Texas and Taxes: February 9 - February 23 2021

Hi everyone!
So excited to be back on our biweekly schedule! :) Hope that you are your families are staying safe and well. 
This list covers the weather in Texas and how it's connected to climate change, reproductive justice-related happenings, and the Invest in Our New York Act proposing new taxes on the ultra-wealthy. We break it all down for you and provide easy, concrete ways for you to get involved below. 
Before you dive in — remember to take a breath every so often, and to take care of yourselves. (Pandemic burnout is real.) We're with you; stay strong. 
Peace & power,
​Teens Resist​

WHAT WENT DOWN

Texas Weather:
​This past week, citizens in the American Southern Plains saw unprecedented tragedy. Numerous states were ravaged by record volumes of snow and temperatures nearing 0 degrees, fahrenheit. Texas, especially, has borne the brunt of this extreme weather, with each of the state’s 254 counties touched by the storm. Texas is the only state in America with its own power grid; to escape New Deal energy regulations decades ago, Texas’ government isolated their electrical network from the rest of the nation. Without regional reinforcements, Texas was unable to retain widespread power in the frigid temperatures. Many natural gas suppliers and some renewable energy mechanisms, like wind turbines, froze over, and at the peak of the crisis, over 7 million Texans were affected by blackouts. ​​

These outages, as well as infrastructural weaknesses that fail to protect homes from frigid weather, have catalyzed an alarming humanitarian crisis. Over the course of the week, citizens were left without heat, safe drinking water, and use of most utilities. Not to mention, homeless individuals, communities in poverty, and incarcerated individuals have experienced living conditions that threaten survival. According to the Washington Post, the storm’s reported death toll is about 30 - keep in mind, no statistics are absolute at this point.

As far as government response to this crisis goes, state authorities are actively coordinating with an array of commissions to assuage concerns about water quality, establish statewide warming centers, and restore a power grid deeply inflicted by weather damage. Federally, President Biden approved a Major Disaster Declaration for 77 counties on February 20 after having declared a state of emergency days before. Local governments and tribal communities in these areas will receive supplemental economic support. And while Texas Senator Ted Cruz fled to Mexico with his family to vacation, leaders like Cruz’s 2018 Senate opponent Beto O’Rourke and NY’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised funds and volunteer coalitions to address the emergency. 

Moving into the week of the 22nd, conditions (both weather-related and within the power grid) are expected to greatly improve. However, the economic, humanitarian, and infrastructural impacts of this crisis are certainly indelible. We’re not powerless in mitigating them, though. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Donate to Texans in need:
  • Mutual aid funds throughout Texas are sending most contributions to communities in need, consolidating and distributing resources. Donate in Austin (Venmo: @austinmutualaid), Dallas/Fort Worth (VM: @feedthepeopledallas), Houston (VM: @mutualaidhou), and San Antonio (VM: @trinitymutualaid).
  • Donate to a variety of grassroots groups through AOC’s fundraiser here.
  • Donate to the Austin Area Urban League’s emergency fund to provide shelter to families in need. Find their site here.
  • Haven for Hope provides hundreds of homeless families in San Antonio with shelter, hygiene products, and clothing year-round! Make a tax-deductible donation here.
  • Texas Jail Project advocates for incarcerated people by ensuring their safety and humane treatment, pushing for criminal justice reform, and investigating unjust protocols in Texas jails. Donate here to help inmates and incarcerated individuals affected by the weather. 

• Volunteer with organizations that directly coordinate with Texans.
  • Canvass with Beto O’Rourke and Powered by People to check in on households in Texas after the storm. A schedule of events can be found here.
  • Volunteer with the Texas Salvation Army to provide hands-on disaster relief.

• Share resources on social media or directly to Texans to assist them in this crisis.
  • The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies is providing help to disabled individuals affected by the weather crisis. Their hotline is located at 800-626-4959.
  • Located here is an interactive map of warming centers in Texas that provide heated shelter in the cold.
  • Business owners impacted by the weather and power outages can register for government disaster assistance at this site.
  • Here is a guide to energy conservation and mindfulness as power outages ravage the state

The Role of Climate Change: 
​Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas aren’t supposed to be under weather advisory in the winter. Still, this crisis was predictable and, theoretically, more easily manageable. The jet stream that consolidates cold air at the North Pole (within the polar vortex) was weakened by an abrupt warming of the atmosphere above the Arctic. The jet stream, which traps in the polar vortex, is less equipped to handle an unstable polar vortex. So, this cold, low pressure air can leak out, causing extreme temperatures in places closer to the equator. This event is referred to as Sudden Stratospheric Warming, and caused cold air normally sustained near the US-Canada border to spill directly into the American South. 

Scientists have foreseen the emergence of this phenomenon for decades. Heating in the Arctic is a direct consequence of global warming, the irregular consolidation of greenhouse gases and CO2 in the atmosphere and subsequent securing of thermal energy.

As we know, the Earth’s climate has been continuously warming, and patterns have been scientifically confirmed in America since at least the 1950s. Global warming is arguably the most daunting existential threat humanity has faced. Research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that if sweeping, bold action is not taken to shift energy production, within a decade, there will be no way to reverse this crisis and its impacts: rising sea levels, extreme weather like snowstorms, hurricanes, and droughts alike, worsened air quality, and the extinction of numerous species. 

Not-so-coincidentally, it was Texas’ - and America’s - heavy reliance on natural gases that both created their crisis and prevented a swift response to it. Coal mining and oil drilling as a means of producing energy contribute thousands of tons of carbon emissions, among other dangerous substances, to the atmosphere annually. And when freezing temperatures froze over infrastructure that sustained this natural gas production in Texas, millions lost power. Incoming generations will be left to fend for themselves in environmental conditions that simply fail to sustain life if changes are not immediately made to environmental policy.

President Biden’s platform to confront climate change is extensive. He has proposed a plan to achieve a clean-energy economy with net-zero emissions by 2050, conserve at least 30% of American lands and waters with animals at risk of extinction, and prompt shifts to electric cars and renewable energy use by airlines. On his first day in office, Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and cut off permits for the development of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a vast intracontinental oil conduit. He has also appointed the first Climate Envoy and promised to monitor the environmental responsibility of corporations and the government bureaucracy. The administration has been particularly focused on the connection between green energy and the economy, and hopes to create new jobs while addressing the climate crisis. They have also promised to give 40% of the benefits that come from government investment in clean energy to communities of color—this is an important first step, as Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities have bore the brunt of pollution, pipelines, and hazardous waste. However, a lot of Trump-era policy could take years to undo.

Amidst these ostensibly decisive plans, concerns about Republican resistance to his policies and activism from more progressive climate voices indicate that Biden’s plan may not suffice. Proposals like the Green New Deal that explicitly and expansively prioritize economic justice in tandem with climate appeal to many young people, but a call to balance feasibility and policy change continues to plague leaders in Washington. 

​WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Advocate for sweeping, progressive climate legislation. 
  • Sunrise Movement, a youth-led initiative focused on passing the Green New Deal, leads regular volunteer programs to push for concrete policy change. Learn about their demands for President Biden here.
  • Find your legislators’ contact information at these links and contact them about climate policy that matters to you. Some promising items of legislation can be found here (requiring the declaration of a national climate emergency) and here (the Green New Deal).
  • Find all of our previous coverage of climate change on our Index by the Issues page.
• Change your daily practices. On an idiosyncratic level, we can seek to minimize our carbon footprints and influence those around us to trigger piecemeal progress. 
  • Many powerful corporations rely on natural gas for manufacturing and delivering, and in the age of burgeoning industry, greenhouse gas emissions are a staple. Begin purchasing second-hand clothing, buying from local businesses, and being mindful of the sustainability policy of brands you purchase from. 
  • Change up your daily energy use. If you’re able, stray away from nonrenewable power sources and invest in solar energy, electric cars, and energy-efficient appliances.
  • Research what you consume! Rather than purchasing foods that have undergone immense production, look into organic options.​​

Reproductive Justice Update:
Some of President Joe Biden’s first actions in office have centered around reproductive rights and justice. On January 28th, Biden signed an executive order to temporarily reopen the Affordable Care Act in order to expand access to health care during the pandemic. Along with this came another executive order that repealed the global gag rule. The gag rule is an anti-abortion policy introduced by Ronald Regan and then reinstated by Donald Trump during his presidency. It prevents organizations from receiving assistance from the United States to provide information, service, or referrals for abortion or from advocating for the accessibility of abortion in their country, even if they had their own money to support the cause. As a result, access to health care was prevented and reproductive rights were crippled. Biden’s goal is to undo many of Trump’s harmful actions, especially those relating to healthcare and reproductive rights. In addition to rescinding the gag rule, Biden pushed the Department of Health and Human Services to review a mandate by Trump that cut funding for family-planning programs that take a role in abortion services, such as Planned Parenthood, and ordered the reversal of a cut in funding to the United Nations Population Fund. ​

