The meeting was called to order by B. Fleishman and invocation was given by Rev. Linda Rackliffe.
Minutes of February meeting were approved.
Treasurer�s report: Carol Tyrell was out of town. Ed Bloch said there is about $8000 in the treasury. Bob Edgar did not give us a statement for his expenses. Motion was made to send $1000 to the National Council of Churches and $250 to Bob Edgar for expenses. Motion passed. $45 is due Harriet for expenses for the conference.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Economic and Criminal Justice/ARISE: ARISE, ACLU and others are meeting with the county legislature to urge that appointments of lawyers to defend the poor be made on a professional basis, not as political appointments. The person appointed needs to be sensitive to the difficulties experienced by poor people.
Walk for Peace: Pat Beetle said that the March 18th Walk For Peace will start at the capital, not at the Museum. They ask that people carry a banner indicating their organization. Nuclear Weapons Freeze is having a 25th anniversary dinner on March 25th, 6:00 p.m. at First Church. They are having a pot luck dinner with a suggested donation of $25. The speaker will be Dennis Kucinich.
What�s Going on at the Capitol
Frank Mauro had health problems so was not able to come. Trudy Renwick from Fiscal Policy Institute spoke to
us about the NYS budget deliberations. The economy is very different in sections of the state so they consider
areas: NY City, eastern NY, north and west areas. NYC economy was down after 9/11 and the recession but has
been doing well since then. Eastern NY has a healthy economy. North and west are struggling, and loosing
jobs. Manufacturing jobs are down and probably will not return. Tech jobs are not a large number. There is
virtually no clothing made in the state. Almost half of the growth is in the financial sector. Bonuses for top
executives have been �obscene�. There are some gains at the very bottom income levels, possibly because of
increase in minimum wage. There was no decrease in the number of low paying jobs despite predictions. If
minimum wage had been indexed to inflation it would now be $8.30. About 200,000 jobs have been replaced
by independent contractors who do not pay benefits. Many truck drivers have been told they must buy their
trucks and be independent. One result is that truckers work longer hours and there has been an increase in
fatal accidents. 30-40% of families are below the poverty level, 40-50% of children are below poverty level,
upstate cities have higher poverty and 10-15% of families earn less than $10,000. A lot of catch up is necessary
in road maintenance etc. The tax cutting �binge�for those in the top rates (5% of tax payers) caused loss of $16
billion from the revenue. $1 million was cut from welfare. Companies will not flee to N.J. because the tax rates
are higher there. We need to move toward a more progressive tax.
There are so many tax loopholes in the Corporate tax system that virtually no corporations. pay tax except
small corporations located solely inside the state. Big corporations shift income to a state which has no
corporation tax. At one time about 25% of revenue came from corporation tax. Spitzer is working on closing
loopholes by requiring joint reporting.
There are no cuts in medicaide this year. Some improvements have been made in the school aid formula but
rich schools still demand their percenatge and get it because representatives need their votes. There has been
no increase in the welfare grant since 1990.
It was suggested that if instead of a billion dollar subsidy to bring in a big company, you paid a million dollars
to 1000 small companies it might be more of a boost to the economy.
Executive Committee report
Resolution: to join the Labor Religion Coalition in opposing the renewal of the President�s fast track authority.
Passed
Deb Riitano suggested that next year perhaps we could start an award for �voices in the community�.
Anyone wanting to go to the TIA National Leadership Gathering should speak to Ed.
B. Fleishman asked if anone had suggestion for a speaker for a future meeting. During the meeting the invitations for the April dinner were prepared for mailing.
Bob Lamar said that the program at 1st Lutheran church on the first Tuesday of each month will focus on health care issues for the next three months.
Lou Ismay said that 90% of females in armed forces have reported sexual harassment, rape and abuse. Some have died of dehydration because they don�t consume liquids late in the day to avoid going out after dark. It is up to the officer in charge to apply discipline and control the abuse.
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Florence Skiff
Next Executive Committee Meeting: 9:00 a.m, Mon. March 26th , 2007, at Friendlys on Rte 7. Next Membership Meeting: 9:00 a.m., Monday April 9th , 2007 at Latham Community Baptist Church.
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