Are You Wearing Orange Today?

Today, June 2nd, is Gun Violence Awareness Day. Thousands of citizens across our country and across our state are participating in events to honor the victims of gun violence and increase awareness of this devastating public health crisis. They are doing so by wearing orange, a color typically worn by hunters to protect themselves, representing the value of human life.

My Chief of Staff, Dwight, and I wore orange today for Gun Violence Awareness Day

I prepared a resolution in the Senate to mark today as Gun Violence Awareness Day in Pennsylvania and will be joining with citizen advocates from Moms Demand Action and Mothers in Charge to honor victims later this afternoon. We lose an average of eighty-eight Americans to gun violence each day: more than the deaths suffered in Newtown, Columbine and at Virginia Tech on a daily basis. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Pennsylvania had the 4th highest number of gun deaths out of all fifty states in the first decade of the 21st century. Awareness is the first place to start as we seek to address this crisis.

Get Your Tickets Here

If you’d like to learn more about gun violence and how you can be a part of the legislative battle to protect lives, I invite you to join me on June 11th for a screening of Making a Killing. Rep. Madeleine Dean and Rep. Steve McCarter have joined me to co-host this free event. Making a Killing tells the story of how guns, and the billions made off of them, affect the lives of everyday Americans. The film exposes how powerful gun companies and the NRA are resisting responsible legislation for the sake of profit - and thereby putting people in danger. You can watch a trailer here.

Following the film, we will have a discussion about gun violence and how you can save lives by supporting legislation in Pennsylvania’s House and Senate. Tickets are free and can be purchased by calling 215-517-6800. Online ticketing available at http://hiwaytheater.org/films/making-a-killing ($1 processing fee).

Fair Taxation is Possible for Pennsylvania

At a time when our state and nation seem rigged against working people, when our minimum wage remains outrageously low, when schools and social services have been drained of funds – it is a crime that our commonwealth’s tax system is also stacked against everyday citizens. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy placed Pennsylvania on the “Terrible Ten” list of states for unfair taxation in 2015. The researchers found that low-income Pennsylvanians pay three times the tax share of the wealthy in Pennsylvania, while middle-income earners pay twice as much as the well-off.

To respond to this unbalanced taxation, I introduced a two-part legislative package with the support of my colleagues, Senators Jay Costa, Vincent Hughes, Daylin Leach and Larry Farnese. First, SB 1257 would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to make it possible for our state to tax middle income families at a lower rate than those who are high-income. All of the states surrounding Pennsylvania have this kind of graduated taxation according to data from the Tax Foundation. Second, SB 1258 would impose a 4% tax on non-wage, non-interest income classes that are concentrated among the most affluent. The tax would apply to net profits; dividends; net income derived from rents, royalties, patents and copyrights; gambling and lottery winnings; and net gains derived through estates and trusts. According to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, this legislation could add up to about $1.2 billion in revenue by the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year.

While Pennsylvania is struggling to manage a more than $1 billion deficit, we cannot afford to continue requiring low and middle income families to pay double or even three times their share in taxes as the wealthy. What we need is a balanced tax system, and that is what this legislation would begin to create. I welcome additional suggestions for the Fair Taxation legislative package as we continue to develop it.

Join me by Encouraging Youth Summer Employment – and Reading

We can all recognize the innate value and importance of our first job or internship. My own first job was as a newspaper delivery boy when I was nine-years-old. The lessons I learned from working to earn a paycheck cannot be understated, and we must instill these values in the next generation.

While Pennsylvania’s economy has improved in recent years, the number of employment opportunities available for teenagers and young adults has continued to decline. In fact, in Philadelphia alone, there are 72,000 out-of-school youth between ages 16 and 24 that are unemployed. To give some perspective, that’s more people than could fit in Lincoln Financial Field. Study after study indicates that youth from low-income families have been disproportionately impacted by this reduction in job opportunities.

To help address this employment gap, I am encouraging businesses throughout the area to hire young people this summer. To do this, I am introducing legislation as part of Senator Vincent Hughes’ Youth Investment Initiative that will create a Youth Employment Tax Credit Program. This program will incentivize private employers to hire teenagers and young adults from low-income families. Employers would be able to claim a credit equal to 35% of the total cost of the employment opportunity, or $1,500, whichever is less.

Younger children can prepare themselves for success by reading this summer. And you can help. Will you read with a child every day this summer? Reading is the foundation for opportunity – and employment – later in life.

Dare to Care,

Art Haywood
State Senator
4th District

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