Activists from across New York are in Washington to lobby on behalf of working families.
Jennifer Diagostino, Executive Director of the Buffalo based Coalition for Economic Justice, is part of a delegation meeting with Senator Charles Schumer today. She says they'll be urging Schumer to support a deficit reduction plan that protects safety net programs and ends tax cuts for the wealthy and public subsidies.
"We give away billions and billions of dollars every year, $3 billion in New York State alone, of public money to private companies. That's supposed to be used to create good jobs, but most of the time, it's not," Diagostino told WBFO News.
Diagostino says the reason social programs are needed is because people are forced to work jobs that don't pay a living wage or provide benefits. She says people need Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security just to get by.
Diagostino says the delegation, which is part of the Jobs with Justice Network, will be urging Schumer to support a deficit reduction plan that lets Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy expire and protects safety net programs.