Help John Carney To Be the Best Democratic Governor He Can Be
$350 million.
That’s the projected budgetary hole that soon-to-be-installed Governor John Carney will face this year.
There is more than a little irony in that. Just like Ruth Ann Minner and John Carney had kicked the fiscal can down the road, leaving successor Jack Markell to deal with a budget shortfall in 2009, Markell has left an even huger chasm for Carney to try to close. Carney’s task has been made all the more difficult b/c (a) there have been fundamental changes to Delaware’s economy in the intervening years, and (b) he could well have a Republican State Senate to deal with.
So, kids, today’s question is how does John Carney address this deficit while remaining(?) loyal to the traditional principles of the Democratic Party?
Time to make a list. I’ll start:
1. Legalize marijuana and tax it. Let’s face it. The State of Delaware has already demonstrated that any alleged principles its leaders once had are for sale for the right price. Legalize usury? No problem. Craft corporate laws to protect shell companies from being liable for anything? No problem. Legalize casinos? No problem, despite those constitutional details. So, legalize pot, create a free-market competition for customers. You get a lot of added tax revenue and you create jobs and probably some new millionaires.
2. Raise the corporate franchise tax. Even Jeff Bullock, Markell’s and now Carney’s choice for Secretary of State, has said that it’s chump change to the corporations but a lifeline for the budget.
3. Add two new top rates to the Personal Income Tax. We’re not making new law here, just undoing a couple of decades of bracket shrinkage. When times were good, the bipartisan rush to reduce the top rates might have been defensible. Facing this gap, not requiring those at the top of the food chain to do their part is indefensible.
I’ve got more ideas, but let’s hear yours. We’ve had eight years of hit after hit to state employees, to the indigent, and to vulnerable populations with next to no revenue enhancement to the budget other than incremental licensing fee increases.
We’ve seen statistics demonstrating that literally all of the economic growth that Delaware has experienced since climbing out of that 2009 recession has gone to Delaware’s wealthiest.
It is time for a Democratic governor to stand up for everyone who has been left behind. Folks, please give us your suggestions as to how our Democratic governor John Carney can be the best Democratic governor he can be.
Thrilled as hell to see you back here, El Som. FWIW, WE NEED YOU REPORTING ON THE LEGIS Et. Al. IN DOVER. IN A BAD WAY. And here you are!
As Jason330 said, no more blogging about blogging. The drama, or, to be more precise, farce, is over.
We’re gonna need everybody to redouble their grassroots efforts to effect positive change…and to stop what we all fear is coming. All hands on deck!
I think we missed the Casino train and let’s work to take back the Funding for Bloom Energy. I would rather put that money to help fund private schools.
This doesn’t mean we have to get on the Stephanie Hansen bandwagon, does it? Only in Delaware does the ex-wife of a felonious politician qualify as the “liberal” candidate.
It has been suggested that Carney might feel more comfortable working across the aisle w/an R Senate. However, the idea of Greg Lavelle as Senate Majority Leader hardly appeals to me. Nor will it, I suspect, be a boon to the average Delawarean.
As to Stephanie Hansen, it would be nice to know what she stands for. We’ll see if her campaign has any substance to it. I’m headed over to her site to see what I can find out…
And here it is:
http://www.hansenforsenate.org/index.html
Gotta say, didn’t find out much. Strikes me as basic boilerplate, but YMMV.
Who has additions to the Carney ‘Best He Can Be’ list?
I don’t think the Greens are running anyone.
Why are we afraid of a sales tax ? Out of state tourist spends big $$$ … a quarter of a million people come to beach area in any given seasonal weekend. There are tax mechanisms to credit back monies to offset the argument of regressive taxation on the lower economic classes.
Consolidate school districts.
From a friend who works for the state, some small-scale ideas:
Evaluate and kill boards and commissions that don’t do crap. There are so many bullshit ones out there. Even if members are unpaid, agency staff still have to waste time assisting them.
Remove the OMB approval bottleneck that keeps positions open for months after retirements. Right now there is no opportunity for someone to train their successor because jobs are held up at OMB for an insane amount of time and then take weeks to advertise, rate, interview, and fill. That’s lost efficiency, services and morale.
Offer small financial rewards to employees whose ideas save money. It will pay for itself.
