Legislators can raise revenue next week, but will they?

After nearly 6 weeks since passing the budget, New York’s lawmakers are returning to work on Tuesday. The legislature is expected to take up bills focused on the coronavirus pandemic. But, State Legislators have no plans to pass revenue-raising bills like taxing the ultra rich — the single most important thing that New York could do immediately to protect our communities. Tell your State Legislators and Senate and Assembly leadership that raising revenues MUST be the first item on their agenda on Tuesday. Send an email now!

Nothing can prepare New York for recovery from this crisis the way that raising revenues can. As the epicenter of the pandemic, New York’s communities are hurting, and it’s our Black, Brown and low-income communities that are hurting the most. Failing to act now will set us back decades, baking the pandemic’s inequitable impacts into the fabric of our society, yet again failing our Black, Brown and low-income children.

We have to keep up the pressure until state leaders pass revenue raising bills to protect New Yorkers!

To stave off the worst outcomes of this crisis, New York needs to be proactively finding ways to invest more than ever before in our communities. We need funding for public schools so they can meet the needs of students. We need to expand access to healthcare, protect tenants and sick leave for all workers. The ultra rich can more than afford to pay a little more to make this and so much more possible. We cannot move forward without bold action from our leaders to raise taxes on multi-millionaires and billionaires, so that our hardest-hit communities have a chance.

Send an email to your State Legislators and Senate and Assembly leadership, and tell them that raising revenues on millionaires and billionaires must be the first item on their agenda when session resumes.