Welcome to the second edition of Pennsylvania Policy Center’s Policy Pulse newsletter — and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’re glad you’re here! Speaking of things we are thankful for this month — progressives maintained the majority in the PA HOUSE! The rest of the election…. well… continue reading, below, for a debrief, and to take a moment to rest, recharge, and resist!
A Note on the Election from Executive Director, Marc Stier
The Pennsylvania Policy Center doesn’t endorse candidates. But we can react to the results.
And we, like most of you who follow us, are hurting. We are frustrated and scared.
We are grieving for the people who we know are going to be hurt by Trump’s policies — immigrants, people with low incomes, Black and brown people, transgender people, people who need abortions, people who need health care.
We need to take some time to deal with the emotional upheaval created by this terrible election result. And we also have to understand where we are and what we can do to save our country and move it in a better direction.
You may not yet be ready to think about that, but I have written a longer blog post with some initial thoughts for when you are.
Onward…
—Marc
TOMORROW!!! Policy Action Meeting! Join PPC, Planned Parenthood, and Make the Road PA this Thursday on Zoom!
Each month on the third Thursday at 1 p.m., we bring you an online forum to exchange ideas and learn more about PA policy and politics. We hope to see you TOMORROW! We’ll have a special guest: Rep. Jordan Harris (HD 186), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee and a key leader in the General Assembly!
Rep. Harris will join us to share his thoughts about the 2024 elections and PA’s political landscape in 2025 and beyond. In addition, Marc Stier, PPC executive director; Adam Hosey, Planned Parenthood PA Advocates’ policy and political director; and Tammy Murphy, manager of public policy and advocacy with Make the Road PA will identify threats to particular allies and the communities they serve and highlight opportunities for solidarity and mutual defense.
RSVP for this extended Policy Action Zoom meeting and receive a calendar reminder and login link: https://bit.ly/PolicyAction11-21.
Out Of Office: Get to Know… Dwayne Heisler, Campaign Director, Pennsylvanians Together
“When not rallying for tax justice or championing the Pennsylvanians Together Agenda, I dive into worlds where teamwork is key — whether it’s wielding a crumhorn in an early music ensemble or casting spells in cooperative role-playing games. As a former director of the Bloom Consort, I’ve wrangled harmonies from the 14th century, and as a gamer, I’ve strategized victories in realms like D&D and Demeo. Turns out, whether you’re building coalitions for progressive policies or assembling a diverse party of adventurers, the formula is the same: bring unique talents to the table, play your part, and achieve something extraordinary together.”
Dwayne and his dog, Zephyr
Focus on: Immigrants’ Contributions in Pennsylvania
Here in Pennsylvania, undocumented immigrants contributed $523,100,000 in state and local taxes in 2022 — a number that would have risen to $667,000,000 if these taxpayers had been granted work authorization according to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Click here to read the full release.
Other key findings include:
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- Nationally, undocumented immigrants contributed $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Of this, $37.3 billion went to state and local governments.
- For every one million undocumented immigrants who reside in the country, public services receive $8.9 billion in additional tax revenue. On the flip side, for every one million undocumented immigrants who are deported, public services stand to lose $8.9 billion in tax revenue.
- Nationally, providing access to work authorization to all current undocumented immigrants would increase their tax contributions by $40.2 billion per year to $136.9 billion.
- More than a third of the tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants are toward payroll taxes dedicated to funding programs — like Social Security and Medicare — that these workers are barred from accessing.
- Similarly, income tax payments by undocumented immigrants are affected by laws that require them to pay more than otherwise similarly situated U.S. citizens; as one example, they are often barred from receiving meaningful tax credits like the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit. However, many states have made their versions of these credits more immigrant-inclusive in recent years.
- In PA and 39 other states, undocumented immigrants pay higher state and local tax rates than the top 1 percent of households living within their borders.
Click here to access this INFOGRAPHIC and help stop the spread of fallacies surrounding immigrants’ contributions! Share it with friends and on social media!
BE SURE TO READ OUR LATEST BLOG POSTS!
The Pennsylvania House—Our Ray of Electoral Sunshine
What Happened. What We Must Do to Resist. And What We Must Do to Move Forward.
Notable/Quotable: Levana Layendecker, COO, PPC
“In the times we are in, I am so grateful to be part of a community that is based on supporting people and accepting people no matter where they are in life — and believing that we can only create a better future for everyone if we work together.”
Levana
LevanaPartner Event: Why Courts Matter 101, a Virtual Town Hall
Are you shocked or stunned by the outcome of the November 5th election? Are you asking yourself how, together, we can continue to defend democracy and ensure our freedoms and rights remain intact?
If the answer is yes, we would like to invite you to join “Why Courts Matter 101, a Virtual Town Hall.”
When: Thursday, December 19, 2024 Time: 6:30–8 p.m. on ZOOM, link here.
In 2025, Pennsylvania will elect judges and justices in partisan elections, and participate in nonpartisan judicial retention elections, including three PA Supreme Court seats. It’s important that our communities are fully informed about the importance of our state and federal courts, to ensure they remain fair and independent. A more civically engaged electorate is more likely to turn out to vote in 2025’s judicial elections.
This year we are focused on what we are thankful for. We are thankful for you — our community! Tell us what YOU are thankful for here, and we’ll share it with our partners and fellow activists on social media!
In the times we are in, we are so grateful to be part of a community that is based in supporting people and accepting people no matter where they are in life — and believing that we can only create a better future for everyone if we work together.
Would you commit to a monthly contribution to sustain our work? To contribute, go here.
The entire team at the Pennsylvania Policy Center is sincerely thankful your support this year and moving forward.
—Marc Stier, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Policy Center; and the entire PPC team: Adrienne, Castin, Dwayne, Erica, Jeff, Kirstin, and Levana