FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 2, 2010
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-287-0575 work ▪ 651-357-8544 cell                  click here for PDF

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNION OFFERS A BETTER BUDGET FIX
Save Jobs and Services with Fair Taxes on the Rich

With today’s forecast that Minnesota’s budget deficit will be $5.8 billion for the next two-year cycle, AFSCME Council 5 called on the Legislature to raise revenue fairly.

“How we respond to the recession will define who we are as a people,” said Eliot Seide, director of AFSCME Council 5. “We can fix the budget with fairness and compassion if we ask the richest Minnesotans to pay their fair share of income taxes. It’s simply wrong to continue shifting their burden onto the middle class, the jobless and the vulnerable.”

The impact of “no new taxes” since Gov. Pawlenty took office in 2003:

• The average household pays a greater share of income on state and local taxes.
  12.8% now
  11.4% in 2002               Source: MN Dept. of Revenue “2009 Tax Incidence Study”
  
• Meanwhile, the richest 1 percent of households pays a lesser share of income.
  8.8% now
  9.0% in 2002                 Source: MN Dept. of Revenue “2009 Tax Incidence Study”
  
• Median household income has dropped.
  $57,288 now
  $65,371 in 2002            Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey
  
• Average household income of the richest 1 percent has doubled.
  $68,863,833 now
  $27,551,649 in 2002     Source: MN Dept. of Revenue “2009 Tax Incidence Study”
  
  AFSCME Council 5 is a union of 43,000 workers who advocate for excellence in public services, dignity in the workplace, and opportunity and prosperity for all working families.
  
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