San Francisco: Demand a People's Budget : Pressure the billionaires and corporate CEOs to pay what they owe!
Call your Mayor.
Note: Please see our updated call script here.
Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
Talking points for the Mayor:
All San Franciscans, no matter where they live, what they look like, or who they love, deserve safety and well-being.
There's a lot of talk about a budget deficit, yet Airbnb, Uber and Lyft are pursuing frivolous lawsuits and refusing to pay their taxes. I want a budget where the extremely wealthy corporations pay what they owe to increase revenues. Use your bully pulpit to pressure them to drop their lawsuits.
I want the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors to find a way through this budget process, including using reserves, while working for a sustainable budget for the future, including a wealth tax. This budget will be fair, equitable and protect the freedom and future thriving of all our people and families.
Additional action:
Join the People’s Budget Coalition’s email campaign to demand Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft drop the lawsuits.
Background
Mayor Lurie just released a Proposed Budget document, without a line item. It is intentionally inaccessible to SF voters. The People’s Budget Coalition, for whom an equitable and just budget is a matter of life and death, has gleaned a few things by searching in the weeds:
Homelessness funding for unique underserved populations will be gutted, taking Prop C money to spend on other things.
Reserves for Free SF’s community safety, transformative justice and immigrants rights work have secretly been cut in half.
Mental health services will see $25% cuts.
Huge layoffs of 1,400 jobs, including 180 City jobs are reported.
At the same time, wealthy Airbnb, Lyft and Uber are suing the City to get refunds of voter approved taxes that they claim are “misclassified.” Voters approved Prop M to simplify the Business tax code and actually lowered their taxes. While the lawsuits go forward, the City is keeping in reserve every dollar of this revenue, $415 Million dollars, or more than HALF of the $780M deficit.
Attorneys working for the City say these are frivolous lawsuits that are unlikely to succeed. This budget is saying working people will have to foot the bill for these billionaire bullies. We don’t need Crypto Billionaire Chris Larsen’s offer of $9.4M for police militarization! BILLIONAIRES: PAY WHAT YOU OWE.
What we can do to fight back
The People’s Budget Coalition is continuing to fight to bring light and transparency to the City budget process and they are not alone. Throughout the Bay Area, people are flexing their power in Budget fights. The SF Chronicle Editorial Board seems to be nervous about communities standing up together for our needs (see Op Ed).
Let’s keep fighting! Join the email campaign to demand Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft drop the lawsuits.
#DropTheLawsuits #NeedNotGreed #PeoplesBudget