Take Action: Support TMG Economic Justice Proposal

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On Friday, March 11th, WV CAG participated in a rally at the State Capitol in support of the Tuesday Morning Group’s Economic Justice, Fairness and Equity proposal. This proposal seeks to address long-standing disparities in health care and economic opportunity in minority and low-income communities around the state through common sense investments in in education, job training, economic development, housing rehabilitation, programs to support at-risk youth, and initiatives to improve rural and community health access.

Please contact the Governor’s Office, Senate President Craig Blair, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, and Senate and House Finance Committee Chairs and encourage them to support this proposal to address the challenges facing our most impoverished and distressed communities, and begin to transform and restructure our economy in a way that is responsive to the collective needs of all our people.

Ms. Ann V. Urling, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor
Ann.v.urling@wv.gov
304.558.2000

Senator Craig Blair, President, WV Senate
Craig.blair@wvsenate.gov
304.357.7801

Delegate Roger Hanshaw, Speaker, WV House of Delegates
Roger.hanshaw@wvhouse.gov
304.340.3210
304.587.9947

Senator Eric Tarr, Chair Senate Finance
Eric.tarr@wvsenate.gov
304.357.7901
304.202.4276

Delegate Eric Householder, Chair House Finance
Eric.householder@wvhouse.gov
304.340.3230
304.262.9004

For more information on the TMG Ecomomic Justice, Fairness and Equity proposal, see the resources below.

Remarks by our Project Manager, Julie Archer at March 11th Rally at the State Capitol in Support of Tuesday Morning Group Economic Justice, Fairness & Equity Proposal

Good morning.

I’m Julie Archer, Project Manager with WV Citizen Action Group.

It’s an honor to join with the other organizations, faith leaders and community members gathered here today to support the Tuesday Morning Group’s Economic Justice, Fairness and Equity Proposal. This proposal seeks to address long-standing disparities in health care and economic opportunity in minority and low-income communities across West Virginia. Addressing these disparities is long overdue, and the Tuesday Morning Group proposal would address them through common sense investments in education, job training, economic development, housing rehabilitation, programs to support at-risk youth, and initiatives to improve rural and community health access.

Although the Tuesday Morning Group has been diligently working to address poverty and lift up our most distressed communities for much longer, the basis of this particular plan was a May 2020 proposal from the WV NAACP, the Charleston Branch NAACP, and members of the Tuesday Morning Group, which outlined a plan to address these disparities, as well as the disproportionate negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic using a portion of the $1.25 billion in CARES Act funding that West Virginia received.

Unfortunately, despite support from a number of organizations around the state, this initiative (dubbed the Hope 20/20/20 Economic Justice & Equity Fund) was not funded.

Instead, significant portions of the CARES Act money, which was intended to address immediate needs and help West Virginians with basic necessities during the ongoing pandemic, was hoarded, squandered on budgetary shell games and making a down-payment on future taxes typically paid by businesses. This resulted in a missed opportunity to begin to address systemic poverty, and promote heath and economic equity in the state’s minority and low-income communities.

With the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, we have a second chance to begin to address poverty in a meaningful way, and move our state economy towards one that meets and serves the needs of all of our people. And, unless or until we can convince our senior U.S. Senator of his “wrong-headedness”, and break the persistent gridlock in Washington, we may not get a chance like this again.

So, let’s seize this opportunity by supporting the Tuesday Morning Group’s Economic Justice, Fairness and Equity Proposal, fund these much-needed programs to address the challenges facing our most impoverished and distressed communities, and begin to transform and restructure our economy in a way that is responsive to the collective needs of all our people.

Thank you!

For more information see: