Dear MoveOn member,
As the coronavirus crisis puts hundreds of millions of Americans in health and economic uncertainty, Congress is fast preparing to consider the largest economic stimulus package in history.
We need an enormous, ambitious response to this unprecedented pandemic—one that focuses on investing in the most-impacted communities, workers, small businesses, and families in significant, immediate, and lasting ways.
What we don't need: an unprecedented giveaway to the biggest corporations, to prop up corporate dividends and CEO bonuses at the expense of the rest of us.
Now is the time to shout from the rooftops: #PeopleOverProfits, as Congress scrambles to find a compromise on potentially $1 trillion of economic relief. And we know that if money doesn't flow to the people who need it most, it will never trickle down.
Today at 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 CT/4:30 MT/3:30 PT), join the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II and the Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis of the Poor People's Campaign, me, Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn, and MoveOn's Reggie Hubbard, for a discussion of how to advocate for our values in the congressional response to this moment and a broader conversation of Pandemic Amid Poverty: The Moral Revival required to address COVID-19.
You can click here at 6:30 p.m. ET to join the call which will be streamed on Facebook Live, where you can react and share your thoughts in real time. Or simply "like" MoveOn's Facebook page and you'll get a notification when we go live.
We are ready to act together. We need leaders and institutions across governments at all levels, philanthropy, and business to do everything they possibly can now to protect our public health and financial stability during this crisis and fix the institutional problems that prevent people from thriving in their day-to-day lives. We call on them to:
- Provide health care, housing, and financial security for all.
- Ensure all relief and support programs are expansive and cover everyone, no matter their employment, economic, incarceration, or immigration status, and that they provide extra support and relief to those most vulnerable in our society.
- Protect frontline workers.
- Invest in states and communities, not corporations or industry bailouts.
- Protect our democracy.
These demands, rooted in our shared values, must be at the heart of the congressional stimulus plan.
We saw what happened after 2008: Many corporations that were supported by taxpayer dollars returned, within years, to reckless policies that benefited the 1% and hurt workers. Within years, CEO bonuses had surged, and though companies were showing huge profits, they were investing in stock buybacks and were doing nothing to invest in communities, workers, and the public good.
We have a chance to do better now. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, and others have proposed requirements for how corporations must act if they are bailed out by public fund—and have insisted we put people first.
We agree: Put people over corporate profits in this stimulus. Put Main Street over Wall Street.
The needs are extraordinary at this moment—for health security, food security, housing security, economic security,and so much more. And before Congress rushes to pass a package of unprecedented size, we need to issue a clear moral call for what's needed during this unprecedented moment.
Join me, my colleague Reggie Hubbard, and inspirational leaders Rev. Barber and Rev. Theoharis this evening for a discussion of how, together, we can rise to this moment.
Click here at 6:30 ET/3:30 PT to join today's call on Facebook Live. Or simply "like" our Facebook page and you'll receive a notification when we go live. We also will be making a recording of the call available tomorrow.
This virus has revealed the interconnectedness within our country and our world, showing that the health and well-being of each one of us is intimately bound to the health and well-being of all. Now, we must rise to the occasion and care for each other and support one another.
There will be those who will try to seize this crisis to further their own interests and divide us against each other based on where we come from, what we have, and our perceived health and worthiness.
But we are greater than fear, and we are all better off when each and every one of us is treated with dignity and respect. It is our responsibility to come together to protect the lives of those around us by limiting the spread of this disease as much as possible and caring for the tens of millions whose health, jobs, families and communities will be impacted. It is no accident that most people can't sustain even a small crisis, much less this large global pandemic. We must not only provide relief now, but fix our institutions to ensure people can thrive in our day-to-day lives.
Thanks for all you do.
—Rahna, David, Reggie, Anne, and the rest of the team
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