SPRING 2003 FAIR PLAY

Project provided content, several popular educa- tion organizations including the Center for Popular Economics, Dollars and Sense, and THE WAR Project South contributed to workshop design. Labor Against the War (unions that have passed anti-war resolutions and which represent 4.5 mil- ECONOMY lion US workers) will use this workshop to help FROM WAR AND ECONOMY WORKSHOP. solidify their new network. By Meizhu Lui sions, and their jobs. Schools are closing, class Other organizations including War Times, (a sizes increasing, subsidized childcare slots are There is, indeed, a “new world nationally distributed newspaper led by activists vanishing. These cuts jeopardize our futures and order” in the making. Will it be of color), Pax Christi (a Catholic organization our children's future. one of greater democracy and eco- dedicated for peace), United for Justice and More money pumped into the military means nomic prosperity for all – people Peace, and Jobs with Justice will all help to get less money spent on human needs and environ- in the , in Iraq, in the the workshop into the hands of activists who will, mental protection. President Eisenhower – a Middle East, and beyond? Or will in turn, bring it to thousands of people. Republican and a General - said 50 years ago that we see the economic divide pulled We truly appreciate the collaboration of so many “every gun that is made, every warship launched, wider apart and fairness thrown every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a Liz Roll organizations to ensure that the workshop is onto the rubble of history? These timely. And with the financial support of many theft from those who hunger and are not fed, MEIZHU LUI questions are on the minds of people, we will also be able to make it available those who are cold and are not clothed…We pay many. What will be the cost of war? Who will pay? for free from our website, to translate for and dis- for a single destroyer with new homes that could Who will benefit? seminated in Spanish language communities, have housed more than 8,000 people.” ® As the Iraq war drew closer and as President and to be distribution as a PowerPoint presenta- How different our leadership is today! While state Bush promised an endless “war on terror,” we tion. budgets suffer a $75 billion dollar shortfall, began to receive requests for a workshop that President Bush is asking for $75 billion extra dol- War, the Economy, and Democracy would address the impact of war and militarism lars to pay for the first phase of the Iraq war. on the economy. Even before the war with Iraq started, states were There are no words coming from the already suffering their worst budget crisis since We immediately formed partnerships with several Commander-in-Chief acknowledging the hardship the 1930s, according to the National Governor's organizations that offered help with research, cur- suffered by people here at home, such as those Association. People –including readers of Fair riculum, and outreach. The National Priorities referenced by General Eisenhower. Why this Play –are losing their health insurance, their pen- silence? continue next page continue from page 1 ough media research and practice, the unexpect- ed voices of wealthy people, and creative action. The real Bush agenda is to redefine and downsize MEDIA MATTERS government. The democratizing functions of gov- Q. Say more about media research and practice. ernment – safeguarding people from poverty, pro- A. UFE has never sent two press releases to An interview with Betsy Leondar-Wright, viding opportunities for all to participate equally, exactly the same press list. Our media database UFE’s Communications Director and sharing the nation’s resources – are being now has over 11,000 print, broadcast and on-line systematically dismantled. contacts, coded by their beats and interests. We Q. What is UFE's track and record our coverage so that we can go John and Jane Q. Public are being squeezed in a approach to the media? back to the journalists that are interested in our vise consisting of big increases in military spend- A. From its beginning, work. ing on one side, and tax cuts to the wealthy on UFE has made a concert- UFE monitors news trends and piggybacks our the other. ed effort to get our mes- media efforts on current news hooks. Progressive How is it that so many people have been con- sages into the main- taxation may seem like a boring topic to most vinced to support policies that are against their stream media. We had talk radio producers, but when states are in budg- Ellen Shub own interests and those of their neighbors? When media relations staff et crisis, or when the Wall Street Journal calls low- John and Jane Q. Public ask what’s going on, they even when our staff was wage taxpayers “lucky duckies," then there’s an learn the myths that illegal aliens are stealing very small, we’ve includ- BETSY LEONDAR-WRIGHT opening for our message. their jobs and lazy freeloaders on welfare are sap- ed media strategy dis- Q. Tell us about using the unexpected voice of ping government resources. As usual, people of cussions in all of our program planning, and wealthy people. The estate tax campaign comes to color are portrayed as the problem. Soon enough, we’ve invested in media consultants to help us mind. John and Jane are screaming for tax cuts, and vot- sharpen our skills. The reason for this effort is A. Yes. The old journalism saw is “Dog bites man ing to cut social programs. because we assume our outrage at growing inequality is shared by millions of people who – that’s not news. But man bites dog – that’s It is no wonder then that the results of current don't belong to organizations that sponsor UFE news!” So when a multi-millionaire or a business economic policies would widen the racial wealth workshops and who don't see alternative media. owner criticizes policies that benefit rich people gap. According to the Federal Reserve’s recent and corporations – that’s news! Survey of Consumer Finances, the wealth gap Q. Has this investment paid off? United for a Fair Economy created the between white families and families of color grew A. We have been remarkably successful! We’ve Responsible Wealth (RW) project in 1997 to take by 21% between 1998 and 2001. The net worth of reached literally millions of people through the advantage of this element of surprise. Dozens of the typical family of color fell to $17,100, while media. In the last five years, UFE’s work has been wealthy people have given hundreds of interviews white families’ net worth rose to $120,900. The covered in the media over 3,000 times. We have over the past five years, set up by UFE media typical white family now has a net worth seven prioritized talk radio shows, which have been staff. times as large as the typical family of color. called “the town meeting of our time,” and which In 1991, RW’s “Call to Preserve the Estate Tax” reach people who might not read newspapers. At United for a Fair Economy, we know that grow- had hundreds of signers personally affected by The issue of growing economic inequality has the estate tax – and hundreds of media hits as ing economic inequality can be stopped. We hope become a far more widely known trend than it that our "War and the Economy" workshop will well. Currently, the Call has over 1,400 wealthy was five years ago, and our media work has signers, and has been credited with preventing provide additional tools to those looking for alter- played a role in making that happen. natives to the future vision of “permanent war on two bills for immediate estate tax repeal, in 2001 terror.” Q. Breaking into the mainstream media is consid- and 2002. ered very hard—especially if your message isn’t sup- Another world is possible. Q. Describe how UFE/RW uses creative action to porting the status quo. How did you do it? grab media attention—the third key to success. A. There are three secrets to our success: thor- A. UFE uses arts and humor to engage people on