Repeal the law that requires agencies to use Delaware Industries for the Blind as the sole vendor for marketing and promotional products. The costs are exorbitant and the products are low-quality. Open-market options could save lots of cash.
Put state employee salaries online. (Yes, this is coming from a state employee.) That will increase transparency and help people realize just how little employees are paid.
Reduce legislators’ salaries by one percent for every minute they remain in session past midnight the last day of the fiscal year.
Besides being a regressive tax that disproportionately impacts lower income folks, it would eliminate one of Delaware’s few economic claims–“Home of Tax-Free Shopping”.
Besides, the Chamber would never support it, and John Carney has been a puppet to them so far.
Enough small-scale ideas can yield larger-scale savings.
I have a dog in this fight, but I have another one. Now that Pa. has approved limited sales of beer and wine in grocery stores, Delaware should do the same. Lay a big licensing fee on those seeking to do so. If you want to ‘protect’ existing package stores, limit the # of bottles that grocery stores can sell so that those purchases are largely a matter of convenience to go along with, say, dinner, as opposed to stocking up for a few weeks. Whereas before, existing stores could argue that permitting groceries to sell booze would eat into their margins, we now have business crossing the state line to buy at Pa. grocery stores.
That’s impacting Delaware businesses, and the General Assembly can level the playing field while raising some money.
I’m not optimistic about Carney “leading”. So who are the people currently in Leg Hall who can bring some of this to the table?
@ES: So we’re free to point out that Hansen is nobody’s idea of a good government person. But then BHL wasn’t, either, so it would continue the careerist tradition for the district.
I’m sick of pretending the lesser of two evils is a good. With the crew reduction, maybe we no longer have to.
Yes, you’re free to point that out. Failing an affirmative case being made that Hansen will bring something special to Leg Hall, I guess the D argument will be, “Do you want the R’s in charge?”
I think it will be a losing argument unless Trump revulsion changes the political equation in less than two months.
Jason: Carney IS staring at a $350 million budget hole. He’s gonna have to propose SOMEthing.
We know that Sen. Margaret Rose Henry will likely sponsor the marijuana legalization bill.
Sean Lynn previously proposed raising the corporate franchise tax, and it HAS been endorsed by Jeff Bullock, John Kowalko has proposed the higher income tax brackets, and Jack Markell himself proposed allowing grocery stores to sell beer and wine. I think there will be legislators exploring these possibilities, but it will be up to all of us to mount grassroots support for these added revenue streams, and to oppose any draconian cuts that would land hardest on those least able to absorb them.
Im holding off criticizing or praising until I see something from the campaign. The ex husband doesn’t bother me a bit.
If it comes down to a “vote for me because I’m less bad” Clinton type campaign I’ll still vote for her but rather joylessly.
If she runs a more populist, idea oriented campaign, I’ll vote for her, donate to her, and work for her.
The problem with her is that she’s not trustworthy, as evidenced by marrying Chris Roberts in the first place. Everybody knew what Chris Roberts was at that point, including her. Now she wants to pretend it never happened.
Fuck that.
If we keep winning elections by putting up Republicrats against horrible Republicans, pretty soon Republicrats are the gold standard for candidacy. That’s how we ended up under the control of a Democratic Party that includes about three actual liberals.
I’d rather fight Greg Lavelle, to be honest, because at least he doesn’t pretend to be on my side.
On the case for legal marijuana as a revenue generator: Forget it.
Colorado, with a population of 5.5 million, saw revenue of $135 million in its second year of legal sales. Scale that down to Delaware’s population and you get about $24 million — not nothing, but only about one-tenth the shortfall. (And far short of the $190 million gambling still brings in). And remember, legalizing it now still wouldn’t bring in anything for about two years, so such a move would do nothing to help with the current deficit.
Except, as you pointed out, it’s ‘not nothing’.
There is no single solution to close such a hole. It’s also not a one-year hole. And legalization brings a burgeoning industry even before the product becomes available–jobs, tax revenue. Plus, quite possibly a boost for Delaware agriculture.
So, even if the tax revenue from sales is two years out, it represents an ongoing continuing stream of revenue moving forward. Something we can’t even predict any more when it comes to such a staple as…escheat collections.
Whoa there. You are envisioning some sort of free-market approach to this. That’s not going to happen. The state will grant monopoly or near-monopoly rights to well-connected individuals. We will get low-quality product at premium-quality prices, the black market will therefore continue to operate and neither the “freedoms” nor the revenue will even approach what Colorado earns.
