State Controller John Chiang to Meet with New Group on Tuesday, August 9
San Diego, CA – August 6, 2011 Middle Class Taxpayers Association (MCTA), a new non-profit organization formed to represent San Diego’s middle class in public policy issues, will host a lunch meeting with California Controller John Chiang on Tuesday, August 9th in South Park from noon to 1 p.m.
Organized as a grassroots movement of taxpayers, MCTA will focus on pocket-books issues such as healthcare coverage, housing affordability, quality of life, small business development, asset building, moral public budgeting, employment self-sufficiency, lifetime education, retirement security, and consumer safety.
MCTA differs from existing taxpayer advocacy groups in that it does not advocate on behalf of big business. “Our goal is to provide a voice for people who depend on a paycheck or own a small business, and pay their taxes in San Diego” said Pat Zaharopolous, the president and CEO of Middle Class Taxpayers Association.
The organization maintains the current recession is taking a heavy toll on the middle-class and shrinking its numbers. According to the San Diego Association of Governments, the region has been adding eight low-paying jobs for every one high-paying job in the past two decades. This structural gap between rungs in the economic ladder limits the opportunity for upward movement toward the American dream. In the last decade alone, median family income for San Diegans barely grew at half the rate of growth of the gross regional product.
The result is a teardrop-shaped economy, with top incomes pulling away, and a middle that is being pushed downwards into a bulging bottom. Zaharopolous says the middle-class has been economically crunched as homeowners, business operators, parents and students over the past three decades. She added, “Our organization aims to refocus our political leadership into investing in a sustainable public infrastructure, and strengthening our middle-class.”
Chiang is the latest State office holder to meet with MCTA. The organization hosted Insurance Commissioner David Jones in June. The lunch meeting with Chiang is open to the public and the location will be provided when a reservation is made through the organization’s website, www.middleclasstaxpayers.org.
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This is an interesting group, surprised no comments…did anyone happen to make the meeting? I had prior commitments, but the first meeting was quite informative – they’re bringing in some heavy hitters for an upstart organization too.
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Thanks to everyone who came and showed their support. We had over 130 regular folks listen to a very informative talk by Controller John Chiang about the impact of the state cuts on middle-class families. This was the second event, within a month of our formation, so stay tuned for more.
That’s great! Maybe someone could send us a report about it?
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