2 issues of fairness. I'll describe one of our earliest Meanwhile, the well-dressed UFE members on raising taxes on the extremely wealthy could bring stunts – now a classic in UFE lore! the boat began to chant, “Throw it! Throw it! Sink in needed revenue for states in crisis. That is our On Tax Day, 1998, two Republican members of them with the ! Flatten them with the flat message. Congress came to Massachusetts to promote tax!” The Congressmen froze, unsure what to do. Q. How bad are the states’ fiscal problems? replacing the progressive income tax with a flat After a moment, they threw the box, which A. States face an unprecedented $70 billion in tax or a national sales tax. Their press conference upended the dinghy and dumped its occupants budget shortfalls in the coming year. In many took place on the Boston Tea Party ship, and their into the chilly waters. states, discretionary spending has already been plans were to put the US tax code into a box The image of the capsizing boat – and the story cut to the bone. Further cuts will not only marked “Tea” and throw it into Boston harbor. of how the little band of protestors flipped the increase human suffering in the short run, they Two UFE staffers rowed a rubber dinghy marked meaning of the Congressmen’s press conference will lead to greater expenses down the road, as “Working Family Life Raft” behind a nearby boat. – appeared from coast to coast, in newspapers, preventive health measures aren’t taken and A dozen other UFE members dressed in suits on CNN, and on the radio news. There’s no infrastructure crumbles. These solutions assume and gowns followed the Congressmen onto the doubt that millions of people who normally skip over-spending caused the deficit, when in reality, Tea Party ship in the guise of supporters. When articles on tax policy were pulled in by a dramatic massive tax cuts during the 1990's were the main the Congressmen, surrounded by TV cameras, photo and a good laugh to learn something culprit behind most states’ deficits. got ready to throw the box, the dinghy appeared about regressive tax proposals. just below them, and two UFE staffers represent- Q. Why is progressive taxation such a tough sell? Q. Speaking of taxes, there seems to be fairly broad ing a working family in it yelled, “Don’t throw it! A. The public is generally unfamiliar with the con- opposition to new taxes. cepts of regressive and progressive taxes. Under You’ll sink us with your sales tax, you’ll flatten us A. Widespread opposition to new taxes is under- current law, state and local taxes fall more heavily with your !” standable. A greater tax burden on working peo- on poor and working people. People with the ple already struggling highest income pay the lowest share of their to make ends meet will income in these taxes. This disparity is startling not revive the economy. news to most taxpayers, who are more likely to More progressive taxa- support tax increases on wealthy individuals and tion, however, in the corporations after learning how regressive taxes form of closing corpo- currently are. rate tax loopholes and Q. Okay, communications woman. Is it realistic to think we could make a dent in public anti-tax senti- A CLASSIC UFE CREATIVE ment? ACTION. “WORKING A. The current state fiscal crisis provides a prime FAMILIES LIFE RAFT” CAP- opportunity to articulate the case for fair and ade- SIZES AS A CONGRESSPER- quate taxation at a time when more people are SON THROWS TAX CODE IN appreciating the public services they might lose. THE BOSTON HARBOR. It's a classic piggyback news hook opportunity. Budget cuts are likely to receive coverage on their own, but with our efforts, the need to raise rev- enue in a fair way can get into the stories too. If we do our job well, we'll help uproot the seeds of tomorrow’s tax revolts.

