In America’s Industrial Heartland Can’t Pay Won’t Pay Campaign takes Off

Fighting to Win

By Allyson Kennis and Richard Mellor

cantpaywontpay [at] yahoo.com

“They represent illegal taxation, taxation without representation and what this country was founded on”

So said the rank and file Union man who attended the first public meeting of the Can’t Pay Won’t Pay Campaign when asked about the tea bags hanging on his jacket. He was one of 140 predominantly working class folks who came to the meeting in Hammond Indiana on December 13th to do something about the massive increases in property taxes introduced by the Indiana State legislature.

Four big corporations, BP Amoco, US Steel, Inland and Ispat, went to the Indiana state legislature and had their politicians change the property tax reassessment law. The politicians naturally complied and members of both parties unanimously voted to carry out the corporations wishes. This created a massive tax shift from the corporations to the residents of Lake County. Property tax increases of 1000% are not uncommon and there is a real possibility that thousands of residents will lose their homes. Some residents who cannot afford the hikes have already sold their property and others have gone without health insurance to comply.

There have been some large public meetings and vocal protests in the area but nothing has been effective has been done. Appealing to the very politicians who voted the tax hike in has obviously proved pointless. The only other current effort to change the situation is through the courts. There is an attempt by one group to have the tax assessment process declared unconstitutional and while the Can’t Pay Won’t Pay Campaign supports working with any group that opposes this corporate theft, they recognize that the courts generally favor those with money. The goal of the campaign is to build mass opposition to this tax and to oppose paying it through mass direct action.

Up until this past week, the entire campaign has mainly consisted of three organizers from Chicago and three residents of Lake County. The first attempt at a meeting turned out 10 people. The folks in Indiana felt this was largely due to the November elections. So they met, and discussed, but did not try to organize again until this past week.

For the December 13th meeting, the organizers planned on meeting an hour ahead of the scheduled start time of 6.30 to go over any last minute questions, discuss the chairing and the introduction. People had been leafleting stores and malls in the Hammond, Whiting and Gary Indiana area and figured that if they got five or ten people it would be a success, something to build on. But they got there to find people already waiting for the meeting. This was due to an article appearing the Hammond Times announcing the meeting. One woman said she had been there since 4:30 because she did not know what time it started and wanted to make sure not to miss anything. By the end of the meeting she told organizers how glad she was that she had waited. “I wanted to hear what you had to say and I liked every word”, she said.

The theme of the meeting was, Can’t Pay Won’t Pay and was introduced by one of the founders of the campaign, Dado Rothenberg who is also a Lake County resident with a huge new tax bill. Sister Rothenberg made it clear that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss what action people can take on their own behalf. “The politicians”, she said. “are not going to fix it. We the people are going to fix it. We have to make one voice and fix it”. She said that the meeting was to discuss what action we as a people can take. She told the audience that if they were there to point fingers or complain about lack of response from the politicians then they were at the wrong meeting. There was a resounding applause and support for this approach.

After the introduction the floor was opened for discussion, questions and ideas. One of the first people to speak said we could do three things, boycott BP/Amoco, go to the city council meeting to protest, and resist this. He said, “I am not for violence”, he paused, “but I would die to keep from losing my home! We must resist. As individuals, we can’t do it, but together, as a group we’re strong, just like a mountain.” When asked about the third option he said, “The third one is the one you don’t want to take; that’s war.”

A rank and file carpenter attacked the president of the carpenter’s union, whose wife is a local politician and described how the official had benefited from this. “It’s unethical and a conflict of interest”, he said. He suggested throwing up a picket at her office.

Another man got up and said his home had already been foreclosed on. “They do not care; they will take your home and then your family. I’m willing to do my fair share. I am reporting for duty “ he said as he saluted.

Another suggestion was thrown out to tie up phone lines. The man wearing tea bags, a throw back to the Boston tea party, advocated a picket at BP. Others wanted to go to a politician’s home first.

Another woman, a Latina, said that there were many Latino people affected by this but not enough at the meeting. She offered to “hit the bars, the churches” She just wanted the fliers and could help translate. Another guy offered to donate paper.

A business owner kept offering suggestions saying that he didn’t oppose the corporations making money and was not necessarily against that being a business owner himself. He criticized the campaign for not having a goal and a strategy despite these items being in abundance. He said that all he had heard was emotion. “Yes, I am emotional”, said one resident, “it is my home I am going to lose. How do you not become emotional about that? This is an issue people feel strongly about and it is a difficult thing, the thought that you may lose your house. How else should we feel but emotional.

As the meeting progressed various actions were discussed including organizing a picket at BP offices in the U.S. and abroad. Eventually it was decided to go Christmas caroling on December 23rd at the house of one of the politicians who wrote the bill. When co-chair and campaign organizer, Allyson Kennis asked the crowd if they wanted to meet again, she got an overwhelming “YES!”.

A reporter for one of the local papers wanted to know which politician was going to be selected for a Christmas visit so that she could include it in her article for the following days edition, folks were having problems deciding whose house they should go to. The reporter waited, hoping to add it to her story. “Tell the politicians not to worry; we won’t let any of them off the hook. They are all on notice.” said campaign organizer, Cliff Willmeng

As the meeting ended, people surrounded the speakers at the podium They wanted to give their names again, even though they had already signed a sign in sheet. One woman said that if the group was serious about making their own Christmas Carols to bring to the politician’s home, her husband plays the accordion.

The meeting was covered extensively in the local press the following day and Sister Rothenburg did an interview with NPR. One reporter said she would let the campaign know who is getting assigned to the story so that they could keep in contact with the paper. She said that the paper is getting calls about how to get in touch with the, Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay group.

The meeting was a great success and shows what the Union leaders could do if they wanted to. Unfortunately, the USWA is supporting the corporations, a natural outcome of the misguided view held by the labor leadership that the employers and their workers have the same interests. Of course, it’s always the employers’ interests that are defended in the last analysis.

There is the potential now for a genuine mass resistance to this tax hike. The mood at the meeting was combatitive and uplifting as the creativity and pent up anger of working people found expression. There will be another planning meeting of the campaign in the New Year, after the December 23rd action.

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