Also related to reproductive justice comes a new act, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021, introduced by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Congresswoman Alma Adams, Senator Cory Booker, and associates of the Black Maternal Health Caucus. This act will:

• Make investments in social factors that determine maternal health outcomes, such as housing and transportation.
• Provide funding to organizations based in communities that are trying to improve maternal health outcomes.
• Study the risks that pregnant and postpartum veterans face and support VA maternity care programs.
• Diversify and grow the perinatal workforce in the United States to ensure that every mother receives care and support from those of similar cultures and backgrounds.
• Improve data collection and quality measures to better understand the maternal health crisis and provide solutions. 
• Support mothers with maternal mental health conditions and disorders. 
• Improve maternal health support and care for incarcerated mothers.
• Improve digital tools and provide them to areas that are underserved as to improve maternal health outcomes. 
• Promote more innovative pay models to make high-quality maternal care more accessible.
• Invest in programs that study the effects of COVID on pregnancy.
• Invest in community-based initiatives that aim to reduce the climate-change exposure and risks on mothers and babies.
• Promote maternal vaccinations to protect the health of mothers and babies. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 

• Contact your Representative and ask them to co-sponsor the Black Maternal Mobius Act. Use this link to do so: https://secure.ngpvan.com/lcYyQt6fcEu5y9cgHWODLQ2?ms=email_rj_advo_em20210211&emci=d8b61c7c-a66c-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&emdi=0d0c2a53-ac6c-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&ceid=5180029
• Follow the Black Maternal Health Caucus on Twitter to stay in loop with all updates.
• Use social media to spread the word about this act! Use the sample posts provided by the Black Maternal Health Caucus.​

Invest in Our New York Act:
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are suffering.  

As a result of the pandemic, countless people have been going hungry and homeless, and live in despair.  New York State has the 5th highest unemployment rate in America.   Over 1.4 million New Yorkers are facing eviction.  To make matters worse, over one million immigrants are excluded from unemployment benefits, housing, and federal stimulus checks.  

Notwithstanding all this suffering, the top 1% of New Yorkers are only getting richer.  They are capturing over half of New York’s economic growth.  New York’s 120 billionaires have experienced a wealth increase of $77 billion throughout the pandemic.    Yet they enjoy a shockingly low amount of taxes.  As a result, poor people are suffering while the top 1% take home billions.  Is that fair?​

The Invest in Our New York Act aims for a more progressive tax.  The authors of the act propose new and higher income tax brackets starting at $300,000 per year for individuals, and $450,000 for married people.  Furthermore, the Act would create new brackets to those who earn more than $300,000/$450,000 and an even higher bracket for those who earn between $10 million and $100 million.  This means that over 95% of New Yorkers will not see a change in their income tax.  Even for the few that will, the effect would be manageable.  

Many wealthy people earn most of their money from capital gains, as opposed to the average person who earns most of their income from working jobs.  The federal capital gains tax at this time provides for a relatively low rate. That tax rate may or may not change.  That is why the Act would add a New York state capital gains tax.  This tax would generate $7 billion per year for New York.  Many wealthy people also receive money through large amounts of inherited wealth, and they don’t get sufficiently taxed on it.  That’s why the Act provides for an Heirs’ Tax to tax inheritance.  Most New Yorkers would not be affected by this tax.  

The act would also introduce other kinds of taxes applying to wealthy New Yorkers. In total, these new taxes would raise at least $50 billion per year and possibly more.

Raising taxes is always unpopular.  And the risk that wealthy New Yorkers, particularly foreigners, will leave New York State so they no longer have to pay state taxes does exist. Yet these are extraordinary times, times that have affected New York State with the worst pandemic in a century.  Increased taxation for the rich is essential and it is fair.  Something must be done.  

You can learn more here.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Visit investinourny.org and sign the petition
• Use https://p2a.co/EkZVEbW to call and email Governor Cuomo, your state senator, and your state assembly member.  You can use https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator to find your state senator and https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/ to find your state assembly member.
• You can call and email Speaker Carl Heastie at 518-455-3791 or speaker@nyassembly.gov

You can also call and email Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousin at 518-455-2585 or scousins@nysenate.gov.  ​

This list was written by Sabrina Thaler, Mia Reiland, Ananya Gera, and Sarah Germana and edited by Sonia Chajet Wides and Kate Griem.

ANd, Finally, In case you Still Haven't Seen it...