3 ESTATE TAX ORGANIZING ON THE ROAD By Chuck Collins, Program Director

For three weeks in January and February, Bill Gates Sr. and I hit the road to promote our new book, Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes, published recent- ly by Beacon Press. We visited nine major cities and did 15 public forums drawing over 4,000 peo- ple. The media coverage was stunning.

Our hopes for these events were to enlist thou- K. Kirk sands of new activists to our estate bandwagon, draw media coverage of our argu- Immediately following the press ments for economic fairness, and sell some books. conference, Senators Kent Conrad We also did a number of smaller events, targeted and Byron Dorgan hosted a private at audiences like university presidents, and leaders luncheon for us that was attended in business and the charity/foundation sector. In by eleven U.S. Senators, including each city, we met with Responsible Wealth and Minority Leader Tom Daschle and United for a Fair Economy members, visited news- a number of senators who had paper editorial boards and conducted dozens of voted FOR repeal. George Soros interviews. and Bill Gates, Sr. gave brief talks about why the estate tax should be During the tour, we gave over 15 major television preserved. Sen. Kennedy grinned interviews including the NBC “Today Show,” PBS

and remarked, with a great deal of K. Kirk “NOW with Bill Moyers,” CNN, and a series of irony, “he agreed with Bill 100 per- Bloomberg News programs. We also did over 30 cent” except for the part about the dangers of syndicated and local radio interviews including “hereditary wealth and power!” public radio's “Motley Fool” and “Marketplace,” Pacifica’s “Democracy Now” with Amy Goodman, That afternoon we met "swing" Senators including and several prominent public affairs shows in New Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and George Voinovich (R- York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. OH). We also met with newly elected Sen. Mark Pryor (D) from Arkansas who told us he would Our book tour kicked-off on Monday, Jan. 13 in vote AGAINST any provision to make the repeal of Washington, D.C. as George Soros and Senator the estate tax permanent. That was the first time K. Kirk Kent Conrad joined us at the National Press Club he had stated this position. Given the deteriorating for a press conference that was broadcast live on budget picture, those who would repeal the estate TOP TO BOTTON: PAUL KRUGMAN (RIGHT) SPOKE AT C-SPAN and covered in dozens of newspapers tax have only 57 of the 60 necessary votes! OUR NEW YORK CITY EVENT. HERE HE ENGAGES IN A around the country. LIVELY DISCUSSION WITH EVENT ATTENDEES. BILL GATES SR., ANSWERS QUESTIONS WITH PASSION AND PATIENCE.... AND HAS A GOOD TIME. 4 After a terrific reception at D.C.’s Politics and spirited audiences, including 450 people who came Prose bookstore, we traveled to New York City. out to hear us in Seattle on the night of the There, Peter Grauer, the Chairman of Bloomberg President’s “State of the Union” address. After the HELP PRESERVE THE ESTATE TAX News, hosted a luncheon for us with two dozen broadcast of the interview with Bill Moyers on his prominent business leaders who wanted to hear PBS show, over 1,000 new people signed our on- ◆ Sign the Call to Preserve the Estate Bill talk about the ideas behind line petition at www.responsiblewealth.org. Wealth and Our Tax at www.FairEconomy.org/estatetax Commonwealth. After Bill’s talk, John Bogle, the I will never forget our experience in Maine. There founder of Vanguard Group (the second largest we held a breakfast for small business people in ◆ Recruit your friends and co-workers to mutual fund in the U.S.), said, “Everyone knows Portland that sold out at 220 people. Bill gave an sign the Call to Preserve the EstateTax I’m a contrarian, but I can’t think of a single thing evocative talk about the role of society in building Bill said that I disagreed with.” He picked up his wealth and the need to promote equality of oppor- ◆ Contact your elected officials pen and signed the “Call to Preserve the Estate tunity. Sitting at the front, I could see people with Tax.” Among the guests was Sarah Ferguson (aka tears in their eyes. He really connected with a pow- ◆ Write letters to the editor the Duchess of York) who graciously agreed to erful truth that I think we all know – that each of autograph our book. (My personal highlight!) us is very dependent on one another and the socie- ◆ Organize an educational event The response to our events was fantastic. We had ty we live in for any good fortune that comes our way. Dozens of people approached us afterwards We particularly need people in these usually with the comment, “I’m a Republican, but I key states: Maine, Louisiana, Illinois, agree with you and I’ll be contacting my Senators.” Arkansas, Oregon, Ohio, Watch for us in the coming months as we continue Washington, Pennsylvania, our travels and media work. Minnesota, Montana, Indiana, and Nebraska to do the above. LEFT: CHUCK COLLINS MAKING AN EMPHATIC POINT DUR- ING THE BOOK TOUR. To get more information please con- BOTTOM (LEFT TO RIGHT): MEIZHU LUI, BILL GATES SR., tact Lee Farris at 617-423-2148 x33 or GEORGE SOROS, AND CHUCK COLLINS AT THE NATIONAL [email protected] K. Kirk PRESS CLUB.

