Money in Your Pocket: The Earned Income Tax Credit
January 28, 2009
January 30th has been proclaimed Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day by the U.S. Treasury Department. The EITC is a refundable credit for working people who do not earn large incomes that helps many families struggling to make ends meet. Unfortunately, millions of Americans are not aware of this credit and fail to claim it on their taxes. The EITC is available only for your federal income taxes, but New York State and the City of New York also offer similar credits for local returns. The IRS has a factsheet on their website for more information.
In the midst of this recession, every extra dollar makes a big difference. Those who make the lowest incomes are not required to file their taxes - so often they don’t and miss out on the credit. And this year, more than ever, it’s important to get the word out because increasing unemployment means that there are many families who may have never before qualified and might not know that they are eligible.
Taxpayers generally qualify if they have earnings of or below $38,646 ($41,646 if married filing jointly) for families with two or more children; $33,995 ($36,995 if married filing jointly) for families with one child; and $12,880 ($15,880 if married filing jointly) if there are no children.
Free help is available to determine eligibility, to file your taxes, and claim the credit. There are IRS-certified volunteer tax assistance locations throughout New York City. I have prepared a flyer (it is in the Publications section of my website) that details where New York City residents can go for this free assistance. You can also call 311 to get the nearest address of a free tax preparation site where you live.
Fighting for the Rights of People with Disabilities
January 17, 2009
As many of you know, advocating on the issues that impact people with disabilities is very important to me. Last week was very busy on the disabilities rights front, and I wanted to give a brief update about what I’ve been up to.
On January 14th, I testified at the MTA hearing in Manhattan in opposition to the fare hikes and service cuts being proposed. I urged to give the state legislature and the federal government the time we need to come up with the funds that are needed. Paramount in my testimony was my opposition to fare hikes proposed for Access-A-Ride riders. While the MTA is considering raising the fare for those straphangers who are physically able to use the regular mass transit system by as much as 50% (from $2 to as much as $3), they are asking riders with disabilities to absorb an outrageously disproportionate fare increase of as much as 300% (from $2 to as much as $6).
Affordable and accessible transportation is a lifeline for people with disabilities and the frail elderly. 64% of Access-A-Ride users have total household incomes at less than 250% of the federal poverty level. It is a matter of simple mathematics. The many riders who depend on Access-A-Ride will literally be unable to leave their homes under this proposed fare structure. My testimony can be found in the Publications area of my website.
I am pictured here with Paul B. Feuerstein, Board Chair of the Disabilities Network of NYC and President/CEO of Barrier Free Living
(left) and Lawrence Carter-Long, Executive Director of DNNYC (right). Note: We are standing in front of the VISIONS banner, the organization which hosted the meeting. VISIONS is a tremendous organization serving and advocating for people who are blind or visually impaired.
I had the great pleasure of addressing the Disabilities Network of New York City at their visioning meeting on January 15th. This is a truly diverse organization representing people with physical, vision, and hearing disabilities. The community gathering’s purpose was to determine the shared vision for advocacy goals of DNNYC. I delivered welcoming remarks at the event. Here is a brief snippet of those remarks:
As someone with a mobility disability myself, I understand from firsthand experiences the myriad of challenges that people with disabilties face. We need to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to transportation options that serve them and the MTA and the TLC won’t do this without our continued advocacy and creative thinking. We need to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to affordable, comprehensive, and quality health care. And this will not happen without our vigilance and persistence. The secret of effective politics is participation. That’s it. And is must come from people with disabilities in order for our issues to be at the forefront. It is the task and the responsibility of everyone here to make your voice heard by those that represent you, be they in City Hall, Albany or Washington, DC.
We are not an insignificant minority that can brushed aside. We are 20% of the general population and the attention the media has given to our issues while increasing, has never matched our numbers.
In less than a week we will be witnessing a changing of the guard in Washington, DC and last week we saw one in Albany —now is the time for DNNYC to make a coordinated effort to ensure we leverage our community’s growing political strength.
If you are interested in getting involved in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, I highly recommend giving your time to this important organization.
Assembly Member Alan Maisel and I talking about health policy with PJ Weiner, Manager of Advocacy Programs for the MS Society of NYC (far right) and Robin Einbinder, Vice President of the MS Society of NYC (second from the right).
After the DNNYC event, I headed over to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New York City inaugral legislative reception. I had the great honor of being asked to co-host this event. An impressive gathering of members of the MS Society met with their legislators including the newly minted Chair of the Senate Health Committee, Tom Duane, Assembly Members Linda Rosenthal and Alan Maisel, NYC Council Members John Liu and Gale Brewer, and representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Senator Daniel Squadron, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, and Council Members Jessica Lappin and Oliver Koppell.
There were many issues discussed at this event, but paramount on the minds of the MS Society members I spoke to was the issue of Tier IV pricing — and the need for support for a ban on this practice in New York. The MS Society has worked with Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith on legislation that would ban Tier IV drug pricing, a bill that I am excited to support in the New York State Assembly.
The proposed legislation would ban the creation of a fourth tier in a company’s prescription drug pricing forumlae. In states where this has been allowed to happen, medication treating diseases such as anemia, cancer, MS, and hepatitis C are categorized separately from other prescription drugs and co-payments have amounted to up to 33% of the total cost of each prescription. Patients with chronic diseases are seeing fees dramatically increase to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per prescription per month. This can never be allowed to happen in New York and I am greatful to the MS Society of New York City for raising this important issue and working with the legislature to protect all New Yorkers from this unacceptable threat to access to health care.
Lighting Up the Night for Marriage Equality
January 5, 2009
On December 20th, State Senator Tom Duane and I took part in a powerful event organized by Join the Impact, a grassroots national organization that is fighting for marriage equality. The march and rally was coined “Light Up the Night for Equality” and hundreds of LGBT people and their friends braved some pretty cold temperatures to march from Bryant Park to Times Square and rally for marriage rights. In the video above, Senator Duane’s remarks start at about 2:30 and mine start at about 3:15.
The event was a national one with similar rallies being held all over the country. The candles were held in vigil in rememberance of the rights that may have been lost to the over 18,000 couples in California whose legal status is now up in the air after the passage of the homophobic Proposition 8 last November.
Last year, I was proud to be part of history and vote in favor of same-sex marriage when the bill sponsored by Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell was passed by the New York State Assembly. While there is a long way to go until same-sex couples can legally marry in New York (the New York State Senate must also pass the bill before the Governor can sign it into law), step by step we are coming closer to marriage equality.
