Workers taking on corporations. The Other America.

international | worker & community struggles and protests | news report

Wednesday December 15, 2004 17:20

by john throne - labors militant voice.

The Other America. BP, US Steel and other corporations bribed the politicians of Indiana to reassess their tax base and reduce their tax liability. The reduction of taxes that followed was then passed onto the taxes on the homes of working class people. 200,000 families are now estimated to be in danger of losing their homes. But a fight back is under way. Cant't Pay Won't Pay with the the bottom line being that nobody will loose their home. These are the main ideas of the campaign. The tactics are mass fight to win action exposing the politicians and the corporations and their corrupt rotten system.

Over 130 people met to launch this campaign in Hammond Indiana on monday night. The success of last night's meeting far surpassed anything could have been hoped for. Over 130 residents came out to the meeting in bitter cold temperatures of 20 below. The campaign is under way. John Throne.

'Can’t pay, won’t pay’ tax protesters slogan
Dec. 14, 2004

By Michelle L. Quinn / Post-Tribune correspondent

HAMMOND — A special present awaits local politicians who had anything to
do with the legislation surrounding Northwest Indiana’s tax woes: A front yard full of pickets.
A group of more than 100 angry residents convened at the Hammond Public
Library’s main branch Monday night to discuss options in fighting the
property tax increases. But instead of focusing on the usual channels of
writing politicians, the organizers, under the slogan “Can’t Pay, Won’t
Pay,” discussed taking public action, including picketing politicians and
the corporations they feel are responsible for their woes.

“We need to find where (the politicians) live; why should they live in peace when their actions have caused such dire consequences?” said Dado Rothenberg, one of the group’s organizers. Rothenberg, with her husband, Andy, started their campaign during the summer, when they saw the property tax on their Whiting home jump from
less than $1,000 to $2,000.“I don’t use this term lightly, but this is corporate terrorism,” Dado Rothenberg said. “When people are going to food pantries because they have
to pay their taxes, that’s a form of corporate terrorism. And the politicians can’t be relied upon to reverse the depression and fear.
“No one knows how to fix it, because no one wants to fix it.”The group, comprised of the Rothenbergs and three activists from Illinois,

take the group’s slogan from a British campaign from the ’80s, according to group member Sean O’Torian of Chicago.
“Under (former Prime Minister Margaret) Thatcher, there was what was known as the poll tax, which basically taxed everything,” O’Torian said. “A tiny movement in Scotland started, where they wouldn’t pay the tax.”
People would then go to the homes of others who were facing foreclosure to keep bank representatives at bay.“The cops will come out, but they told them to go away,” O’Torian said. “Pretty soon, 18 million people weren’t going to pay that tax.”But the group was also quick to point out that they aren’t expecting

anyone to be a martyr for the cause by losing their home, said Allyson Kennis of Chicago.
Many people vented their anger and frustration, but then the group set out
to establish an action plan, which includes leafleting politicians’ neighborhoods and pickets at BP Amoco and the steel mills. Members also vowed not to let the issue drop.
“This should be a subject that should be talked about everywhere,” said a member of the audience. “If the mayor’s with the boy scouts, someone should be there talking taxes.” But one woman, Maureen Carroll, of Cedar Lake, wondered if anything would
help at this point. “I’m part of the Miller Citizens Corp., and we’ve been getting the door
shut in our face,” she said. “Maybe we need hundreds of people to protest
at meetings, because nothing we’ve done so far has helped.”

End of article.

Article from the Hammond Times.

HAMMOND -- Disgruntled property tax protesters agreed Monday to picket a local politician's home on Dec. 23. The politician, who has not been selected, will be one
the group Can't Pay! Won't Pay! believes responsible for property tax increases threatening large numbers of northern Lake County homeowners.

No one in the Northwest Indiana political delegation should feel they'll be neglected, a group of about 100 residents attending a public forum on the issue agreed. They'll get their turn, the protesters promised.
Founded by Whiting residents Andrew and Dado Rothenberg, Can't Pay! Won't Pay! advocates the nonpayment of property tax increases to get the attention of the politicians and the corporations they hold responsible for the tax crisis. The group is being aided by community organizers from Chicago and
California who've worked on similar projects.
Northwest Indiana lawmakers weren't alone on the receiving end of some scathing indictments and protest actions during the meeting at the city's main public library.
So were Lake County corporate giants BP, U.S. Steel and Ispat Inland.
BP, however, stood out. "The steel companies were in trouble," Whiting resident Pati Manich said. "BP Amoco was not. They just had good lawyers." Dado Rothenberg said the group originally formed last summer but decided to delay action until after the November election.
Now the election's over, she said, and a blanket of apathy has settled. "We have a real issue here," she told the audience, some of whom didn't need to be persuaded. Dado Rothenberg said people were on the brink of
losing their homes and resorting to food pantries, giving up their health care, selling their cars and figuring out what to do next.
"We must focus on what we can do to save our homes," she said. Ronald Blevins, of Hammond, called for a boycott of BP. "We need to pick their pockets," he said. Hammond resident George Williams excused the businesses -- sort of -- but advocated making life unbearable for the politicians.
Williams said his property taxes increased by $1,000 and he may have to sell his home. He questioned what such upheavals for thousands of homeowners would do to any of the hard-hit communities. Jeremy Prickett, an organizer for the Campaign for Renters Rights in California, said the response Monday
indicated there was great potential for a grassroots movement to upset the balance of power. A similar protest against evicting low-income renters in California began with fewer than 100 people, he said.