For background information, high- lights of press coverage, and a schedule of future events, visit our web site. We need your involvement to reform the estate tax and prevent repeal.

www.faireconomy.org/estatetax Liz Roll

5 In an astonishing move, a number of Washington workshop we developed on the Texas budget crisis. STATE BUDGETS IMPLODE: legislators, apparently indifferent to the state’s fis- This workshop was first piloted for 30 women cal woes, want to repeal the state’s estate tax, at a organizers for Proyecto Arise (Project Arise) in the UFE OFFERS SOLUTIONS cost of $160 million per year. Lois has formed a Southernmost part of Texas. Afterward, we trained group to work on preserving and reforming the a small group of Austin activists to lead the work- By Karen Kraut, State Tax Partnership Coordinator federal and state estate taxes. They held a shop. statewide call-in day on March 7 to urge state leg- UFE is in the eye of the state islators not to repeal the state estate tax, and they Since January 2002, the Virginia Organizing budget deficit storm, working are prepared to testify at a hearing on this bill in Project (VOP) has been presenting the UFE-devel- with our state tax partnerships to April. oped Virginia Budget Crisis workshop throughout press for fair taxation as a way to the state. This workshop explains the reasons for raise money to close the enor- Using a workshop UFE developed specifically for and history of the budget crisis and offers three mous budget deficits engulfing Washington state, the Washington Tax Fairness specific progressive tax reforms to address the their states. We’re actively Coalition has been educating about and advocat- deficit. VOP has trained 25 people to lead this involved in our home state of ing for progressive tax reform in the last six workshop and they have presented the workshop months, over 80 people have been trained to pres- to groups at least once a week for the last three KAREN KRAUT Massachusetts and we are sup- porting the efforts of our coali- ent this workshop, and over 1,900 have participat- months. ed in workshops throughout the state. tion partners in Virginia, Texas, Maine, Oregon and A low-income, grassroots organization, VOP is Washington State. We are also offering short-term In Oregon, a newly formed estate tax group has beginning to convene a broad-based coalition to support in New Jersey and Illinois, and are explor- been hard at work to retain state and federal estate prepare for the long-term fight for fair and ade- ing new tax partnerships in other states. taxes by collecting hundreds of petition signatures, quate taxation in Virginia, including working to In Massachusetts, the “Stop the Cuts!” coalition doing street theater, and publishing letters to the save the state estate tax. After the Virginia legisla- launched a campaign of grassroots organizing, editor. The Oregon Center for Public Policy and a ture voted to repeal the state estate tax, UFE lobbying, and media work to close corporate tax UFE member, who is a farmer, presented testimo- helped write and place two major newspaper op- loopholes and restore an adequate income tax rate ny at a state hearing on legislation to repeal the eds on retaining Virginia's estate tax. The to address the state’s $3 billion budget gap. UFE estate tax, effectively countering the false claim Governor vetoed the repeal! Several legislators has developed and is presenting throughout the that the estate tax forces family farms to be sold to switched positions to keep the tax, and the legisla- state a workshop that explains the roots of the pay the tax. budget crisis as well as the “Stop the Cuts!” cam- In Maine, UFE is working with the paign’s fair tax solutions. Dirigo Alliance and the Maine In Washington State, the Governor and anti-gov- Center for Economic Policy to sup- ernment state legislators have refused to consider port the governor’s legislation to raising revenue despite a $2.4 billion budget gap in save the state estate tax by “de-link- their two-year budget. UFE/Responsible Wealth ing” it from the 2001 federal tax law. member Lois Canright, a member of the They educated state legislators Washington Tax Fairness Coalition, testified at a about the issue, resulting in pas- state Senate hearing about the importance of sage of legislation to keep the state addressing the underlying structural reasons estate tax in 2003 and 2004, thus behind the state’s deficit, mainly regressive taxa- helping to diminish the state's tion and corporate tax breaks. She and another RW budget crisis. member joined the coalition in a press conference In Texas, we worked with in support of a bill to audit all tax breaks. Progressive Texas presenting a

