The Debt Collective, a national union of debtors, will be joining our next GM, Thursday evening, 9/8, 7:00 p.m. at ArtRage Gallery (and online), to address debt and related topics like inflation! We’ll also be organizing for our 10/1 protest centered on housing and county budget priorities. We hope to see you there!

Check out our recording on our youtube channel here

The post Debt Collective @ 9/8/22 General Meeting appeared first on Syracuse DSA.

Through Amazonians United, Starbucks Workers United, and many other nontraditional sites of struggle, the hope and promise of the labor movement hasn't felt this strong in decades.

In the late 1970s, Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee was wrongly charged, and eventually convicted, with two counts of murder by the San Francisco District Attorney's office. The conviction set off an international and multiracial movement that challenged the injustices and malignancies of the US legal system.

The District's lack of autonomy leaves its 700,000 residents vulnerable to the political right's misogynistic machinations.

The Supreme Court's recent ruling in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta is one of the latest developments in Native Americans' longstanding struggles against American colonialism.

Last Tuesday New York State held its second primary of the summer and New York City voters are sending another socialist senator to Albany. DSA endorsed candidate Kristen Gonzalez trounced Elizabeth Crowley winning the democratic primary in the newly formed Senate District 59, which includes portions of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. We were at Kristen’s victory party in Long Island City and will share some sounds from the ground. And we are joined live tonight by former New York City Council candidate and NewsGuild of New York organizer, Brandon West. We’ll talk about the significance of Kristen’s win and the results of two other Brooklyn Senate races - Jabari Brisport’s run for re-election and David Alexis' challenge of Senator Kevin Parker in Flatbush. 

Jack Devine also speaks with Nic, a fellow PSC union member, about the year ahead for thousands of teachers organizing for a more just CUNY. 

On May 4, 2021 Raleigh City Council approved a tax increment grant (TIG) policy which will allow City Council to grant up to 2% of the citywide annual property tax valuation (currently estimated to be $5 million) in tax breaks to private developers. City Council approved this policy on a 7-1 vote (Cox opposed; Baldwin, Stewart, Melton, Knight, Branch, Forte, and Buffkin in favor)(1).

How it works:

The tax increment grant policy will be allocated on a case-by-case basis by Raleigh City Council, like how rezonings must be approved/denied by City Council. When a property is developed, there is typically a corresponding increase in the value of the property, which will subsequently result in an increase of property taxes owed. However, if a specific development is approved for a tax increment grant, the developer will only pay taxes on the valuation of the property prior to development; any increase in property value because of the property being developed is not taxed. So, while there is not a decrease in the net amount of tax revenue, the city government is leaving future tax revenue on the table (2).

Why it matters:

Given that property tax increases typically occur on an annual basis, this policy effectively allows city government to require ordinary residents of all income levels to pay more property taxes, while allowing high income developers to pay less. This policy shifts the tax burden from real estate developers (typically run by very wealthy individuals that make campaign contributions to city council candidates (3)) to the average homeowner. Though homeowners are directly impacted by the annual increase in property taxes, tenants are indirectly impacted as increases in property taxes are passed on to tenants. This means the city government is specifically choosing to take money from working-class people to give handouts to their wealthy developer backers. If the city were to tax the full property valuation of a development instead of granting a tax break via the TIG policy, the need to increase property taxes on average homeowners and tenants would be decreased.

So why is this policy being implemented?

City government claims that this TIG policy is a tool that can help secure more community benefits from private developers which may include affordable housing, upgrades to infrastructure, or park amenities. However, for-profit entities must protect their profit margins, meaning that any community benefits provided will be a fraction of the value that could have been obtained if the full valuation of the property development were taxed. Further, many development projects seek to rezone their piece of property for increased density, meaning City Council can ask that certain conditions (community benefits such as affordable housing, upgrades to infrastructure, or park amenities) be met for the rezoning to be approved. Many members of the current Raleigh City Council claim that they are not allowed to ask for community benefits in exchange for a rezoning approval, but this is terribly misleading as they are under no obligation to approve any rezoning either. We suspect the true reason this policy is being implemented is to further encourage development by subsidizing the profit margins of private developers. At a time when the economic fortunes of ordinary working-class people are being battered, this perverse policy that Raleigh City Council is implementing would increase the difficulties for working-class people in order to make wealthy developers even richer.

