Green Party Releases Its Progressive Agenda Ahead of Hochul’s State of the State 

1/9/24 - The Green Party of New York said that Governor Hochul’s State of the State failed to lay out the bold action needed to deal with the multiple crisis facing New York. “The Governor remains more committed to protecting her campaign donors rather than making the investments needed to lift up the average New Yorkers, many of whom continue to face significant economic challenges following the COVID epidemic. Threats to democracy and to the well-being of the average New Yorkers remains a bipartisan effort,” said Peter LaVenia, co-chair of the Green Party.

The Greens released its progressive agenda for 2024, including ballot access reform to restore third party political rights, enacting Ranked Choice Voting and proportional representation, passing single-payer universal healthcare, and needed housing reforms including rent control, constructing a million units of publicly owned social housing, and good-cause eviction. The party argued for immediate action on climate change, and said that taxing the rich, including stopping the rebate of the Stock Transfer Tax, would help pay for needed reforms and social program expansion including reinvestment in impacted communities.

While the Party was encouraged that the Governor is proposing at least part of the NY Heat Act to curtail the promotion of and subsidies for fossil fuels, they criticized the Hochul administration for failing to meet the deadlines laid out in the state's new climate law on how it plans to meet its relatively weak goals to reduce global emissions. According to a recent report by Dr. James Hansen, the world will have already passed the target of 1.5 degrees C warming before NY even adopts its legally required plan on how to reduce emissions. “No wonder the UN has said that governments' slow climate action has opened up the Gates of Hell. And delaying Hochul’s weak carbon pricing plan just allows more fuel to be thrown into the fire,” noted Mark Dunlea of the EcoAction Committee of the U.S. Green Party.

Hochul did lay out a number of small but important climate steps, but fell far short of treating the situation as a climate emergency. Noticeably absent was any mention the Hochul intended to have NYPA launched a major expansion of publicly owned renewable energy as authorized in last year’s budget, nor was there any mention of public ownership of the transmission grid. While Hochul has indicated that $3 billion a year will be raised by how delayed cap-and-trade program, her speech fell far short on outlining a plan to begin investing the $10 to $20 billion of annual funding needed for a rapid transition to clean energy. She did announce support for making polluters to pay for the damages they have caused, such as enacting the Climate Superfund Act. The Party wished that her Solar for All was actually for all residents. It also supports far greater funding for environmental justice and Just Transition programs.

“The climate emergency is at a crucial point. We must solve the climate crisis so that our children have a chance for a decent future. The Green New Deal, which we first called for in Howie Hawkins’ 2010 gubernatorial race, will also meet the economic needs of our state’s residents. Single payer health care would reduce overall healthcare spending while ensuring that everyone’s health care needs, including COVID, are met,” added Dunlea. 

In addition to funding Green New Deal initiatives, the Greens call for an ecosocialist Green New Deal to move rapidly towards a renewable energy economy. The party said it strongly opposes Gov. Hochul’s cap-and-trade solution and that the CLCPA was an example of the Democrat’s tepid response to the worsening climate catastrophe. They called for major subsidies to enact rapid decarbonization of all buildings in the state including heat pumps, geothermal, and energy conservation. Greens called for a rapid expansion of funds for mass transit and that all new vehicles should be electric by 2030.  The Greens want a target date of zero emissions as soon as possible (2030), rather than the 30-year goal under the state law, which would still allow emissions to be 15% of 1990 levels. The Greens back an immediate halt to all new fossil fuel infrastructure, increased public ownership and democratic control of the energy system and a robust carbon tax in all sectors to make polluters pay for the damages they cause with fossil fuels.

The Greens said that New York State must become a gold standard for electoral reform. They mentioned that New York is an outlier in recent years, as most states have loosened ballot access laws rather than restricting them. Reform of ballot access laws would give New Yorkers more choices and help combat the widespread and continual corruption in state government from both the Democrats and Republicans.

“Democracy continues to be in a fragile condition in New York and nationwide, with both parties engaged in corruption and suppression of democratic rights. Cuomo used the cover of COVID to kill independent small parties in the state budget. We demand the so-called progressive Democrats with a Legislative supermajority who told us they opposed what was happening to have the courage to stand up and do what is right for New Yorkers. That includes raising the taxes on billionaires and other rich New Yorkers to close the massive budget deficit from COVID,” said  Gloria Mattera, state party co-chair.

“Governor Hochul’s attempt to legalize Accessory Dwelling Units and force municipalities to build housing hit a roadblock last year because it was dependent on private property interests doing so. As a party we agree that housing reform is absolutely necessary, but the only way to get there is through public investment and ownership of housing. We need a committed program of public social housing that provides a million units for working-class and middle-class families across the state. Additionally, we need to pass strong tenant protection like rent control, good-cause eviction, and legalizing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to shift away from the bankrupt suburban, single-family home model,” added Mattera.

The Greens have also been long-term proponents of stopping the multi-billion dollar annual rebate of the Stock Transfer Tax. “It is long past time we make the rich pay their fair share of taxes, instead of making New York the long-time leader in economic inequality. We won’t solve the climate crisis or systemic racism or a host of other social problems until we embrace ecosocialism, putting the needs of average people and the planet ahead of the profits and well-being of a few,” said Peter LaVenia, state party co-chair.

