Rubin is Right on the Issues
Property Tax Reform
Our local schools & governments are still funded through property taxes,
a relic from the 19th century when only landowners could vote, and
income tax was not a feasible option. Dr. Edwin Seligman, a professor of
political economy at Columbia University and the son of one of New
York's most affluent banking families, called the property tax "one of
the worst taxes ever used by a civilized nation". That was in 1905.
As your Assemblywoman, Anne Rubin will strongly support a circuit breaker law, which will limit the percentage of income that anyone will be expected to pay for property taxes. But beyond that, she will push for a complete change from property taxes to income taxes. Property taxes are regressive and outdated. Income taxes are the fairest system that we have for funding our schools & governments, with each person paying according to their actual means.
Jobs
The Hudson Valley has been losing jobs left and right to overseas
manufacturing plants. In order for our region to remain economically
viable, we must bring in new jobs that cannot be outsourced.
Ulster County is already envisioning the future and bringing in new jobs
with their Solar Energy initiative. Dutchess & Columbia counties must
now follow suit with carefully thought out plans for bringing in the
industries of the future, including green & tech industries.
Anne Rubin will work with state and local leaders to set in motion new
ideas and new plans that will bring good jobs to our area, so that our
children will want to stay here when they grow up, and raise their own
families here as well.
Environment
Anne Rubin is a member of her town's Conservation Advisory Council,
which advises the Town Board on all matters relating to the environment.
Her specialty is in water protection issues, and she is a strong
believer in the need for stricter protections on our groundwater
supplies.
Anne will work at the State level to give more tools to local
governments to protect all of our natural resources. The sad truth is
that, too often, our environment is sacrificed to the monetary desires
of a few greedy developers, because our towns do not have the legal or
financial means to protect themselves. Anne believes in smart growth,
protecting our open spaces and our rural character while concentrating
development in smaller areas with strong oversight by the local
community.
Farms
Anne Rubin is a strong supporter of our local farms. She believes that
our whole area would benefit from having a larger supply of local foods,
with a stronger distribution network to get foods from our local farmers
to our own residents. Why pay to transport an apple from Japan when our
own farmers are growing them right next door?
Our local farmers are a keystone of our local economy, and we need to support them in their efforts to stay afloat in a global market. Anne will fight to save our farms and our rural way of life.
Fair Funding
Anne believes that we need to focus on property tax reform, making New York State affordable for working families. Recent proposals - such as a circuit breaker for the individual taxpayer - will get vigorous support from an Assembywoman Rubin.
She will work tirelessly to promote the interests of the citizens in the 103rd Assembly District, and she asks for your help in making it happen.
Clean Counties
Anne is involved with local issues, receiving appointments to the Town of Red Hook Conservation Advisory Council (CAC). Anne also serves on the Red Hook Zoning Review Committee.
In her work for the CAC, she has made an intensive study of local water issues. and believes that protecting our water resources is one of the key environmental challenges facing our area.
"The economic realities of the Hudson Valley in the 1970s no longer exist. We need to move beyond the old ways of doing business. We need to work together to keep our farm towns alive, to keep our communities vibrant, and to maintain a Hudson Valley that our children will not only love, but can afford to call home."
Good Business
Anne believes that we need to focus on property tax reform, making New York State affordable for working families, constructing a new economic base for our area, protecting our environment, and increasing fairness and transparency in government.
Creating support for local businesses and farms will benefit all families in the district, because they won’t have to travel so far to get what they need.
“That becomes more and more important with rising fuel prices.”
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