How to talk about government and taxes
People take public services for granted. All of the complex mechanisms that keep people clean, safe, educated and cared for have become givens —like trees, sunrise and rivers. They are invisible precisely because they are so normal and intrinsic to our lives.
At the same time, citizens are bombarded with messages that government is big, wasteful, inefficient and intrusive —crippling the economy with its expensive demands. State and federal legislators have shifted a substantial portion of tax responsibility from corporations to individuals, from the affluent to the moderate income families.
The majority of citizens now face higher taxes as they watch annual cuts in education, city systems and county services. Not surprisingly, people are angry and resistant to calls for more money.
Trying to protect valuable public services requires new ways of getting in contact with men and women’s sense of responsibility for maintaining strong communities. The question is how. Using research from DEMOS, IWF is developing presentations and materials that provide a new perspective on public structures and a strategy for strengthening communities without raising family taxes by making the revenue system fair. DEMOS is a national non-profit organization committed to strengthening democracy in the United States. The Public Works Project has done extensive research on how most people perceive government and
various strategies for overcoming common negative stereotypes.
Patrick Bresette, a long time activist in Texas is working with ten states to help organizations communicate more effectively about the public sector. Wisconsin is one of those states and IWF has sponsored several training sessions for elected officials, school superintendents, union leaders, PTA members, park advocates, non-profit directors, religious activists, retired persons and others.
Some key points of the training were:
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Talking to people is not like writing on a blank slate – people’s minds are already filled with ideas, perceptions and ways of seeing the world. Our job is to find a way to connect to those existing perceptions in a way that connects and strengthens a positive view of the public sector.
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When we “frame” our communication to connect effectively, we need to start with a positive value that we share with the listener – big ideas like justice, fairness, family, opportunity, clean air, good education, etc.
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It is important to focus on systems, not individuals – contrary to the media emphasis on personal stories. We want people to think in terms of social issues with political solutions.
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We need clear ways of explaining policies – metaphors that are easy to understand. Like using the image of a “hole in the roof” for ozone depletion.
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It is crucial not to repeat anti-tax/government statements and try to refute them – it just reminds the listener of the negative analysis.
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We need to use numbers in a way that makes a point. If a person hears 600,000 people, it is not as vivid as saying as many people as live in the entire city of Milwaukee.
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Outreach must include a solution – who is responsible for the problem and how we can resolve the issue.
For more information on DEMOS
» Framing PowerPoint
» Research PowerPoint
» DEMOS website