There are more valuable hills to die on than this one. Ratcheting up the corporate fees will raise more money with less expenditure of political capital, and it would start with the next fiscal year. Why tie up that capital in a social issue that the cops are guaranteed to oppose?
The only really good thing that would happen if pot were legalized — nationally, not state-by-state — is that the Libertarian Party would lose 90% of its supporters.
Jobs? I actually saw a casino exec tell Leg Hall that casino jobs were just as valuable as longshoreman jobs, a flat-out lie. Such lies will be floated routinely if this moves forward.
Kill the Rodel influence in education. It is burdensome, expensive, and has not yielded the results that were promised over a decade ago. Hold school districts and charter schools accountable for their spending and actually audit them. Get rid of the huge number of school districts giving out money like candy to any suck-up who wants to be an admin and doesn’t actually do anything.
Well, this article highlights some of the other ancillary benefits that legalized marijuana has helped bring to fruition in the states:
https://www.theweedblog.com/effects-legalizing-marijuana-data-analysis-results/
And this is not either/or. Delaware is gonna have to do several things to address the budget gap while not unduly screwing its most vulnerable citizens. Unless, of course, the ‘leaders’ decide to once again screw its most vulnerable. So I’m not choosing to stand solely on this hill, but it’s a hill worth defending.
While you’re right about police opposition, I’m hoping (against hope) that John Carney just might embrace this new revenue source. Some state in the region will do it, why not Delaware?
Kevin: It may be undue optimism, but I think we have a better chance of accomplishing this with Carney. Largely, granted, b/c Markell was so wedded to the whole Rodel/testing mantra. Still wonder what he’s gonna do…
While I agree the revenue won’t be a some grand windfall, there’s a reasonable argument to be made that simply adjusting tax receipts on relative population is based on a poor assumption. The argument being made is to do this quickly before surrounding states. The market in Delaware would likely be even higher than the population Colorado. There are an additional one and a half million people in Philadelphia alone and only 30 minutes away. Colorado doesn’t have the benefit of population concentration around several major urban areas.
Must be done before PA, NJ, MD and NJ to have a very big impact to the state coffers. DE NORML and other local groups have several scenarios and estimates for each. They’ve advocates of course, but poke around. I think they’re based on reasonable assumptions.
It’s no budget panacea, fair enough. Just a big part of a larger package (as originally proposed by El Som.)
Most importantly the most successful and affluent Delawareans need to pay more tax. Period. That means most of us. So if you believe this too now’s a good time to say so.
Not much reason to be optimistic based upon this. Carney, like Markell, appears to be fixated on reducing spending to the exclusion of anything else:
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/06/state-budget-grim/96204480/
“Most importantly the most successful and affluent Delawareans need to pay more tax. Period. That means most of us. So if you believe this too now’s a good time to say so.”
@REV: You’re new here. Higher taxes don’t bother me in the least. What does bother me is your use of “successful” Delawareans. Restrict it to “affluent” and I’ll agree with that statement. Many affluent Delawareans have never lifted a finger; their “success” owes to Delaware’s criminally low property taxes, which have the benefit of leaving sixth-generation du Pont family members holding parcels of land they couldn’t afford if it were fairly taxed.
@El Som: That report basically touts the financial windfall for the states involved. I don’t see any real spin-off benefits, other than it will force the police to do actual police work instead of just busting people for easy-to-smell pot smoking. It will also end the fiction of “I smelled marijuana” as a reason for pulling over black drivers and searching their vehicles.
No, there was more than that:
“The marijuana industry appears to be positively affecting employment rates. In 2014, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in Colorado fell dramatically. The study notes that this trend coincides with the opening of retail marijuana stores in the state.”
And this:
“Real estate trends in Denver are rising, and many speculate the draw of legalized marijuana is the cause.One analyst went so far as to say that marijuana has essentially ‘kicked-started the recovery of the industrial market in Denver’ and led to record-high rent levels,” states the study.”
And this:
“When comparing other predicted effects of legalization, the study found an “absence of significant adverse consequences.” Long-standing claims towards marijuana as a “gateway drug” and its legalization as a perpetuator of alcohol and other drug usage currently stand unfounded.
