MEDIA ADVISORY FOR JUNE 17
Media Contact:
Domenica Ghanem, domenica@ips-dc.org, 202 787 5205
Isabel Urbano, Isabel.Urbano@berlinrosen.com, 646-680-0905 [for inquiries about Congress, Candidates’ Forum]
(Washington, DC) — Last year, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, led by Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, released a Moral Agenda and set of demands to address systemic systemic, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy. On June 17, the Poor People’s Campaign and the Institute for Policy Studies will release a Moral Budget outlining how we can pay for those demands.
The report, Poor People’s Moral Budget: Everybody has a Right to Live, will be released with a press call on June 17, 2019 at 10AM ET featuring Revs. Barber and Theoharis, report authors Lindsay Koshgarian and Shailly Gupta Barnes, and economists Darrick Hamilton and Julianne Malveaux. The report looks at policies and investments for seven critical areas of the moral agenda. In each case, the report finds not only can we afford the demands of the poor, but that the cost of not addressing them are far greater than we’ve been led to believe.
For example, this report identifies:
$350 billion in annual military spending cuts that would make the nation and the world more secure
$886 billion in estimated annual revenue from fair taxes on the wealthy, corporations, and Wall Street
Billions in savings from ending mass incarceration, addressing climate change
Protecting basic democratic rights would be a boon for taxpayers. Just one state, has $385 million in estimated annual costs resulting from restrictive voting and civil rights laws for the formerly incarcerated.
Investments in a health care system that covers everyone would actually save businesses and individuals as much as $310 billion per year while expanding coverage
This press call will be followed by the opening of the Poor People’s Moral Action Congress, a three day event organized by the Poor People’s Campaign, where the Moral Budget will be officially released. Following the call will be a Candidates’ Forum, where poor people organizers will ask ten 2020 presidential candidates — including Vice President Biden, Sen. Warren, Sen. Sanders, and Sen. Harris — their stances on the proposals to end poverty given our report findings. The three-day Congress will also include a National Freedom School, and a hearing on Capitol Hill.
The report will be available on June 17 at 10 AM here: https://ips-dc.org/report-
WHAT: Moral Budget Report Press Call
WHEN: Monday, June 17, 2019
10:00-11:00AM ET
WHERE: Toll-free dial-in: 1 (866) 868-1282
Passcode: 6492 538#
WHO:
- Rev. Dr. William Barber, II, Poor People’s Campaign
- Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Poor People’s Campaign
- Lindsay Koshgarian, report author, Institute for Policy Studies
- Shailly Gupta Barnes, report author, Kairos Center
- Darrick Hamilton, economist, Kirwan Institute
- Julianne Malveuax, economist, Bennett College
RSVP: please RSVP to Domenica Ghanem at domenica@ips-dc.org or 202 787 5205
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