Sign the Petition: Governor Hochul: End Poverty in New York State!
New York is the most unequal state in the nation. A new report shows that ultra-rich New Yorkers (those with wealth over $30 million) hold a staggering $6.7 trillion in wealth. Meanwhile, 8.6 million New Yorkers are poor and low-income. Inequality has cost too much and has hurt too many in New York State: when wealth concentrates at the top, it depresses economic activity and has an outsized influence over government decision-makers. Meanwhile, vital resources are kept from those who are abandoned in the midst of abundance. The health and well-being of the state depend on quickly and concretely addressing policy violence against those who suffer the effects of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the false narratives of religious nationalism.
On behalf of the 8.6 million poor and low-income people in New York, the NY State Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival calls on Governor Kathy Hochul to do the following:
- Publicly acknowledge the ongoing and interconnected crises of poverty in New York State, and;
- Convene an in-person meeting with the New York State Poor People’s Campaign, including New Yorkers directly impacted by poverty, faith leaders, and policy experts, to craft a policy agenda to meet the needs of ALL New Yorkers.
Now is the time to center the needs of those impacted by poverty and demand a policy agenda that benefits everybody. We need a policy agenda that addresses the lives, struggles, agency and insights of the 8.6 million poor and low-income New Yorkers and our allies. We need a policy agenda that embodies a politics of justice and truth that can defeat the politics of death, heal the nation and move us closer to genuine democracy.
Sign this letter to Governor Hochul and join your voice with the poor and dispossessed of New York State to lead a moral revolution of values!
Stay tuned for our upcoming report on poverty in New York State, and Poor People’s State of the State events!