Neither Colorado nor Washington saw a lift in alcohol or cocaine use post-policy change. While those rates remained untouched, the admission rates to public health treatment centers for marijuana abuse fell after legalization in Colorado and King County, which encompasses Seattle. ”
Anecdotal at this point? Perhaps. But encouraging.
In order:
1) It’s worded that way because there’s nothing to indicate any causation, just correlation.
2) “One analyst.” ‘Nuff said.
3) Already widely studied and widely known. The police don’t care.
Seriously, you sound like a bunch of Reason magazine editors. If you want to get high, it’s pretty easy to do already, and there’s nothing to indicate a switch to legalization will benefit anybody who already smokes recreationally. Indeed, the ugly details of what legalization would mean caused Ohio pot smokers to oppose that state’s legalization proposal — people realized they were going to be restricted more legally than they are engaging in the activity illegally.
Cut the state Dep’t of education bureaucracy….the JFC actually wanted to cut several positions and the Dep’t of Ed wouldn’t do what JFC wanted and somehow FOUND several million in their budget to keep these people on….Before raising any taxes, let’s get some serious cuts here……Would give Carney some credibility before going for tax hikes!
@chris: That’s what the article indicated is on the chopping block. But even at $100,000 per job, which is probably a tad over what we’re paying, dumping 100 of the 200+ DoE jobs would save only $10 million. And that’s for chopping one of the easiest and largest targets.
To save the full $350 million, the state would have to eliminate over 7,000 jobs, or about half its non-teaching work force.
On top of that, please bear in mind that we are one of the most lightly-taxed state populations in the country; nearly half our budget comes from taxes/fees on corporate “citizens” instead. The whining from Democrats about taxes are pure, simple job protection for useless turds like McBride and McDowell.
smh
This continuing meme of John Carney ‘liking’ the idea of working with a R-led State Senate: very silly. And unsupported.
Also, Stephanie Hansen has been “moved on”from Chris Roberts for some time now. It is a Republican game to try to pin so much of his baggage on her. I’ll give credit where it is due and my observations are that she’s coming from a very good place now.
Is it a meme if Carney is giving it legs with all his “work across the aisle” proclaimations?
Also, if Nancy is willing to lay down the Roberts hating, everyone should be.
“Stephanie Hansen has been “moved on”from Chris Roberts for some time now.”
And I moved on from thinking Stephanie Hansen was working in the public interest sometime earlier than that. Guess what — I get to make my own value judgments on people.
How pathetic that you think it a “Republican game” to pin the baggage she so willingly packed on her. With Democrats like you supporting Democrats like her, I’m sure the resistance to Trump will be fearsome.
” if Nancy is willing to lay down the Roberts hating, everyone should be.”
To each his own. Glad I don’t have to make a choice.
Glad you are back, El Som.
Worth considering:
Unpacking Pot’s Impact in Colorado
Link:
http://www.factcheck.org/2016/08/unpacking-pots-impact-in-colorado/
Bottom line: “Marijuana-related” traffic deaths, hospital visits and school suspensions in Colorado have significantly” increased since legalization, but analysts cannot tell whether or not legal marijuana use is the cause of the increases or, if it is, to what extent.
The bill I introduced last year (and in prior years) to raise the maximum corporate franchise tax cap should be the first order of business. Currently standing at $180,000 per year and used by nearly 2000 of the very richest companies/businesses incorporated in Delaware it saves these wealthy corporations millions of dollars and the expense of having to calculate or pay a department to calculate once you’ve been obligated for the maximum amount. Since 2009 I’ve sponsored such legislation that if increased by $30,000 per year would provide nearly $60 million (for each $30k cap increase) in additional revenue garnered from only the wealthiest companies. These companies (that enjoy using the cap) have allowed that this would not be an undue or unaffordable burden on them. In 2009 the 1700 – 2000 corporations availing themselves of this cap had a minimum stock asset value of over $660 million. I intend to file this legislation again this session with a reasonable cap raise that would max out the corporate franchise tax obligation at $240K per year and that would yield approximately $120 million in revenue that would blunt the $60 million (and counting) loss of revenue due to the “Delaware Competes Act” and the “Delaware Innovation Act” passed in the opening days of last session in a hastily contrived effort to offer more corporate welfare. I believe Rep. Kim Williams and I were the only two votes against these farcical attempts to grow Delaware’s economy and I hope the other 60 legislators are now prepared to recover some of their overly-exuberant generosity toward the wealthiest corporations on the planet.
