Bus Tours Of AIG Executives’ Homes
IN the US, Connecticut’s Vote Working Families – “formed by a coalition of community organizations, labor unions and neighborhood activists to hold politicians accountable on the issues that matter most to working and middle class families like good jobs, affordable healthcare, decent living wage jobs, fair taxes, good schools, reasonable utility rates and more – is offering bus-tours of the mansions of the AIG executives.
We’re all mad at AIG. Their executives bear a large share of the responsibility for bringing the economy to it’s knees, and now the same folks are getting hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses — at our expense. Join us for a field trip to bring them the message.
A day out with a coach-load of fed up people sounds like a day out to miss.
And sign the letter that the citizens have written for you:
To: AIG Executives
From: Citizens of Connecticut
We hope you enjoy living in Connecticut, and we’re glad you decided to make our state the home for your Financial Products Division. Congratulations on your bonus, we’re sure you worked very hard for it.
Having said that, you might have noticed that things are not going very well for the rest of us. We’ve seen skyrocketing unemployment, thousands of Connecticut residents losing their health insurance, and thousands more losing their homes to foreclosure. Retirement and college savings have been wiped out. It’s not a pretty picture.
Some of our poorer cities are really struggling. Teachers and social workers are being laid off by the hundreds in Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford. Of course, we can’t all be derivatives traders, but these kids deserve at least a decent education and a chance to make something with their lives, right?
Here’s the point: $165 million may not seem like a huge amount of money for AIG or it’s top executives. But for Connecticut families struggling just to get by, for those of us who are losing our homes, losing our healthcare, losing our jobs, this is a lot of money.
We think in these troubled times, maybe, just maybe, there are more important ways to use $165 million to help get our economy back on track. Like funding for an ambitious universal healthcare plan that has been proposed in the Connecticut legislature. Or support for non-profit housing counseling agencies that help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. Or preventing thousands of layoffs of public service employees in healthcare and education. Or funding an earned income tax credit to help low-wage workers keep up with the rising cost of living.
Surely these initiatives would do more to get our economy back on track and help Connecticut’s families.
You have a wonderful opportunity to help your neighbors in the State of Connecticut. Yes, we know that the Obama administration is trying to block you from receiving a bonus. But even Larry Summers says there’s nothing the government can do to stop it. So when that check does come, please, give it back.
We’ve enclosed an envelope addressed to Connecticut’s Department of Revenue Services. You can use your bonus to help Connecticut close its budget gap without inflicting more harm on struggling families.
Sincerely,
Signatures
P.S. As you might now, the legislature is considering increasing the income tax on high income individuals and families. We believe that a top tax bracket of 8% for incomes over $1 million would go a long way to helping us eliminate our state budget deficit. Please contact Governor Rell and urge her to support a Millionaire’s Tax. Paying 3% more in taxes to the State of Connecticut – surely that’s the least you could do to help!
Better, surely, to petition the AIG execs to spend their money in the area, so redistributing the wealth…
Posted: 20th, March 2009 | In: Money Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
