Budget for All!

When: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Where: Massachusetts State House • 24 Beacon St., Boston • Park Street (T)

Visit your state legislators about the Budget for All Referendum. We will explain the Referendum to them and ask for their support.

Can you make it? RSVP at info@masspeaceaction.org or call Cole at 617-466-9274. We'll meet for a briefing at 11:00 at the sandwich shop on the 4th floor of the State House, then divide up to visit various offices. (Allow for time to go through security)

Make an appointment with your Senator and/or Representative for anytime July 25! State House number: 617-722-2000. Be sure to let us know the office and time so we can add it to the master schedule.

July 18, 2012 - http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/press-releases/cpc-commits-to-deal-for-all...

Washington, D.C. - Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) today led 39 CPC members in introducing the Deal for All. The Deal for All presents the Caucus’ basic principles for resolving tax and budget issues Congress will need to address after the November election, and will serve as a framework for progressives during the negotiations.

The Deal for All resolution, which additional Members will cosponsor through the end of the year, advocates four key policies that have built the middle class and expanded the nation’s economy:

• No cuts to benefits for millions of seniors, children, and disabled Americans who depend on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
• Improvements in our tax code so the richest 2 percent contribute their fair share and an end to corporate loopholes for companies that ship American jobs overseas and avoid paying taxes
• Strategic cuts to defense spending and a focus on combating twenty-first century risks
• Investments in America’s future that put Americans back to work

by Joseph Gerson - published by Truthout

Question to Rev. Ulises Torres (former tortured Chilean political prisoner): "When do you know if you have a military government?"

Answer: "Look at your national budget."

Like a crack addict reaching for the next hit, unable to envision or take steps toward a regimen of health, too many of our political leaders are embracing their roles as hostages of what President Eisenhower termed the military-industrial complex. Nationally, Lockheed-Martin and other weapons manufacturers have threatened to put an election year political gun to Congress' head. They've announced that they will have to send layoff notices to all of their employees unless Congress reneges on the Budget Control Act of 2011, which would cut roughly 12 percent of the Pentagon's gargantuan budget over the next decade. They haven't expressed similar concern over the act's $600 billion to be slashed from essential and already underfunded social services.

The Budget for All will be on the ballots of some 1,016,250 people, or 33.9% of the state's voters!

We are definitely on the ballot in 13 districts which will reach 446,000 voters. We think we're on the ballot in 20 more districts which will reach an additional 570,000 voters. We might be on the ballot in 2 more districts reaching 37,500 more voters.

District by District Status

Now that the July 3 deadline to turn in signatures to towns has passed, here's the district by district status as far as we know. (Please send additional information about your district to Cole Harrison (cole@masspeaceaction.org) or Paul Shannon (pshannon@afsc.org).

A) Definitely on ballot

The Secretary of State's office has accepted certified signatures and confirmed in writing that we will be on the ballot in:

Senate districts:

First Suffolk (Hart) [ Dorchester ]
First Middlesex & Norfolk (Creem) [ Brookline, Newton, part of Wellesley ]
Second Middlesex (Jehlen) [ Somerville, Medford, Winchester, north and west Cambridge ]
Norfolk & Suffolk (Rush) [ Roslindale, West Roxbury, Dedham, Dover, Needham, Norwood, Westwood ]

House districts:

9th Middlesex (Stanley) [ part of Waltham, Lincoln ]
10th Middlesex (Lawn) [ parts of Watertown, Waltham and Newton ]
23rd Middlesex [ parts of Arlington & Medford ]
24th Middlesex [ Belmont; parts of Arlington and north Cambridge ]
29th Middlesex (Hecht) [ parts of Watertown and Cambridge ]
32nd Middlesex (Clark) [ Melrose, parts of Malden & Wakefield ]
7th Norfolk (Timilty) [ most of Milton and Randolph ]
8th Plymouth [ Bridgewater, Raynham ]
5th Essex (Ferranti) [ Gloucester, Rockport, Essex ]

The Budget for All referendum coalition of over 30 peace, community, and labor organizations is pleased to announce that we have collected enough signatures to put the question on the ballot in 6 state Senate districts and 17 state House districts.