Representative John Kowalko
Some general observations:
1. Consolidating school districts, to the extent that it is ever revenue positive (and I don’t think it is) would be a 3-5 year project and won’t help with the current budget crisis.
2. The way to make money with marijuana legalization in the immediate near term is to couple it with pardons for all non-violent drug offenders. It is costing Delaware about $35K/inmate per year to keep them incarcerated, and the outpatient treatment/supervision costs of those with significant dependence issues is only about $9K/person per year. There is easily a couple hundred million bucks to be recovered over the next two years by doing that–albeit that’s of course a political bomb to touch.
3. Short of Kevin Ohlandt’s preference for eliminating all corporatized ed reform, which Carney has signaled he’s not going to do with his selection of Susan Bunting as SecEd and considering his personal education adviser, we could at least save about $40-50 million by eliminating all the new offices and positions created with RTTT grant money and now being legacy funded by the State.
Who’s his personal education adviser? And how many positions will that come to? I imagine some of them would save in excess of $100,000 in salary alone.
Also, as much as I like your proposal for pardons, there are relatively few non-violent offenders at any given time. For most of that level offender it’s more a revolving door than a permanent bed, and the savings would, I would hope, be offset by getting all those folks into treatment as well.
@Disappointed: As the full article makes clear, the traffic numbers reflect all toxicology that came back positive for THC. In only 1/3 of the cases was THC the only inebriant involved.
Also, the increase should be viewed against the background data:
https://www.codot.gov/library/traffic/safety-crash-data/fatal-crash-data-city-county/Colorado_Historical_Fatalities_Graphs.pdf
As you can see, the increase ends a period of relative stability in the statistics, but that three-year low point corresponds to the first years of the Great Recession, when driving mileage also dropped. As mileage has increased with low gas prices, so has the death rate.
I wonder why JK wasn’t quoted in that article ? The all tax increases are evil crowd was pretty well represented.
That’s a void we’ll have to fill.
OK, lets start with those 100-200 DOE jobs…you say they are easy to cut, but they are still hanging around after JFC firmly said they wanted them cut. But Markell and DOE kept them all around. I know its only 20 million, but you need to start somewhere!!
I think short term fixes are necessary, but we shouldn’t lose an opportunity to make changes that will make a longer term impact, like improving schools and supporting the creation/maintenance of vibrant downtown areas, whether in Wilmington or Milford or Laurel, so that people want to live in Delaware, we can attract smart people to Delaware, and some of them can run for elected office. 🙂
Creating new tax brackets, raising corporate taxes and the like should certainly be on the table. Sales tax, maybe not so much. It is just too ingrained in our state culture.
Nobody has mentioned county and municipal taxes, and I think we are missing a serious part of the story. Property taxes (not school taxes, mind you) are extremely low in Delaware – why? Mostly because the state provides the services that are provided by counties and townships in other states, like road maintenance, drainage projects, parks, police etc. Sussex County sucks up millions of state dollars every year for roadway improvements and drainage projects, many which are necessary only because of the horrific way Sussex has chosen to develop. If local governments bore the responsibility to fix the problems they themselves created, they would likely make better choices, and the rest of the state wouldn’t have to throw cash at them. The state also spends a fair amount of money helping small municipalities continue to exist. Time to trade in their charters and let them be a civic association instead?
How about a carbon tax, a portion of which could pay for economic incentives to attract green industries to Delaware, like wind turbine manufacturing.
I also just saw something about a right to die bill. I fully support this for humanitarian reasons. I will somewhat reluctantly add that allowing individuals to choose how to live and die could eventually save money the state spends on health insurance for its employees, retirees and medicaid recipients. I feel icky saying it, but the economic argument may help bolster the humanitarian argument.
Yes to weed, taxes on weed and reducing our prison populations (but increasing services to make sure those who have done time can stay out of jail, be supported in the community and have productive and fulfilling lives)
Common sense reforms to the state merit system. I don’t have enough space here, but long story short – the state could likely accomplish more than it does today with less people if they were allowed more flexibility with pay and job classifications, could get rid of the dead weight, and could attract talent.
That’s enough ideas for now — if we could do just one of these things I would be over the moon.
