Block Trump’s immoral, greed-driven tax reform

My Fellow Resisters,

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN). 
 
Read on and leave comments!
In solidarity,

Sage

PAGE Update

We hope you are ready to kick off October with fighting spirit because we have much work to do. This past week, Trump’s administration released a tax plan, which provides massive tax cuts for the wealthiest. This money will be diverted from the United States’ already lackluster safety net with hardly any benefits for the working class. Some low income brackets will actually see their taxes go up. This week, we also saw Trump come out with yet another version of the Muslim Ban, and cap refugee admissions at the lowest number in decades.
This week we will also be taking tax action, and continue to support Puerto Rico. And remember, resisting can be fun too! Here’s a Beyonce remix of J Balvin’s “Mi Gente” song. All proceeds from the album go to Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the Caribbean to help them recover from these heartbreaking disasters.

Priority Actions

• Block Trump’s immoral, greed-driven tax reform. Read up on how the tax “reform” benefits the wealthy. Trump himself could save millions
• Use Indivisible's tool to write a letter to the editor about tax reform. Indivisible guide has talking points, and it will even help you find some papers to write to. Keep your letter to 250-300 words. If you are abroad, you might want to mention an example of policy that’s working well in your part of the world.
• Support Puerto Rico in their time of need.
• Our President is insisting that enough is being done to aid Puerto Rico, but the mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz doesn’t agree. She said, “I am begging, begging anyone that can hear us to save us from dying. If anybody out there is listening to us, we are dying. And you are killing us with the inefficiency.” Use this 5Calls script to call your representative and ask them to send aid to Puerto Rico.
• Donate to rebuild Casa-Taller, a cultural space in Santurce, Puerto Rico, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Maria. Getting this space up and running is key as many people in this neighborhood are looking to Casa-Taller for post-storm support and resources.
• Listen to this podcast with Puerto Rican activist Marisol LeBrón to learn why Puerto Rico was so vulnerable to a hurricane and why rebuilding will be very difficult.
• Read up on how Puerto Rico has recovered from natural disasters before.
• Show some love to National ADAPT. ADAPT is a national grassroots community that organizes disability rights activists to engage in nonviolent direct action. They work to ensure the civil and human rights of people with disabilities. They have been consistently awesome in blocking ACA repeal efforts, putting their bodies on the line as they risk arrest.
• If you are living in the US, see if there is an ADAPT group near you to get involved with.
• Call your representative and ask them to support the Disability Integration Act, which was introduced by Senator Chuck Schumer and is one of ADAPT’s primary policy goals.
• Show them some love on Twitter and other social media. Use the hashtag #ThankYouNationalADAPT to thank them for their valiant and valuable work!
• You can also show some monetary love, so they can cover the costs of their transportation as they fight for equitable and compassionate healthcare.
• Here’s a beautiful article about why their actions are so effective.​

​STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

In general, since I think it is really important to communicate with our lawmakers about specific issues rather than political personalities, I tried to stay away from Trump himself as a topic. But especially lately, everything comes back to this one guy. Why is that? I think Seth Abramson articulates itvery well.
Kathy Sherretts

Twitter thread:
Seth Abramson on Twitter, Sept. 25, 1-50: This is a thread about Donald Trump. 
"Have you noticed a change in your mood since January? I mean a change you can't seem to escape? Anxiety, anger, fear, confusion, doubt?... Every institution we like or trust, he's undermined. The media. Government. Unions. Hell—even the NFL...We don't have hope future elections will be fair. We don't have hope our government is working in our interests. We don't have hope we can trust and love our neighbors and they'll trust and love us back. And we don't have hope things will start to make sense again."
You can read it as a single document in Seth Abramson's Facebook
Or view the original Twitter thread

Article:
Scotus Blog: Murphy Oil’s law: Solicitor General’s office reverses course in arbitration cases, supports employers by Amy Howe
US vs. US: The Solicitor General´s office urges the Supreme Court to affirm a decision that, on behalf of the National Labor Relations Board, it had previously asked them to review and overturn.

Article:
Slate Magazine: The Supreme Court is poised to deal a devastating blow to minimum wage workers by Daniel Hemel
To pre-empt the possibility of collective action, more firms are inserting individual arbitration clauses into employee contracts. These clauses require employees to pursue claims before private arbitrators rather than in federal or state court, individually rather than through collective actions. Employers have pushed back against the NLRB’s 2012 ruling against the practice. 

Article:
Politico Magazine: Dan Rather´s Second Coming by Michael KruseThey’ve known each other for decades, and have been publicly at odds before, dating back to 2000… The squabble was one-sided. Trump didn’t like Rather, and Rather didn’t care, because Trump didn’t matter. Now he matters. 

And a bonus link: This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow