On May 12

Today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed his final budget for New York City, and it includes massive cuts to a myriad of essential City services. In addition to cuts to schools, fire houses, police precincts, and child care, his plan directly targets programs relied upon by the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including medical and housing services for people with HIV/AIDS, and an end to all housing assistance for homeless individuals and families.

At the same time, the big banks that crashed our economy, eliminated jobs, and foreclosed on millions of homes are making billions in profits, and giving away record bonuses to CEOs, all while reaping the benefits of taxpayer-funded subsidies, tax loopholes, and sweetheart deals. And Mayor Bloomberg refuses to ask big banks and millionaires to pay their fair share during this year’s budget crisis.

On May 12, New Yorkers of all walks of life are fighting back.

On that date, tens of thousands of New Yorkers, supported by scores of labor, community, and social service organizations, including the Coalition for the Homeless, will march to Wall Street to meet up, teach-in, and take our city back. We are all joining together with a simple message: “Stop the Cuts and Make Big Banks and Millionaires Pay.”

As our Executive Director, Mary Brosnahan puts it, “The big banks wrecked our economy and are back to making billions in profits and lavish bonuses, while the rest of us are still cleaning up the mess they created. Now Bloomberg has a choice: ask Wall Street bankers to contribute their fair share to fixing New York City, rather than enacting devastating cuts to working families.”

On Wednesday, the May 12 Coalition, a growing group of community, labor, and progressive groups, released a report, titled PAY BACK TIME: $1.5 Billion Ways to Save Our City’s Budget and Make the Big Banks and Millionaires Pay Their Fair Share, that:

• Exposes $1.5 billion in subsidies, sweetheart deals and tax loopholes that big banks and the super-rich receive from the City; and
• Outlines four simple steps that Mayor Bloomberg should take to make them pay their fair share and restore that revenue to this year’s City budget to reverse the worst proposed cuts;
• Explains the front-line impact of Bloomberg’s proposed cuts on families, neighborhoods and services all across the City.

Learn more about May 12 here and join us in this important action!