The Republicans will control either 10 or 11 seats in the Senate come June 30…..they will not pass a budget that does not contain major spending cuts. It can’t be all tax increases. The state has been ‘kicking the can’ for too many years now. They have been patching budgets with found dollars and one time money.
Will be a rough year!
We’ve been cutting, cutting cutting. It can’t be all cuts. Except I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s all it can be w/Carney.
As to county and/or municipal services, I have little doubt that the state will try to toss some of that back to those venues. Which is simply getting someone else to pass the increases that the state won’t do. And you can bet that those least able to afford it will either experience service cuts or tax increases.
BTW, you can also bet that state subsidizing Sussex County police services WON’T be one of the items cut.
“Cutting” at this point is going to mean eliminating services and whole programs. There is zero surplus state staff just standing around – it’s been cut to the bone over the last eight years. I have zero confidence in the GA making those kinds of tough decisions and facing angry constituencies. It’ll be up to Carney.
Exactly. We gave corporations something like $60 mill in corporate welfare last year. Rushed the legislation through in January lest anyone look too closely at it.
Here we are a year later, and the same people who helped blow an additional $60 mill hole in the budget dismiss any possibility of raising revenues.
Tell me again why it matters who controls the government when the Chamber calls the tune. To me, it doesn’t.
Hello all,
More than a lurker now, given President-elect. Going to DC on 1/21 on bus in Sussex w/Women as is easiest way for me to get there. I’m paying more attention now to DE and national politics but must be careful as I’m employed in government.
DE Native
Welcome Elaine. All hands on deck.
Welcome back El Som. My father owned a packaged liquor store in Arizona before they opened it up to groceries. The grocery stores keep prices artificially low until they drove the small owners out of business, then they raised prices substantially.
I feel property taxes are too low because large swaths of land are held by major Delaware families. This should stop.
I worked in education before retiring, and I was astounded at how much money the voch-tec schools had because of their make work employees who also were in the legislature in Dover. Don’t know if this still goes on.
Bunting was the superintendent of a district with money problems and loose accounting, so she seems like an unlikely character to impose cuts in education, especially in Dover.
There is no question, none, that we need a statewide property reassessment. Problem being, of course, that no one has the political courage to push for it. As you pointed out, that inequity has been going on for several decades.
I also agree that someone needs to take a cold hard look at the vo-techs. I think most of those ‘make-work’ political appointees are gone, so maybe the Joint Sunset Committee will review them. It would also be nice to have an Auditor who actually did something. But, we don’t.
We should also do the same regarding Del-Tech, but that is an ongoing cesspool of political corruption with several legislators, past and present, on the payroll. And a political hack serving as its president.
My experience is that the mom and pop liquor stores charge the same as the grocery stores, and the larger players like Total wine undercut them both by about a dollar say per bottle of wine, case of light, bottle of liquor, or six pack of craft. That said, I can pick up a four of DFH90 at the local grocer for less than I paid in DE and perhaps that is where the competition comes in.
Let’s start at the very top. The Governor of Delaware is the 8th highest paid in the nation.
“I feel property taxes are too low because large swaths of land are held by major Delaware families. This should stop.”
Ding, ding, ding. Good perspective and apt.
Here’s my suggestions:
(1) Make Delaware a Sanctuary State. Call it the “FU Donald Drumpf Law”. Unlimited immigrants and refugees welcome – no paperwork required. Model this on what Angela Merkel did with Germany.
(2) Make Delaware a hate-free state. Communities all over the US are saying no to hate. Here is one example:
“RESOLUTION DECLARING HOLYOKE’S COMMITMENT TO BEING A SAFE AND ACCEPTING COMMUNITY
WHEREAS,
the Holyoke City Council has asserted that the City
of Holyoke does not tolerate hate crimes and other
expressions of hate, such as in its April 2016 Resolution
“Affirming the City of Holyoke’s Commitment to Civil
Rights and Ensuring Equity for All People in Holyoke
and Beyond”; this April 2016 Resolution included language
such as: “Basic concepts of human and civil rights
dictate that discrimination based on gender identity
and/or sexual orientation is inherently wrong; and
“The City of Holyoke acknowledges, respects, and values
the diversity of its community”; and
WHEREAS,
the Holyoke City Council believes in the rights of
all people to lead lives of peace and dignity free
from fear, harassment, and violence; and
WHEREAS,
the Holyoke City Council is adamantly committed to
protecting this community’s residents from racist,
Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, homophobic,
transphobic, anti-immigrant, and anti-refugee sentiments
and acts and all other targeting of residents based
on their identities or perceived identities; and
WHEREAS,
the Holyoke City Council stands in strong opposition
to the authoritarianism, policies, and rhetoric that
engender hatred; and
WHEREAS, the City of Holyoke
supports respect for civil and human rights and recognizes
that pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948, Article
3, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security
of person” and Article 5, “No one shall be subjected
to…degrading treatment;”
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
that the City Council of Holyoke, Massachusetts redoubles
its commitment to the values of freedom, justice,
and equality that bind us as a community, and to protecting
those whose security and well-being may be threatened
in the current political and social climate.
BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED that we stand in solidarity with,
and advocate for the civil liberties and human rights
of, every resident of Holyoke regardless of race,
ethnicity, religion, sexual and gender identity, national
origin, or citizenship and immigration status.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we recommit to working towards
a community, country, and world that are non-discriminatory,
welcoming, just, inclusive, and pluralistic.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we vehemently condemn acts
of vandalism, harassment, and violence that express
hatred towards members of our community and beyond;
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Holyoke is a
hate-free zone in which hate crimes and discriminatory
actions will not be tolerated.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that we call upon all members of our community to
engage in positive community-building and take the
necessary and courageous steps to prevent and respond
to discrimination and hatred whenever and wherever
they see it.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we are committed
to holding our state and federal leaders accountable
to the values and commitments expressed in this resolution.”
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/12/hate-free_zone_resolution_faci.html
(3) Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Some of the toughest, most challenging jobs pay the least. It’s time we forced companies to pay people what they are worth. The American dream should not be achieved by forcing your employees to live in poverty – you pay them a living salary. Zero tolerance for worker exploitation.
(4) Slavery Reparations for African Americans. The outgoing governor showed the courage to stand up to critics and to apologize for the African slave trade. The apology, though well-intended, is completely meaningless if not attached to productive reforms to help the African American community overcome the lasting legacy of slavery, colonization, segregation, Apartheid, lynchings, police brutality, institutional racism, etc. First and foremost would be financial reparations.
I would use a simple formula: What is the total collective value of the labor African Americans performed during slavery in DE? Put that value in 2017 dollars and divide by total number of African Americans in DE today. For example, if the average African American in DE did $1 million (2017 dollars) in labor during his lifetime for which he was never compensated and there are four times as many African Americans in DE than there were on average during slavery, each African American living in DE would get a tax-free check for $250,000.
As the first state, this could be a blueprint for other states to follow.
To finance this, I would propose additional taxes on the very wealthy (some of whom got wealthy inheriting money that benefitted from the slave trade). A person only needs a certain amount of money to live and above a certain level, it just gets gluttonous. It’s not a “crime” to be wealthy in Delaware. In fact, we want to attract wealthy successful people who can build businesses and create jobs. You just can’t be greedy and take all the money for yourself.
(5) Provide tax incentives to help convert old, unused churches into mosques. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the US. Sadly though, so is rampant Islamophobia. As Donald Drumpf plans to crack down on Muslims nationally, make Muslims feel welcome in our state and the number one way is to provide for them more places of worship.
I would also teach Islam is school so children can learn at a young age about other cultures.
@Modern Progressive–I can’t decide if some of these are a joke, or just a representation of still being in shock at losing the election.
What is the total collective value of the labor African Americans performed during slavery in DE? Put that value in 2017 dollars and divide by total number of African Americans in DE today. For example, if the average African American in DE did $1 million (2017 dollars) in labor during his lifetime for which he was never compensated…
I’m hoping you realize that there’s not any actual way to calculate something like that, and that this sort of meaningless hyperbolic exercise gets in the way of actually figuring out how to, say, keep public education or Medicaid from imploding in the current budget crisis, or defending the Coastal Zone Act, or fixing our highways, or cleaning our rivers and streams.
As for this–Provide tax incentives to help convert old, unused churches into mosques. is not only a violation of the separation of church and state, it’s a kind of bizarre paternalism that presupposes our Islamic citizens cannot do what citizens adhering to all other religions before them have done, and establish their own houses of worship. Indeed, they have.
I’m really hoping this is all just hyperbole driven by traumatic angst, because it doesn’t really have jackshit to do with the challenges we are facing in Delaware today.