Mesa County Democrats News
News for Democrats in Mesa County and beyond
COLORADO PARTY CHAIR: PRESIDENT OBAMA’S BUDGET MAKES TOUGH DECISIONS, RIGHT INVESTMENTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:
Grace Lopez Ramirez
(303) 623-4762 x112 Office
(303) 877-8173 Cell
glramirez@coloradodems.org
Budget Begins to Reverse the Middle Class’ Decade-Long Decline, Restore Economic Security to American families
DENVER - Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak released the following remarks today on President Obama’s proposed budget for FY 2011, providing concrete steps to move the nation from recession to recovery by sparking job creation and building a new foundation for the long-term prosperity for all American families.
“The new budget proposal is President Obama’s latest aggressive move to put Coloradans and working families nationwide first. When the President took office, the economy was on the brink of a depression, and the economic crisis required immediate and extraordinary steps to prevent a complete economic collapse that would have caused millions more to lose their jobs,” Pat Waak said. “But as the middle class struggles – even as the economy shows encouraging signs of improvement – the President has signaled his full commitment to job creation through the private sector and strengthening the economic security of American families with investments in education, clean energy, infrastructure and innovation.”
"The fiscal year 2011 budget will make important investments in job creation and health care and make the tough choices we must make to begin getting our fiscal house in order. President Obama's budget would reverse the declines middle-class families have experienced over the past decade, a decade where Americans worked harder for less; where a college education became less affordable; where health care costs skyrocketed and cut into wages. Specifically, the budget would provide access to credit for small businesses and entrepreneurs – while eliminating taxes on investments in small businesses – so that these firms can grow and hire. It make inroads in opening markets abroad to American-made goods and services, giving our companies the best chance for expansion and creating new jobs for American workers; help build new clean energy economy; and propose historic reform and investment in our schools to give our kids the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy."
Treatment of Colorado's Migrant Range Workers
January 14, 2010
To: Interested Parties
From: Chandra Russo, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
Jennifer Lee, Colorado Legal Services
Re: State & National News Coverage of Colorado Legal Services Report on Unfair and Unequal Treatment of Colorado's Migrant Range Workers
________________________________________________________________________
For a copy of the report, "Overworked and Underpaid: H-2A herders in Colorado" please go here:
www.coloradofarmworkers.org
Current clips:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/14/us/AP-US-Lonely-Shepherds.html
Jan. 14, 2010
New York Times/Associated Press
Immigrant Sheepherders Endure Harsh Work, Low Pay
"Alone and thousands of miles from home, the immigrant sheepherder roams some of the West's most desolate and frigid landscapes, tending a flock for as little as $600 a month without a day off on the horizon.
…Rep. Daniel Kagan, a Democrat from Denver, said sheepherders often don't speak English, don't know where they are, and depend entirely on their employers for food, water and contact with the outside world."
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2010/01/13/011410_1a_sheepherders.html
Jan. 13, 2010
Survey stirs debate over treatment of foreign sheepherders
By Dennis Webb, The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
"Colorado Legal Services says non-herding migrant farm workers must receive at least $9.88 an hour in Colorado. Some Colorado herders report working 91 or more hours per week, not including the time they are on call, meaning they average about $2 an hour, Colorado Legal Services says."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14185286#ixzz0cbYT6nAk
Jan. 14, 2009
Denver Post
Poor treatment of immigrant sheep herders alleged
By Burt Hubbard
"A lot of the actual shocking stuff is allowed under current law," said Jennifer Lee, a Colorado Legal Services attorney who oversaw the report.
…Many of the conditions described were drastically worse than those existing for farmworkers, let alone for other types of laborers in Colorado," the report said."
Note: AP Story also appeared on the following news sites:
WashingtonPost.com:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/14/AR2010011400933.html
Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-lonely-shepherds,0,946821.story
Yahoo News:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100114/ap_on_re_us/us_lonely_shepherds
ABC News (National):
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=9558673
Idaho Statesman:
http://www.idahostatesman.com/usnews/story/1040996.html
Grand Junction Free Press:
http://www.gjfreepress.com/article/20091225/COMMUNITY_NEWS/912249992&parentprofile=search
Earlier Articles:
December 25, 2009
Grand Junction Free Press
Tough way to make a living
Migrant sheepherders endure loneliness, low wages on Colo. ranches
"Migrant sheepherders sign three-year contracts and live in “campitos” — mini trailers with no bathroom, no shower, no running water. Water is delivered to the workers in 5-gallon jugs."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/us/22wyoming.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Feb. 21, 2009
By Dan Frosch, New York Times
In Loneliness, Immigrants Tend the Flock
“It’s like going back in time,” said Thomas Acker, a Spanish professor at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo., who hopes to persuade the state legislature to raise herders’ wages and to require ranchers to improve their standard of living. “That these men are required to live under these conditions for such long periods is inhumane.”
Preliminary Analysis of Proposition 101
Published on The Bell Policy Center (http://www.thebell.org)
Home > Preliminary Analysis of Proposition 101
Preliminary Analysis
of Proposition 101
Type:
Policy Brief
Preliminary Analysis of Proposition 101
Proposition 101 ("Concerning limits on government charges") is intended to drastically reduce a wide range of state and local taxes and fees in Colorado.