That will allow some 769,000 Massachusetts voters to say yes or no on the question on November 6!

The Budget for All sends a message to Washington to bring the troops home from Afghanistan now, cut military spending, preserve benefits and services ordinary people depend on, create jobs, and tax those who can afford it.   The Congressional Progressive Caucus' Budget for All got 78 votes in March, including those of 5 of Massachusetts' 10 members of the House of Representatives.  But 5 of our Congress members voted against it.  Can we mobilize a strong enough coalition to turn those 5 votes around?

With 4 days to go until the deadline this coming Tuesday, we have 2 more Senate districts and 11 more House districts hanging on the brink.  With a final push we can complete signature gathering for those districts, too -- allowing an additional 356,000 Massachusetts voters to consider the question, and bringing the total number of votes that will be cast on it past the 1 million mark.  This message will tell you how we can do it -- with your help!

This message is a general appeal for 2 hours of your time this weekend or next week from the American Friends Service Committee, Mass. Peace Action, the Right to the City Civic Action Alliance and 20 other peace, labor and community groups – the sponsors of the statewide “Budget for All” statewide referendum campaign. (www.budget4allmass.org)

Somerville/Medford (Jehlen senate district)

Sofia Wolman: Eric and I have been committing a lot of time to Jehlen's district, mainly at the Shaw's in Porter Square. We each get about 10-15 signatures/hour there. We're going out now for another go at it. We were going to go to the Davis Square market, but the rain is keeping us away. Paul has our sheets so I've sort of lost track of where we're at, but I feel good that we'll make the 1200.

Today the secretary of state certified in writing that our referendum will be “on ballot unless otherwise notified” in the 2 Arlington districts – the 23rd and 24th Middlesex state rep districts. That's about 37,500 voters who will have the opportunity to support the Budget for All in November!

Congratulations to the Arlington volunteers for being the first to get the job completed. Hopefully it’s the first of many pieces of good news.

Four districts are finished! The two Arlington State Rep districts, 23d and 24th Middlesex (one of which also includes Belmont) are completely ready to file. The Senate districts in Newton/Brookline and Roslindale/West Roxbury/Dedham are essentially done and awaiting city/town certification. In those places we no longer need more signatures.

Congratulations to the Arlington 25% Campaign, Arlington UJP, Occupy Arlington, and their supporters (coordinated by Barbara Boltz); Mass Occupy/Brookline (coordinated by Frank Farlow and David Klafter); Newton Dialogues on Peace & War (coordinated by Ann Glick with star signature-collector Eileen Kurkoski), and Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants (coordinated by Michael Kane with star collectors Molly Hannon and Elaine Ruff)! These groups have shown us how to get it done -- let's follow suit!

We have three weeks to go to finish the rest of our districts. Here are reports from around the state.

Maryellen Kurkulos, Fall River

6/6: While there are three districts in Fall River, one (the 8th) which spills out to encompass all of Westport, we are concentrating on D7 and possibly D6. I have an interested Westport resident but I'm hoping to recruit her to work with us in D7. We start at Price Rite tomorrow, are attending 2 farmers markets this week as well as going door to door in some low income neighborhoods. Aiming for 100 signatures.

Sunny Robinson, Gloucester

6/7: We are coming along just fine here on Cape Ann. Getting signatures without too much difficulty. Will try to get a partial count for a Sat. update. Here in Gloucester we have turned in some sigs for verification and can get them back this afternoon, so we have a sense of how we are doing. Will get Rockport update tomorrow evening, thus a Sat. update.

I am sure others will have the same response as I to the comments of the concern from Marblehead etc. re the last item in the petition being a concern for the ballot. That item being the heart of the matter, this feedback I believe speaks to the need to be writing a really clear piece for the voter info booklet and developing materials that we all can use in our regions for a positive get out the vote campaign.

Updated July 2, 8am

The Jehlen and Petruccelli districts are DONE! The only Cambridge district that needs more signatures is DiDomenico's. We are getting close but still not there!