Development must address the housing and transportation needs of residents equitably

Development of Raleigh is essential if we are to meet the housing, transportation, and utility needs of residents. However, it is vital that development occurs in an equitable and democratic manner. This TIG policy falls short of that standard because the shifting of the tax burden from wealthy private developers to all other residents of the city is reminiscent of a regressive tax structure in which low-income people pay higher tax rates. A better strategy regarding development would be to tax the full valuation of private developments to fund other public services such as permanent free bus fare (see Fare Free Forever), quality public housing, commuter light rail, and preservation of natural resources like the Neuse River Basin. For the Raleigh City Council to continue along the current path is a clear declaration of which side they stand on: against workers and ordinary Raleigh residents and with the wealthy developers that pay for their campaigns. We deserve better and must come together to fight for municipal governments that actually represent the will of the people, not just the ultra-rich. Learn how you can join in this fight at dsanc.org.

Sources:

1. http://go.boarddocs.com/nc/raleigh/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BWZ3V3822FDD

2. https://raleighnc.gov/zoning-planning-and-development/tax-increment-grant

3. https://indyweek.com/news/wake/everything-you-need-to-know-money-race-raleigh-city-council/

Debt organizers have vowed to continue the fight.

Earlier this month, voters in the state of Kansas roundly rejected the so-called “Value them Both” measure, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have laid the groundwork for a complete abortion ban in the future. This measure, pushed by extremist anti-abortion lobbies, was defeated in a 59-41% result by the voters of Kansas. Tonight, we’re speaking to Melinda, an organizer with Lawrence DSA and chair of the PAC Vote No Kansas, and Dr. Russell Fox, professor of political science at Friends University in Wichita, on the organizing that successfully defeated this ballot measure. We will also hear from Alyssa, an organizer with Reproductive Justice Collective here in NYC, on the right-wing rise in the courts and the impact of groups like the Federalist Society.

 

Learn more about Lawrence DSA's successful campaign Vote No Kansas on Monday, August 29: https://actionnetwork.org/events/how-we-beat-kansas-anti-abortion-ballot-measure-a-campaign-debrief-w-lawrence-dsa

 

Follow Reproductive Justice Collective on Instagram at @reprojusticecollective. 

Milt Tambor, a life-long democratic socialist and trade unionist and the founder of Atlanta DSA, died August 23 in Dunwoody, Georgia at age 84. Born in 1938 to a Jewish family on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Milt was an active trade unionist and democratic socialist for over fifty years. He earned a Hebrew Teachers degree from Yeshiva University in 1957. Milt then went to Wayne State University in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where he completed his BA in Psychology. While working at the Jeffries Housing Project and Dodge Community House, where he fought against school and housing segregation in Detroit, Milt also earned a Master in Social Work degree at Wayne State.

After graduation, he stayed in Detroit to organize youth programming at the local Jewish Community Center. He then became Director of the UAW Retired Workers Center where he became involved in his staff union by volunteering on their local bargaining committee. In 1968 he became President of AFSCME Local 1640, a post he held for 10 years, during which he led a strike of 500 workers. During his years at Michigan AFSCME, Milt became a founding member of the Detroit New American Movement, and later joined DSA during the 1982 merger of NAM with the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee. He then returned to Wayne State University and earned a PhD in Sociology in 1991, with a dissertation on bargaining with non-profit agencies.

After over 35 years with Michigan AFSCME, first as a local president and later as a staff representative and labor educator, Milt retired and moved to Atlanta with his wife Linda Lieberman. In 2006, as part of an effort to organize a fundraiser for Bernie Sanders’ senatorial campaign, Milt brought together local DSA members and progressives to establish the Metro Atlanta DSA. Over the next decade, he served as chair of our chapter through a wide variety of different campaigns and fights for democracy and equality. Whether it was opposing the Iraq War, supporting local labor unions, fighting foreclosures during the Great Recession, or marching for civil rights, Milt was always present and taking up a leading role. He was instrumental in rooting our organization in the workplace and community struggles of poor and working class Atlantans, using tactics from public education, to electoral organizing, to direct action.

Milt Tambor was a long-distance runner for Democratic Socialism. You can read more about Milt’s life and work in his memoir A Democratic Socialist’s Fifty Year Adventure or read the final chapter A History of Atlanta DSA. In addition to his wife, Linda, he is survived by his two sons, Alex and Jonah and a host of grandchildren and extended family. The funeral will be held at 4:30 pm this Friday, August 26th at Temple Sinai at 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs, GA 30327 if anyone wants to come to pay respects.