to educate legislators and the public about the important services New Yorkers would lose if the Executive Budget proposal were enacted.

The union held rallies, press conferences, facility tours by legislators, and other public budget events in late March and early April, including those at Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse,

COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
Inside This Issue:
Rallies For A Fair State Budget:
- Research Facilities
• Institute for Basic Research - Staten Island
• Nathan Kline Institute - Orangeburg
• NYS Psychiatric Institute - Manhattan
- SUNY Hospitals:
• Stoney Brook - Long Island
• Upstate Medical Center - Syracuse
• Downstate Medical Center -Brooklyn
- Psych Centers
• Middletown PC
• Bronx PC
• Hutchings PC
• Elmira PC
PEF budget proposals gain ground in Albany

Departments
President's Message: Key to job security is focus
You Said It: Member's letters this month
Member Mobilization: Training with rallies
Nurses' Station: Keep a written record, and more...
Retirees In Action: Stay connected, join up
PEF Membership Benefits Program & Travel Corp

Union Matters
Members in ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’
Who’s PEF’s top privatization buster for ’03?
RX For Success: Conference builds skills
State recruits members for WTC asthma study
Vote for PEF’s top privatization buster

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