Contact: Mike Myslinski at 650-552-5324
BURLINGAME – As new reports of corporate greed make headlines across the country, California’s educators stand firm with the Occupy Wall Street movement as it exposes the growing inequalities and wealth disparities in America that are leading to drastic cuts to public education and other essential services.
“They can tear down the tents from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Golden Gate, but they can’t stop the frustration and determination of the middle class over the economic injustices in our country,” said Dean E. Vogel, president of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association. “The future of our students, schools and colleges is being shortchanged by major corporations and the super wealthy who are gaming the tax system.”
Vogel noted even wealthy Americans are asking to be taxed more. Millionaire members of one group came to Congress this week with a “tax me more” message that echoed recent sentiments from billionaire Warren Buffet. In California, the bottom 20 percent of wage earners pay 11 percent of their income in taxes, while the top 1 percent of wage earners only pay 7.8 percent.
“The occupy movement is about making the country work for all Americans, not just the 1%, and we support that change wholeheartedly,” Vogel added.
America’s public schools were shortchanged $9.8 billion from 2008-10 in federal revenue due to corporate tax avoidance. California schools lost $1.1 billion in federal dollars during that period, which is the equivalent of losing $1,549 per student with a disability, or supporting 10,662 education jobs in the state, according to a study done by the National Education Association. This isn’t fair. These concerns about the fallout for education are part of an ongoing CTA tax fairness campaign outlined at www.cta.org/taxfairness.
“We must put the needs of Main Street before Wall Street and make all companies pay their fair share,” said Vogel.
The CTA Occupy Wall Street mobilization center is at www.cta.org/occupywallstreet.
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The 325,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.