As people of faith, we firmly believe that the dignity of work and the security of the family are nonnegotiable moral values. We believe that every job must enable those who work to support a family. Far too many of our neighbors and loved ones perform grueling and important jobs but are paid so little that they must turn to charity and government assistance to make ends meet. After a long shift cleaning buildings, no mother should have to wait in line at a food pantry just to provide for her children. No farm worker who toils all day should lack a roof over his head at night. We respect the dignity of our neighbors who toil under the yoke of today's unjust minimum wage, and we call on our elected leaders to ease their burden by making the minimum wage a family wage.

Illinois faces enough fiscal challenges without profitable companies abusing the tax code to the tune or $108 million. That money could hire 3,000 new teachers instead of padding bottom lines. That's why we need legislators in Springfield to be fiscally responsible by ending the yearly $108 million heist from Illinois' budget. Instead of considering more cuts that hurt kids, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, let's ask big companies to pay their fair share. We, the small business owners and working families of Illinois, already do our fair share. Source: "Closing the Billion Dollar Loophole: How States Are Reclaiming Revenue Lost to Offshore Tax Havens," Illinois PIRG Education Fund, January 30, 2014 http://goo.gl/3WX0FB

If you listen to the Wall Street bankers, our economy is blazing away. Of course they’d think so: corporations are making record profits and bankers are swimming in record bonuses. But we know that the economy is not working for the rest of us -- who of us has not been affected by job losses, foreclosed homes, or credit card and student debt? So, the question is: how can we spread the wealth? It turns out there is one institution that has the power to help stop our economy from providing such radically different results to the wealth hoarders on the one hand and the rest of us on the other. That institution is the Federal Reserve. No single institution has more influence over our economy than the Fed. It sets interest rates and determines the amount of money in circulation. Making decisions on those two critical issues has a profound impact on who wins and who loses in our economy. Here’s what’s going on: Wall Street creditors and their allies at the Fed are saying that dropping unemployment numbers mean it’s time to start raising interest rates in order to “prevent inflation.” But those numbers are dropping because people are no longer looking for work, not because the economy is improving. The real reason is so they can make more money off of our debt: mortgages, credit cards, student loans and all the rest. Wall Street is rolling in money from our misfortunes. For the rest of us, not only does our debt cost more, but higher interest rates stop businesses from hiring and investing and keep growing families from buying new homes. Right now, Wall Street bankers are fighting as hard as they can to win. And when they win, the rest of us lose. Help us stop Wall Street bankers and other wealth hoarders from forcing us back into recession. If we stand up and fight back, then we will take a step towards an economy that works for all of us. Make your voice heard. Sign the petition.

It seems quite reasonable.

Millions of people cannot find work through no fault of their own; they are falling into poverty and losing their personal savings, homes, and retirement plans. It is absurd that we would let people fall into poverty because our economy cannot create enough jobs for everyone, when we have the resources to prevent it. It's time to enact MLK's vision of a society where everyone has the right to a job that can support themselves, and enact a federal Job Guarantee. Article by L. Randall Wray in The Nation, 6/27/2011: http://www.thenation.com/article/161249/job-guarantee-government-plan-full-employment Interview with Pavlina Tcherneva on job guarantee programs, 1/21/2014: http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2014/01/guaranteed-income-guaranteed-job.html This petition is part of the Unemployment Project, building a movement to make unemployment obsolete: http://oaklandwiki.org/Unemployment_and_Underemployment_Project

Where is California going to find the money to expand preschool, fund public transportation or protect our environment? Well, we can start by looking at the Cayman Islands. Corporations dodge taxes by booking profits made here to offshore tax havens that levy little to no tax. It’s about time that these corporations start living by the same rules as the rest of us. It’s time to close these loopholes and invest in an economy that works for everyone. And the best part is, we don’t need to wait for Congress -- but we need California legislators to act. Montana and Oregon have already passed laws recoup money stashed in offshore tax havens -- with broad bipartisan support. If we enacted the same policy here in California, it would generate $246 million dollars. Our legislators have so far failed to advance this measure in California. Help us show them it's time to close this loophole and make taxes more fair.

To send a message to Senator Eichelberger that he should represent the people who elected him and to stop supporting anti-worker legislation that is promoted by far right radical groups

I know many people, myself included, who are overeducated and under employed. As a small landlord, I can't find anyone with a job to rent from me - everyone who comes is on disability! As a college teacher, I worry about the future of my students as increased inequality decreases the number of quality jobs. I live in a city where 30% of the population lives in poverty, with little opportunity to change this.

It's time for Massachusetts to put expanding opportunity for everyone ahead of special tax breaks for a few huge corporations. Corporations dodge taxes by booking profits made here to offshore tax havens that levy little to no tax. We could close that loophole at the state level -- without waiting for Congress -- and recover $79 million each year. Oregon and Montana have already passed this reform in those states. If we invested that money in early education, we could take 8,953 kids off the wait list and put them into classrooms. Studies show this one the most powerful ways we can eliminate the opportunity gap and give every child a fair shot. Kids who go to preschool do better in school, and are more likely to go to college and get a good job. But it's just too expensive for many families, and tens of thousands of kids are on waiting list for public programs in Massachusetts. We can do better. We've got just a few weeks to convince lawmakers drafting the budget to put kids ahead of corporations. I know they will be hearing from the corporate lobbyists who benefit from these loopholes. The only way we'll win is if they hear from you, too.

As a victim of Wage Theft, I understand the struggle of trying to put food on the table after having your hard earned dollars stolen. Allowing local governments to establish effective wage theft ordinances in Florida will help victims like myself be made whole and retrieve our lost wages quickly and inexpensively. The Florida Retail Federation is trying to do the opposite with HB 957 and SB 926. These bills eliminate options for local governments, forcing all wage theft victims to rely on our underfunded, overburdened court system. Forcing all victims like me into the courts would make it extremely difficult for victims of wage theft to recover their wages.

California is losing thousands of middle-class jobs and significant tax revenue as a direct result of other regions offering more competitive production subsidies. We need to support AB 1839 to expand our state's film and television tax credit program!

How is Colorado going to pay for flood damage repair, upgrading mental health care or improving our schools? Well, we can start by looking at the Cayman Islands. Corporations dodge taxes by booking profits made here to offshore tax havens that levy little to no tax. It’s about time that these corporations start living by the same rules as the rest of us. It’s time to close these loopholes and invest in an economy that works for everyone. And the best part is, we don’t need to wait for Congress -- but we need Colorado legislators to act. Montana and Oregon have already passed laws recoup money stashed in offshore tax havens. If we enacted the same policy here in Colorado, it would generate $15.3 million dollars. It's a simple step that could be done in a month if we could convince Colorado legislators to push this forward. But to convince them to take on the big corporations and their lobbyists, they need to hear from you.