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A SOBERING REFLECTION

As you head for the holiday house and load up the 4wd for a camping holiday, take a little time out to reflect on the campaign to limit the freedom of non-government organisations that are the frontline against market failure. We are very conscious of the Easter appeals for charities and research and willing to put our conscience to the test with a few coins in the can of street collectors, but are we willing to ask why there is a systematic attempt to silence these very organisations by the private sector lobbyists.

To set this issue in context, let’s look at the story of the Easter Seals in the United States that assists more than one million children and adults with disabilities and their families annually through a nationwide network of more than 450 service sites. Each center provides top-quality, family-focused and innovative services tailored to meet the specific needs of the particular community it serves funded by a drive to sell envelope seals and focused application of federal, state and local funds.  

In 1907, Ohio-businessman Edgar Allen lost his son in a streetcar accident. The lack of adequate medical services available to save his son prompted Allen to sell his business and begin a fund-raising campaign to build a hospital in his hometown of Elyria, Ohio. Through this new hospital, Allen was surprised to learn that children with disabilities were often hidden from public view. Inspired by this discovery, in 1919 Allen founded what became known as the National Society for Crippled Children, the first organization of its kind.

In the spring of 1934, the organization launched its first Easter "seals" campaign to raise money for its services. To show their support, donors placed the seals on envelopes and letters. Cleveland Plain Dealer cartoonist J.H. Donahey designed the first seal. Donahey based the design on a concept of simplicity
Easter Seals has been helping individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives for more than 80 years. From child development centers to physical rehabilitation and job training for people with disabilities, Easter Seals offers a variety of services to help people with disabilities address life's challenges and achieve personal goals.
because those served by the charity asked "simply for the right to live a normal life."   

But here is the critical issue, Easter Seals has a Legislative Advocacy Centre that actively supports people with disabilities and their families by appealing to Congress and federal agencies in Washington, D.C. to create and support programs that help people with disabilities gain greater independence. Easter Seals legislative agenda for 2007 includes nearly 2 dozen bills of importance to children and adults with disabilities and their families.

Some of the numerous 2007 legislative issues that the public is actively asked to lobby their parliamentary representatives include as Easter Seals’ legislative priorities for the 110th Congress are.

Federal Funding
Congress must adopt budget and appropriations legislation that address the unmet needs of people with disabilities, including Project ACTION, the National Center for Senior Transportation and the AgrAbility program.

Protecting Children's Health in Schools Act
Congress should adopt this legislation so students with disabilities continue to receive health and developmental services they need to be successful in school.
.
No Child Left Behind
Congress must maintain the NCLB accountability system so that children with disabilities receive a quality public education.

Head Start
Congress should maintain Head Start’s federal performance standards that have enabled children with disabilities to receive appropriate preschool services.

Tell Congress: Don't Block My Voice!

The direct action element of the Easter Seals campaign is significant at this time because the organisation is also struggling to get Congress to listen to the special interests of those that fall outside the mainstream with a write in campaign to Senators and House of Representative members. They ask citizens across the nation, via the Internet, to

   1. Complete the form below with your information.
   2. Personalize the subject and text of the message on the right    
       with your own words, if you wish.
   3. Click the Next Step button to send your letter to these
        decision makers.

This is precisely the type of action that is leading right wing think tanks to attack the civil society base in Australia, limiting tax deductible charitable status to band aid welfare and direct poverty alleviation while campaigning for greater tax deductions for the managerial class of the large corporations. This comes despite successive government inquiries having endorsed the view that NGOs provide an essential contribution to Australian democracy.

A draft tax ruling released by the Australian Tax Office (May 2005) reads
“political and lobbying purposes are not charitable. While such purposes may use educational means, this is not sufficient to show a charitable purpose’.
Outed ex-Minister Ian Campbell wrote a letter to an environmental NGO that explicitly threatened to use the tax system to constrain their advocacy work (See P99 Silencing Dissent by Clive Hamilton and Sara Maddison). Under this consistent lobbying by industrial associations Easter Seals would be banned.

CONTACT: Dr Colin Benjamin, Marshall Place Associates

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Email: contact@marshallplace.com.au

Dear [Decision Maker],

I am very concerned that you and some of your colleagues in Congress may be using logic puzzles, word distortions and other techniques as part of your electronic communication systems. These barriers have a chilling effect for people with disabilities, particularly individuals with cognitive, mental, visual and dexterity issues from voicing their concerns with you and your staff.

Americans and especially Americans with disabilities have come to depend on the Internet and email to communicate with friends, family, policy makers and others because email is a very accessible form of communication for a wide range of people. As a constituent, I urge you not to impose such barriers on your constituents.

Easter Seals, an organization whose mission is to enable children and adults with disabilities, live, learn, work and play in their communities, uses email to inform people with disabilities, their families and others about key disability policy issues.

Easter Seals is an industry leader in privacy protection and never sends unauthorized messages to you and your colleagues. Moreover, I am pleased that Easter Seals has joined efforts to work with congressional leaders and their technology staff to find ways of communicating with you without overwhelming your staff.

Please do not block my voice by imposing barriers to communicating with you.