Seesaw Demonstration to Illustrate the Need for a Balanced Approach to State’s Ongoing Budget Problems

Fredericksburg, VA- On Tuesday, September 14, Virginia Organizing will hold a public “budget seesaw” demonstration in front of the Fredericksburg School Board Building. The group has two goals for the upcoming General Assembly session. The first is that future budget decisions made by the state government balance existing budget cuts with new revenue. The second goal is to modernize the state’s “old and rusty” tax structure so that everyone pays their fair share.

With the school board building as the backdrop, the group will use a seesaw to demonstrate that when cuts are made to education or other vital services, the whole state gets out of balance, much like a seesaw. Tuesday’s event is part of Balance Virginia, a public education campaign of Virginia Organizing on budget and tax issues.
“We are tired of dealing with drastic local cuts to education and then reading about supposed surpluses in the newspaper. The real long-term solution to our budget crisis lies in a balanced approach that includes revenue and fixes our broken, old, tax system. A cuts only approach is reckless,” said Alane Callandar of the Virginia Organizing Balance Virginia Budget and Revenue Committee. “Balance is a concept that a three year old understands when she plays on her seesaw. We are here today to demonstrate the need for balance in our budget and tax structure and to ask our state legislators: are you smarter than a three year old?”