6 ture failed to override the veto, preserving $211 the information I learned about our tax system to million in revenue. argue my case about services for our community to the mayor.” In March, UFE was also invited to Montpelier, Alan Pogue Vermont to lead a workshop on the state’s budget Training in the Streets crisis at the March 1 “People’s Roundtable for a Spending a week camped outside Taco Bell head- Fair and Healthy Vermont Economy.” Workshop quarters in Irvine, California with the Coalition of participants developed short-term tax proposals to Immokalee Workers (CIW), an organization of stop the budget cuts, and set up a working group farmworkers from Florida, was an incredible, eye- to make the whole tax system fairer over the long- opening experience. term. “Lots of positive feedback about UFE’s role!” The CIW was seeking a pay increase of 1 cent per said Ed Stanak, president of the Vermont State TOMÁS AGUILAR LEADING A TRAINING IN TEXAS. pound of the tomatoes they pick, many of which Employees Association and chair of the event. wind up in Taco Bell restaurants. Yes, 1 cent. A We took the overall theme from UFE’s mission – penny. At current rates, the workers must haul 2 Finally, UFE is supporting fair tax organizations in that inequality hurts everyone – and worked it TONS of tomatoes to make $50 a day. They New Jersey and Illinois in their immediate efforts into the structure of the training institute using receive no health insurance, no sick leave, no to address their budget crisis. A coalition in New popular education methods in the traditions of paid holidays, no vacation, and no pension. Taco Jersey is campaigning for a millionaire’s tax, and in Central America and Mexico. We used tools like Bell is one of the major buyers of tomatoes in Illinois, legislation has been introduced to prevent “sociodramas," where we’d break into small Florida and has the potential to influence the the repeal of the state estate tax. We are mobilizing groups and act out situations and problems. growers to increase the pick rate by a penny per the unique voices of our Responsible Wealth mem- We’d then try to find out ways to solve them. The pound. bers in each of these states to speak out at press reflections after a sociodrama can be very deep conferences in favor of these progressive tax and emotional. The workers, along with allies from churches, reforms. schools and universities, went on a 10-day hunger Because of the great outreach and needs assess- strike in front of Taco Bell headquarters to drama- ment done by my co-trainers Jeanette Huezo tize their situation. (UFE), Josefina Castillo (Austin AFSC-TAO) and TEXAS POPULAR EDUCATION Francisco "Pancho" Argüelles (Houston, NOA), The economic workshops I did with the workers the training was tailored to the realities of organ- were different from anything I had ever done. TRAINING OF TRAINERS izers and activists in Texas. We provided them Normally, I’d do a workshop in a school, commu- IN SPANISH with city-specific data when appropriate. We also nity center or church. I’d use flip charts and blank made sure participants from the same area were paper to write on. In California, we were standing grouped together when trying to solve a problem outside in the rain exchanging information on the by Tomás Aguilar, National Organizer that had been posed. In this manner, they could economy. We didn’t use our charts or Growing further collaborate in their hometowns after the Divide format. The sessions were more of an In October, UFE broke new ground with our training. exchange of information: they shared their experi- "Economics Education Training of Trainers." This ences in the fields of Florida and in their home Participant feedback after the institute was posi- took me to Texas, my home state. The training countries, and I shared the structural analysis tive! Nidia Salamanca, the director of the Political was designed and conducted entirely in Spanish! that UFE is known for. The education was made Asylum Project of Austin, said, “It was great how Another first was that the training institute was a relevant by the hunger strike, the campaign, and the trainers broke down complex topics and collaborative effort, with contributions from UFE, the workers' deep commitment to changing the made them accessible to the average person.” Americans Friends Service Committee-Texas, conditions in the fields. Another participant, Aurelia Roque from El Paso, Arkansas and Oklahoma (AFSC-TAO), and the said a few weeks after the training that she “used National Organizers Alliance (NOA).

