St. Charles Democratic Alliance

A reminder that our February meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 at 7PM.  We will be meeting at Rendezvous Cafe and Wine Bar localed at 217 S. Main St., O'Fallon 63366.  Amy Blouin, Executive Director and Founder of the Missouri Budget Project will be joining us to discuss her organization and issues of our state budget. 
 

The Mission of the Missouri Budget Project is to advance public policies that improve economic opportunities for all Missourians - particularly low and middle-income families - by providing reliable and objective research, public education and advocacy.

The Missouri Budget Project is a nonprofit, objective, public policy analysis organization that provides independent research on complex state policy issues and how they impact all Missourians. The Missouri Budget Project works to enhance the ability of all Missourians to participate in the public debate and ensure that advocates, policy makers and the public have the information needed to create sound fiscal policies.

The Missouri Budget Project advocates in favor of fiscally responsible public policies that advance the well being of all Missourians, particularly our most vulnerable families who too often don’t have a voice in policy decisions.

Some disturbing information from them on the impact of budget cuts in our state:

Between 2007 and 2008, 761,000 Missourians were living in poverty - an increase of 15 percent and 102,000 people over 2006.
Unemployment in Missouri reached 9.6 percent in December of 2009.
In 2007/2008 the Median Income in Missouri was $46,906, $6,424 less than it was in 2001 when adjusted for inflation. This was the third largest decline in the nation in median income.
387,572 Missouri Families received Food Stamps in 2009, more than double the number of families in 2000 (178,465 Families) that relied on Food Stamps.

Please join us for this very important discussion.