A Minnesota Without Poverty Organizes Around the Budget, Poverty, and Inequality

Members of the statewide organizing team for A Minnesota Without Poverty, as well as the board, wrote letters of appreciation and support to Gov. Mark Dayton in support of a balanced and fair approach to addressing the budget deficit and funding basic public services. The letters also expressed a willingness to do one’s own part in order to solve the budget deficit and support for the Legislative Commission to End Poverty’s recommendations to end poverty in Minnesota.

A Minnesota Without Poverty also sent an action alert to its email roster to encourage advocates to send a message to both state and federal legislators regarding budget proposals. The action alert included the message that cutting needed services may increase poverty and is a costly and callous way to address the budget crisis. It also emphasized the need to include raising revenues as part of a dialogue on the budget and deficit reduction.

The public policy workgroup of A Minnesota Without Poverty has been deliberating about what the most effective public action might be at the state and federal levels around budgets and deficits. An unrealistic message that has been promoted by some in the state legislature is that charities and congregations can make up the difference when there are cuts to needed services. To counter that message, the decision was made to use humor to communicate the need for government and revenue-raising to be part of the solution. A video that will communicate the message that all sectors of society have a part to play is in the production stage. The video will be posted on You Tube and sent to all legislators, both state and federal, as well as to the public, when it is in final form.

To draw attention to rising income inequality and the fact that Minnesota’s poverty rate has grown drastically in the last 10 years, Dane Smith, president of Growth & Justice, and Nancy Maeker, Director of A Minnesota Without Poverty, have published a commentary entitled, “Minnesota’s Economic Inequality: We have enough for all to have enough,” in three media outlets: Politics in Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio Website, and MinnPost.com. To view the full commentary, click here.

Finally, A Minnesota Without Poverty, in partnership with Half in Ten, is now planning four events entitled “Enough for All Campaign.” These 1-3 day events will be held in four strategically chosen congressional districts in the state during the summer and early fall. The focus for this campaign is education on poverty data, mobilization around issues, conversation with elected officials (local, state, and federal), and community involvement. Local partners are being identified in each of the communities in which these events will occur, with planning and scheduling to follow.