* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Henry
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Request for Federal Action - Avoiding Sequestration
FOR the purpose of expressing the Baltimore City Council's support for allowing Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy to expire, while balancing the Federal budget in a way that will create jobs and strengthen our communities, and calling upon Congress to draft or pass, and the President to sign, legislation that would do so.
body
Recitals
WHEREAS, the United States government is currently confronting major decisions regarding our nation's budget and fiscal policies.
WHEREAS, the American economy continues its slow and inadequate recovery from the Great Recession; twenty million people want to work full time but cannot; unemployment stubbornly remains at 8 percent; and a weak economy undermines the nation's social fabric and deprives future generations of the opportunity to live rich and fulfilling lives.
WHEREAS, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are central to the vitality of the middle class and keep millions of Americans out of poverty; and federal investments in education and infrastructure are essential to the nation's future prosperity.
WHEREAS, sequestration the technical term for mandating painful cuts to every area of the 2013 budget inevitably shifts costs onto states and municipalities, which, unlike the federal government, cannot adequately cope with them through deficit spending; federal borrowing costs are at an all time low; and senseless austerity policies have pushed Europe into a double dip recession.
WHEREAS, the short term federal budget deficit is primarily the result of a weakened economy; long term budget deficits pose no immediate threat to the American economy; and long term deficits are driven largely by rising health care costs that must be addressed carefully over the course of years, not weeks.
WHEREAS, the Federal Reserve has a legal mandate to pursue both "stable prices" and "maximum employment", but in recent years inflation has been consistently below its stated target while the unemployment rate has soared.
WHEREAS, real median family income has been nearly stagnant for four decades despite continued growth in productivity; economic inequality has expanded to levels unseen since the 1930s; the wealthiest Americans receive an ever larger share of national income and pay an ever smaller percentage of taxes; and millions of families are unable to afford basic necessities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, that the Council hereby supports the adoption of Federal budget policies that prioritize the revitalization of the economy, the creation of millions of new jobs, and a return to broadly shared prosperity; the avoidance of cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits or shifting of costs to the states; the resistance of cuts to the safety net or to vital services for the most disadvantaged members of society; a restructuring of our tax system to ensure sufficient revenue at least 20 percent of GDP by the end of the decade in order to fund crucial services and investments; raising income tax rates on the richest Americans to their levels during the prosperous 1990s; and calls upon Congress to draft or pass, and the President to sign, legislation that would embody these principles.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Maryland Delegation to the 112th Congress, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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