7 to undertake a comprehensive executive pay The Fidelity resolution paralleled an effort coordi- review in light of Disney’s lofty pay for poor per- nated by the Social Investment Forum and the formance. More than 14% of Disney’s sharehold- AFL-CIO to seek an SEC rule mandating proxy- RW VOICES ers supported the RW resolution, the highest voting disclosure by mutual funds. The proposed level of support of any shareholder proposal on rule by the SEC drew a record 7,000 public com- IN ACTION Disney’s ballot and more than twice as many who ments with fewer than 100 opposing the pro- supported a similar resolution last year at Disney. posed rule. In November, the SEC gave final by Scott Klinger, Co-Director, Responsible Wealth Responsible Wealth members have introduced approval to the rule and ordered funds to begin resolutions on executive pay issues that will reporting their proxy votes starting with the 2004 Senate Approves Acceleration of proxy season. Estate Tax Repeal During First appear on the proxies of four other firms: Bristol Day of Iraqi War. Myers Squibb, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, and General Electric. In response to a Responsible Wealth res- Using Our Voices for Positive Change Conference The rest of the world’s eyes were olution, EMC Corporation agreed to perform a focused on the Middle East, but CEO pay review. A resolution on corporate taxes Mike Lapham, Co-Director of Responsible outrageously the most important will come before Raytheon shareholders, and one Wealth, was the lead organizer for the recent RW item of business in the U.S. calling for competitive board elections will be conference in Seattle. The RW staff wants to Senate was accelerating the voted on at the Exxon Mobil meeting. The text of thank the co-sponsors and the 130 attendees repeal of the federal estate tax. who made it our best conference ever! Due to Liz Roll the resolutions can be found at Responsible The measure, approved in a 51- the conference, there is a SCOTT KLINGER Wealth's website: 48 vote on a budget resolution www.responsiblewealth.org/shareholder new group of people using amendment hastily offered by Senator Jon Kyl (R- their unique voices to speak AZ), would hasten the complete repeal of the Victory: SEC Orders Mutual Funds to Begin out for a fairer society. estate tax by one year to 2009. The $46 billion Disclosing Proxy Votes cost of the measure would be paid for out of gen- eral government funds, according to the Kyl Two years ago Responsible Wealth undertook an amendment, qualifying the measure as “funded” Investors Right-to-Know Campaign calling upon its members to contact their mutual fund man- Don West and therefore not subject to the 60 vote super- LEFT: MIKE LAPHAM majority rules required for most tax cut bills agers to ask how proxies were being under Senate rules. voted. Though mutual funds control nearly a quarter of the stocks traded Despite this modest setback, there were signifi- on US markets, the funds have a cant signs of hope in the vote, as five Senators reputation for mindlessly voting in who had steadfastly supported complete repeal of favor of management positions on the estate tax, voted against this measure. Many matters of corporate governance. UFE and RW members made calls about this Late last year, two Responsible important vote. A special thanks to the people of Wealth supporters, Charles Sandmel Maine who successfully turned both of their U.S. of Massachusetts and Walter Krieg Senators around on this issue. of New Jersey, took the unusual step

