Guest Blog: Tovah & Save Our Saftey Net

Hi Team! You're in for a treat today. My lovely (tall and Minnesotan) friend, Tovah P. (pictured at right along with yours truly and our friend Gina E.) has prepared an extra tasty guest post for you. Tovah was mentioned in my Minnesota Mornings post and is really fabulous. (She is so great at writing inspiring notes that I have the birthday card she wrote for me last year still on my fridge. Come over for a snack one day and you can read it for yourself!) And now, here's Tovah!

Hello Wild and Crazy Pearl readers,

Emily has been kind enough to let me write a guest post for her blog -- I hope I live up to your high standards! Emily and I go back about six years when I strolled into a Voices for Choices [the pro-choice student organization that Emily started when she was a tiny wild and crazy pearlette back in 2001] meeting at The George Washington University. Little did I know that one meeting, led by Emily Goodstein, would change me from a rather reserved (well, kind of) English student to a loud, probably annoying activist. Emily got me started down the activism route, and so it is fitting that my guest post be a call to action…and here we go:

D.C. Residents –do you see your safety net falling away?

What safety net, you ask?
The safety net that is in place to protect Washington, D.C.’s low-income residents. The safety net that provides for affordable housing, adult literacy training, childcare vouchers, homeless services, disability services, protection from domestic violence, and the list goes on. The safety net that has already been cut by $100 million dollars and is at risk of being slashed even further as Mayor Fenty puts together his 2011 budget.

What if I don’t use any of those services?
My guess is that most of you Wild and Crazy Pearl readers wouldn’t ask this question, but I will suggest one reason why it doesn’t matter if you rely on social services or not. A healthy community is one where everyone is given an equal opportunity to succeed. Without vital social services like job training and assistance for the disabled, our community will not be a healthy one. What’s more, while you may not need food stamps or subsidized housing, your friends or neighbors might. Let’s all watch out for each other.

Well, what can I do?
A-ha! I thought you would never ask! I have gotten involved with a fast-paced and urgent grassroots campaign called Save Our Safety Net.

This is what SOS is proposing:

In Washington, DC, the highest tax bracket is $40,000 and above. That means those who make $40,000 and those who make $2 million are being taxed the same. SOS is proposing that the City Council create a 4th tax bracket for those who make $200,000 or more. By just taxing those people a minimal amount more (probably less than 1%), about $50 million can be generated -- that money could go a long way in ensuring our safety net programs stay intact.

What You Can Do Right Now?
Mayor Fenty will release his budget proposal to the City Council on April 1st. As he puts the finishing touches on his budget, we want to make sure he knows that his citizens are watching him and are demanding that he provide protection for crucial safety net program. Click here to sign the Save Our Safety Net petition and tell Mayor Fenty we want our safety net protected.

If you are interested in hearing more about Save Our Safety Net, want to get involved in talking to your Ward council member, or want to attend a SOS event, you can contact me at tovpent@gmail.com and I will put you in touch with the right people. Thanks for your time!