As UE members and their families are adversely impacted by the avalanche of red budget ink at the state and local level, two recent tax policy studies by respected Washington, D.C. research organizations provide some startling facts on the situation.

The first is a blockbuster report entitled, “Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in all 50 States.” Produced by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the report reveals how cash-strapped states have increasingly shifted the tax burden onto working people and retirees. The study concludes that most state and local taxes take a larger share from working families than the rich, a regressive trend that has worsened over the past decade. The report also lists the 10 states with the most regressive, anti-worker tax systems, and provides details of the taxation policies of all 50 states. UE members living in South Dakota, Illinois, and Pennsylvania unfortunately find themselves among the ten worst states for regressive taxation. View the complete study at: www.itepnet.org [1]

The second tax study is entitled, “Protecting Public Education From Tax Giveaways to Corporations.” Produced by Good Jobs First, this report lays bare the growing crisis of public school funding. In plain English it is explained how corporations and business-friendly politicians have exploited and abused several kinds of “economic development” subsidies to quietly divert funds away from the public schools. The diversion has reached scandalous proportions in many states, with public information about the deals sketchy at best.

View the complete report at: www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/edu.pdf [2] .