Some actions of the neighborly variety
Tax law (sorry, I know, but), vaccine clinics at schools & the Dunk (get dosed! volunteer!), the return of QTMAPVD, fighting environmental racism and fossil fuels on the Southside (again), and more
Hi everyone,
Here are some more things to do with and for our neighbors this week. There’s a lot listed, but they don’t need to swamp you—choose the one or two that feel most possible.
TOMORROW, 5/5 BY 4pm (to sign up), 5/6 at 4pm (to testify), remotely: From legislative correspondent Jackie, “On Thurs. House Finance is hearing a bunch of bills that tax the rich.” Here’s the full agenda for these bills, and you can sign up here to testify aloud. Written testimony should go to housefinance@rilegislature.gov by 1pm on 5/6. Spoken testimony is better for these, though, because opponents of these bills are hoping that people will get lost in the intricacies and this lets them know that we are paying attention.
A few of these bills that would really benefit from your testimony include:
H5227 would add a new tax bracket for the wealthiest Rhode Islanders. It would increase the marginal rate to 8.99% and would only increase the taxes of Rhode Islanders whose taxable income is over $400,000 a year—it would affect all of us who use the things that taxes pay for. Testify in support!
H5647 would create an extra tax for companies where the CEO makes more than 100x the pay of their median-salaried employee. (“Median” here describes the pay that is closest to the middle of all the salaries or wages—it’s more reliable when there’s a gap between the lowest and the highest pay. Jackie says, “By anchoring this tax to the median salary, two things happen. 1. CEOs could be incentivized to pay people more [so that they aren’t making more than 100x what their middle-paid employee makes] . 2. CEOs who are exploiting their workers have to pay the state.”) Testify in support!
H5215 exempts up to $5 MILLION from estate taxes. This keeps money in the hands of the wealthiest Rhode Islanders that could be used for public goods for all of us, and helps them consolidate the power that their money buys them. If you have that kind of money there just is not anything you could possibly need all of it for! Testify in opposition!
S537 is not a tax bill but a bill to prevent gerrymandering (the redrawing of voting districts to disenfranchise voters and distort election results). This bill would put a commission in charge of making sure that redistricting is based on population, not on who legislative leadership wants to win (currently, redistricting—changing the borders of voting districts—is calculated by a private firm with a conservative track record). Sign up here to testify in support, or send written testimony to senatejudiciary@rilegislature.gov (same deadlines/time frames as above, but different hearing).
Please write to Jackie at jegoldman93@gmail.com or tweet (nicely, politely) at them (that thread holds a fuller breakdown of the bills and explains a few more as well) if you want better explanations than I can give!
BY 5/7, 4pm, remotely: The Southside of Providence is once again under attack by a fossil fuel company, in defiance of residents’ objections and the city’s climate justice plan. The first step in blocking the is to send in a comment to the Energy Facility Siting Board objecting to Sea 3’s expansion. The links above provide some talking points (so do the EFSB’s decision to reject the Burrillville power plant a couple years ago—some of those reasons may also apply here—and the People’s Port Authority, which lays out the issue very clearly at the top of the page). Send your comment to Emma Rodvien, Coordinator of the EFSB, at emma.rodvien@puc.ri.gov, by Friday.
5/7, 11am-5pm, see below for locations: Vaccine clinics are coming to Providence high schools for students 16 and older! Bookmark this page and check back for sign-up information. If you/the student you know doesn’t get a dose this Friday, there will be another clinic the following Wednesday, 5/12, 11am-5pm at the same schools. No photo ID required, appointments for your second dose made on the spot.
Schools served: Mt. Pleasant, Hope, Alvarez, JSEC + 360, PCTA (Central & Classical can get theirs at PCTA), E-Cubed.
5/8, 9am-6pm, Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence: If you are a BIPOC Rhode Island resident due for your second dose of the Moderna vaccine, you can go get it at the Dunkin Donuts Center this Saturday. Just walk in! No ID or insurance is required. You are ready for your second dose if you got your first dose on or before 4/10.
5/9, 9am-6pm, Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence: If you are a BIPOC Rhode Island resident due for your second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, you can go get it at the Dunkin Donuts Center this Sunday. Same as above—no ID or insurance is required. You are ready for your second dose if you got your first dose on or before 4/17.
5/8 AND 5/9, 8am-6pm, probably the Dunk but possibly other locations: This is a call for vaccine volunteers this weekend! If you can volunteer either day to help people get to the Dunk, register onsite, or get questions answered—especially if you speak more than one of the languages widely spoken in Providence—please get in touch ASAP with Dr. Muñoz at luisdaniel.munoz85@gmail.com. He can tell you more about roles and locations.
Anytime after now: Queer and Trans Mutual Aid PVD is back and brighter than ever! Here are guidelines for applying for aid and ways to offer non-monetary aid or services. Donate via Venmo @qtmapvd or via Paypal to qtma.pvd@gmail.com (I think you can make this monthly). You can also use that address to ask questions.
Anytime after now: Food Not Bombs PVD is looking for steady packers and drivers to get donated groceries and farm produce to people in need. Please email them at pvdfnb@gmail.com if you are anticipating some openness in your schedule this summer, especially if you have a car or a bike with a trailer.
With love,
Kate