In her proposed #FY27 budget, Mayor Bowser is again asking those with the least to sacrifice the most in a time of rising prices and economic constraint.
Read more about the mayor's budget proposal (and what we think DC should do instead!) here: https://loom.ly/OjGj4FI
ACTION ALERT
Join us in contacting the DC Council & urging them to implement a wealth proceeds tax to raise revenue & improve tax fairness.
Taxing the proceeds generated from wealth is a simple way for DC to help struggling residents.
✉️: https://loom.ly/G2CvHuc
This is your tax day reminder that the top 5% of DC families pay a lower share of their income in taxes than the bottom 95% combined.
Learn more about why we need to be taxing wealth: https://loom.ly/nLPyNl0
So, you heard the Mayor's budget dropped. Now what?
We really enjoyed reading this budget breakdown from @dcfpi.bsky.social that helps residents more easily understand DC's complex budget process:
dcfpi.org/all/a-reside...
#WeGotUsDC
DC residents deserve a budget that shores up revenue so that the District can keep up with the rising costs of providing supports & services. Projections show that Local Fund revenue could drop below the trend over the past 2 1/2 decades.
Read more: https://loom.ly/BEDRZbw
There are undoubtedly more damaging cuts in this budget that we’ll uncover in the days ahead, but from the first look, we are highly disappointed.
Yet the strategy laid out by the mayors team slashes all of this and invests instead in more property tax abatements and other things unlikely to strengthen the economy or improve residents’ lives.
Ensuring public employees are well paid helps us retain a quality workforce, and that means better quality services, which makes people more likely to want to live here.
We also know that paid leave is imperative for a strong economy. And employers aren’t paying the payroll tax to plug budget holes. It means a real benefit to their workers who are then more reliable and healthy and productive.
Child care facilities are businesses that contribute to our economy. Early educators they employ do as well. And we all know QUALITY child care is key for parents being able to work and improving kids’ outcomes.
Today’s budget proposal defies logic. Tearing down the pay equity fund, slashing our sustainably funded paid leave program, suppressing public employee pay, among other damaging cuts, all work against economic growth.
What actually makes the economy strong & inclusive is investing in the workers who power the economy. The mayor's proposed budget gives workers the short end of the stick inc. cutting paid leave for medical needs and slashing Pay Equity Fund for childcare workers.
🏛️ The schedule for FY27 budget oversight hearings is live!
These hearings are how we make sure our community’s priorities are seen, heard, and funded. When neighbors show up and testify, our voice is better reflected in the final budget.
Sign up: ➡️ dccouncil.gov/hearings
Today, the mayor presented her proposed #FY27 budget.
DCFPI Executive Director, Erica Williams, shared: "As-is, the mayor’s proposed budget will harm vulnerable residents and exacerbate racial inequities while squandering DC’s limited resources on corporate giveaways."
“We all agree that revenue is slowing down and that we can’t raise enough revenue to get us out of this mess. We can’t cut programs to get out of the mess. We have to take a both-and approach," said @tazramitchell.bsky.social
https://loom.ly/ij6aXMw
We’re proud to be a part of this month’s Candidate Forums on The Future of Safety & Justice in DC!
📅 April 28 — Mayoral Candidate Forum
UDC Student Center, 4200 Connecticut Ave NW
📅 April 30— Congressional Delegate Candidate Forum
THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave SE
RSVP: bit.ly/CandidateForumsDC
• DC voters strongly favor fully funding the Child Care Subsidy Program and the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. The Child Care Subsidy Program - 72% favor, 50% strongly favor. • The Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund - 69% favor, 46% strongly favor. • Voters think both bringing down the costs of child care for families and raising wages for child care and early education educators and teachers should be priorities for the DC government (83% and 79% a priority, respectively). • Three-quarters (74%) of DC voters strongly or somewhat support increasing public investment in child care to lower the cost of child care to ensure no residents pay more than 7% of their income for care, and about half (53%) strongly support this proposal. • To fund the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund and the Child Care Subsidy Program, DC voters support raising taxes on the passive income of wealthy residents (73% total support, 51% strongly support) and raising taxes on the wealth held by families in the top 5% of incomes (76% total support, 48% strongly support). DC voters also support a 2% business activity tax (BAT) on certain businesses and corporations operating in DC (74% total support, 58% strongly support) to fund the child care programs described in the survey. However, voters need an explanation of what a BAT entails; without an explanation, only 43% of voters
With big cuts almost certainly coming to childcare programs in Bowser’s budget, @dcfpi.bsky.social and other advocates paid for polling on the issue. They found big majorities support these programs AND would support tax increases to pay for them (like the much-discussed business activity tax)
Like current federal policy shifts on health care for immigrants, the new, drastic cutbacks to the Alliance are part of a long, racist history of restrictions on immigrant access to public benefits. Read more in our latest report: https://loom.ly/HEi-6R4
📣Action Alert 📣
DC announced a child care subsidy “waitlist.” In reality, it is an enrollment freeze. DC’s child care system is being pushed to a breaking point.
Email District leaders now & tell them to stop the subsidy enrollment freeze & fix DC’s child care crisis.
https://loom.ly/7vSzm8Q
The new website allows users to visit author pages & makes Spanish-language resources more accessible. We can’t wait for you to explore dcfpi.org & discover info about how to end racialized poverty and inequality in DC & build an economy that works for everyone
To celebrate, we launched a new website at dcfpi.org to further our efforts as a resource on tax, budget, and policy that advances racial justice in the District.
This year, DCFPI celebrates 25 years of research & analysis that creates a pathway to winning progressive policy & a racially-just DC. We are building an evidence base for bold, people-centered solutions that grow the economy from the bottom up & middle out.
Thank you to @51st.news for the coverage of the devastating cuts to healthcare, which impact the most vulnerable D.C. residents.
If you're fired up about getting care restored, sign our petition to Keep DC Healthy: actionnetwork.org/petitions/st...
51st.news/dc-healthcar...
“D.C.’s budget is taking a significant hit, largely because federal layoffs’ impact on D.C.’s revenue,” Shira Markoff, director of economic policy at DCFPI, told TPM. “This has severely impacted the income supports and services that help low-income residents make ends meet.”
https://loom.ly/j05Nj3s
Find out more about how the Trump administration’s actions are harming DC’s economy and exacerbating racial disparities in @dcfpi.bsky.social's new report: loom.ly/8j1UpYM (5/5)
Federal cuts are likely sending DC into downturn just as both fed and DC gov’ts are cutting critical supports that help residents—especially Black and Latino families—weather financial crises, such as SNAP, TANF & Health Care Alliance (4/5)
(3/5) Trump’s deportation agenda threatens DC’s economy - immigrants are essential in caring for residents’ health, building homes and schools, caring for our children, and more – making up a large percentage in key occupations, including:
Federal workforce reductions are likely hitting Black DC residents particularly hard. Fed work has provided better opportunities for Black workers than many other industries and now this pathway to the middle class is at risk. (2/5)
By slashing the federal workforce, gutting the safety net, and deporting immigrants, President Trump and his allies in Congress are harming DC’s economy and exacerbating existing racial disparities (1/5)
Tax 👏 flight 👏 is 👏 a 👏 myth