of filing a shareholder resolution Ron Wurzer Shareholder Activism with a mutual fund. Sandmel and THE INFAMOUS “CELL PHONE DRILL TEAM” MADE A SURPRISE APPEAR- Responsible Wealth member Michele McGeoy Krieg asked the Fidelity Magellan ANCE AT THE RW CONFERENCE IN SEATTLE, USING THEIR CELL PHONES, filed a shareholder resolution calling for Disney Fund to begin disclosing its proxy voting record to fund holders. WRIST WATCH CALCULATORS AND FISTFULS OF CASH TO LOBBY CONGRESS FOR A DIVENDEND TAX CUT.

8 DIVIDEND TAX CUTS A letter to our loyal supporters, WON’T HELP REVIVE THE ECONOMY YES! I WANT BE A MEMBER OF It is not stretching the truth one bit to say we UNITED FOR A FAIR ECONOMY. By Tom Thomas, Responsible Wealth member can’t do it without you. Enclosed is my gift of I'm a stockholder, not a big stock- To all of you who contributed to United for a ∏ $500 ∏ $100 ∏ $50 ∏ $30 ∏ $____ holder, but I sometimes get the Fair Economy and/or our project, Responsible pleasure of a receiving a dividend Wealth, we offer our heartfelt thanks. We ∏ Check enclosed check. Imagine my surprise when I know what tough economic times these are ∏ Bill my __ Visa __ MC recently got an insert with my and that makes your donation even more pre- Citigroup dividend asking me to cious. Acct. No. ______lobby for President Bush's divi- dend tax cut. To all who contributed to our matching grant, – Expiration _____Signature ______TOM THOMAS My first reaction was surprise, we thank you and the donors who issued the then anger. Why is Citigroup, original challenge. That kind of a response Name ______which I own along with millions of others, spend- boosts the spirits of all of us who work at ing our money telling us what our opinions on United for a Fair Economy. Address ______federal tax policy should be? It turns out that dozens of companies, including General Motors Much appreciation, City ______and Verizon, are sending such inserts to their The UFE staff shareholders about the president's fiscally reck- State ______Zip ______less proposal to eliminate dividend taxes. Of the staggering $674 billion 10-year price tag Day Phone ______Interested in Working with UFE? for the president's tax cut bill, the lion's share, Go to $364 billion, comes from eliminating any tax on Evening Phone ______www.FairEconomy.org/about/jobs dividend income. What does it say about our to find out about available jobs at UFE! country's work ethic if we tax income from work- Email ______ing but not from owning stock? Thank you! Mail this to: Tax filers making between $30,000 and $40,000 Fair Play is a United for a Fair Economy. It is pub- United for a Fair Economy, would get only an average of $42 a year from this luished twice a year, in spring and fall 37 Temple Place, 2nd Floor, change in the tax rules. Citigroup's CEO, Sanford Editor: Pam Rogers Boston, MA 02111-1308 Weill, on the other hand, would personally get Lay-out: Yee Won Chong over $7 million from the policy he asked me to Copy Editors: Karen Kraut, Chris Hartman, Jessie lobby for. Schnapp, David Martin United for a Fair Economy, UFE is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. I have joined hundreds of other angry sharehold- 37 Temple Place, 2nd Floor, All contributions in excess of the value of the ers in an on-line Shareholder Rebellion petition Boston, MA 02111-1308 goods and services received are tax-deductible. against the dividend tax cut . I hope that our U.S. phone: 617-423-2148 fax: 617-423-0191 Senators will listen to us and give some relief to www.FairEconomy.org [email protected] ✁ those who really need it instead.

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“War and the Economy” and "More Bucks for the Bang: CEO Pay at Top Defense Contractors", a report on CEO pay at corporations profiting from the war and increased defense spending can be downloaded at:

www.FairEconomy.org

You will also find all our past reports. Why not purchase a UFE T-shirts, caps, and bumperstickers while you’re at it? Click on the “Order Materials”.