UBI Lab Network invites you to global sensemaking session online via Zoom on Hunome of the many perspectives and possibilities of UBI (Universal Basic Income) October 24 at 5-7 PM Helsinki (EEST) | 3-5 PM London| 4-6 PM Paris | 10-12 AM NYC time. Sign in to join: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org/events/ubi-lab-finland-universal-basic-income-sense-making-session-on-hunome

UBI Lab Network invites you to global sense-making session on Hunome of the many perspectives and possibilities of UBI (Universal Basic Income) Zoom session October 24 at 5-7 PM Helsinki (EEST) | 3-5 PM London| 4-6 PM Paris | 10-12 AM NYC time.

Bring your thoughts and knowledge, let’s learn from each other across countries and build shared understanding around UBI globally and locally with the atomic community in Hunome! See how to participate.

German scientific institutions, supported by “Mein-Grundeinkommen.de" (an organisation offering free basic incomes in raffles financed through donations) have been looking at the feasibility of the implementation of universal basic income in German society, and after quite some time and research, they have successfully worked out ways to go about it that would make sense and that are quite doable in fact.

Here a little German video on what they have been calculating and figuring out. The title of the video means “Universal Basic Income can be financed!”

Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen ist finanzierbar!

Unfortunately, as of yet there are only German subtitles and no English subtitles yet for it.

Here some general informations on all of that in English: https://www.mein-grundeinkommen.de/infos/in-english

It's super easy and doesn't require any kind of payment. This is what you do:

1.click the link and setup a new account with PSECU Bank.

2.when asked if you're related to someone who's a member at PSECU say yes and enter my name(required to be eligible for the bonus):

Jacob McDonald

3. When asked if I'm a student or alumni at the college say no.

4. Choose yes when asked if you want the debit card.

5. Enroll in online banking after you sign up via the PSECU app(available in the app store).

6. Activate the card once it arrives in the mail.

7. Enjoy your free $100 and fee free account!

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.

On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.

Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .

This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.

The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.

What can you do as a user?

• Complain. Message the mods of /r/reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message /u/reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /r/reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
• Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join the coordinated mod effort at /r/ModCoord.
• Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
• Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.

What can you do as a moderator?

• Join the coordinated effort over at /r/ModCoord
• Make a sticky post showing your support, A template has been created here you can use or modify to your liking, and be sure to crosspost it to /r/ModCoord.

Going Forward

This subreddit doesn't get a lot of activity and the cause is better served by the main basic income subreddit, so I don't plan on reinstating this subreddit once the blackout is over. However, if you are interested in keeping this subreddit going add a comment to this thread and I will look at things if there is a sufficient level of interest.

-Mod Team

EcoAction Committee of the Green Party of the United States.

https://www.gp.org/ecoaction_committee - https://www.facebook.com/GPEcoAction/ - https://www.gp.org/green_new_deal

The EcoAction Committee of the Green Party of the U.S. will hold a webinar forum on Monday, April 10 about the importance of this year’s Earth Day to May Day activities. The event, which begins at 8:00 PM ET is part of the national day to build the Green Party.

RSVP is required. Register here for the April 10 Forum.

The webinar will outline how green activists can build support for system change not climate change by organizing local educational events, protests, vigils, social media, LTE, call-ins, etc. from Earth Day (April 22) to May Day. An important part is building solidarity among the various movements demanding systemic change, such as Black Lives Matter, women’s rights, GLBQT, rights of nature, public power, peace, and worker and immigrant rights.

Speakers on April 10 will address the need for the climate movement to be more anti-capitalist, as well as the need for an Ecosocialist Green New Deal; biodiversity / RON; ending single-use plastics and halting fossil fuels; the role of the military on climate; and, how to promote Green living.

Speakers include Mark Dunlea, co-chair of EcoAction and author of Putting Out the Planetary Fire (link for free internet/pdf copy), speaking on climate change and the need to end capitalism; Dawn Marie Cronen, co-chair of EcoAction, speaking on Green Living; and Prof. David Schwartzman, EcoAction member from DC and climate scientist, speaking on climate change and the military.

Registration required.

Representing workers and communities with real solutions, the Green Party Of New York remains a unifying force for economic, social, political, and environmental justice.

We started and stand proudly behind our campaigns for: World Peace; Medicare For All; Worker Ownership; Direct Democracy; Basic Income; Banking Reform; Judicial, Police, and Prison Reform; and an actual Green New Deal.

Our success is measurable despite the obstacles put in our way for ballot access by the two faces of the one corporate party that relies on empty promises and fear tactics to fool and divide voters.

Over 111 Greens hold elected office nationwide as of November 2, 2021!

Join us and stand on the winning side of history as we elect more Green Party representatives in 2022.

We are stronger together!

Volunteers

https://www.gpny.org/volunteer

Candidates

candidates@gpny.org

I'm on SSI (supplemental security income,) and it's my most reliable source of income, but--

They dock how much you pay if you make any other form of income. It's not just that, but I also get less money on account of being a dependent, but because of that reduction I can't afford to move out. You also have a limit on how much money you can save up that is also preventing me from saving up enough to move out. Which keeps my income more limited.

I know a lot of people in the disability community are against universal income because we would benefit less from it than everyone else, and some people want to replace disability welfare with universal basic income, which would hurt a lot of people. If we had disability reform we could have a lot more support towards universal basic income from the disability community in coming years. Can you call your senators for me and ask?