The first sentence of the measure reads, "This voter-approved revenue change shall be strictly enforced to reduce government revenue." Proponents say they intend for this language to be interpreted according to the provision in TABOR that defines spending limits. If so, then proponents clearly intend to repeal Referendum C, passed by voters in 2005, and impose a new, lower state spending limit moving forward. And just like before Ref C, this new limit would ratchet down state spending after recessions.
Proponents also intend the measure to impose new, lower spending limits in all cities and counties in Colorado.
Based on preliminary estimates from the Bell Policy Center, when fully implemented the provisions of Proposition 101 would reduce state income tax revenues by $1.2 billion per year (current value), state and local revenues from a range of sales taxes and vehicle fees by well over $1.1 billion per year (current value), and state revenues from telecommunications charges and fees by $4.5 million (current value) per year.
When
fully implemented, the provisions of Proposition 101 would cut state revenue
by at least:
1. $1.2 billion in income tax revenues (rate reduced from 4.63% to 3.5%)
2. $179 million in transportation revenues from elimination of FASTER fees
3. $164 million in transportation revenues by cutting registration, license and
title fees to $10 per vehicle
4. $100 million in sales taxes from exempting $10,000 in vehicle value from
sales taxes
5. $22 million by eliminating sales taxes on rental vehicles
6. $4.5 million in telecommunications fees by prohibiting all fees, except
those to fund 911 services. Another $72 million that is used to subsidize
telecommunications services in rural areas would be cut, but these funds go to
a private escrow account and not the state.
Total equals $1.7 billion (current value)
When fully implemented, the provisions of Proposition 101 would cut local government revenue by at least:
1. $500
million in specific ownership taxes by cutting them to $2 per new vehicle and
$1 per used vehicle
2. $100 million in sales taxes from exempting $10,000 in vehicle value from
sales taxes (based on an average 3 percent sales tax rate for local
governments)
3. $22 million by eliminating sales taxes on rental vehicles (based on an
average 3 percent sales tax rate for local governments)
Total equals $622 million (current value)
Totals do not include the loss of state and local sales taxes on leased vehicles because we were not able to gather the necessary data on vehicle leases to calculate this amount.
Our calculations for the amount of sales taxes reduced by the $10,000 exemption on the value of a vehicle are based on sales of new and used vehicles at Colorado franchised new vehicle dealers only. They do not include sales by independent auto dealers and private individuals
Andrew Romanoff to Attend Mesa County Democrats’ Holiday Party
The Mesa County Democratic Party will hold its annual holiday potluck on Monday, December 14, and special guest Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff will be attending. The Democrats will provide turkey and drinks; please bring a side dish or dessert to share. The party starts at 5:30, and takes place at 431 Kennedy Avenue, near Grand Junction High School.
There will also be a non-perishable food drive in co-ordination
with the governor's drive at the pot luck. Please bring in what you can.
RESPONSE TO JOHN MCCAIN ROBOCALL ON MEDICARE
ATTACK: “On Monday I introduced the first Republican amendment to the massive health care bill that will send the bill back to committee and stop the senate from cutting $500 million dollars in vital Medicare coverage for our seniors.”
Background facts for consideration of an immigration reform
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition 2009 Assembly
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, CIRC, a non-partisan organization, held its 2009 Assembly in Grand Junction from November 13th to 15th, 2009. There were over 200 people representing member organizations.
COLORADO'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DIPS TO 7% IN SEPTEMBER
COLORADO ECONOMIC & UNEMPLOYMENT UPDATE
Prison Spending, Sentencing and the Colorado Budget
Mike Krause from the Independence Institute: Important general fund spending issue.
FACT SHEET: The Truth About Government Hiring
(Tuesday, October 13, 2009)
The Denver Post this past weekend shattered one of the most ridiculous myths that a few lawmakers have been spreading for months – that Governor Ritter has grown government by adding 4,400 new employees to the state workforce since taking office.
In fact, the Post story reported, the figure is 645 -- and where jobs were added, many were required by legislation co-sponsored or supported by the very lawmakers now criticizing and attacking Governor Ritter.
Talk about irresponsibly overstating the facts.
As Governor Ritter said in the Post story, it's one thing to engage in an honest debate, it's totally another thing to ignore easily obtainable data and twist the facts for nothing more than political gain.
It's yet another glaring example of how some have decided not to offer serious solutions to the economic crisis and have instead chosen to stand on the sidelines and do nothing but criticize.
Truth is, Governor Ritter has taken great care to manage the state's finances, keep the budget balanced during the worst economy since the Great Depression, and fundamentally re-think the way government does business and delivers services.
Working together, Governor Ritter, the nonpartisan Joint Budget Committee and legislative leaders have closed recession-caused shortfalls of $1.8 billion, with another $240 million gap to be erased this month.
They have reduced spending 10½ percent, eliminated 300 positions, imposed unpaid furlough days and frozen employee salaries.
Just as working families and small businesses are tightening their belts, Governor Ritter is doing the same for state government.
And he's doing it in a way that's thoughtful, surgical and compassionate. He's preserving core services, protecting the safety-net and maintaining investments in public safety and in our economy, education and infrastructure.
His strategy is working. As difficult as things are in Colorado, we remain in much better shape than many other states.
Our unemployment rate has remained below the national average all year. CNBC and Forbes.com recently ranked Colorado among the top five states in which to do business. And experts say we'll be one of the first states to emerge from the downturn.
The recession has slowed us down, but it hasn't stopped us. And we'll get through these tough times stronger, healthier and faster by working together -- not by twisting the truth, making false accusations and betting against the promise of Colorado.
