Watch and share NESRI’s animated short film about using human rights to change budget and revenue policy in the United States! 

All over this country, people are struggling to meet their fundamental needs. They are unable to exercise their basic human rights to housing, health care, food, education, and dignified work, as the public services and programs essential to realizing those rights are cut, year after year, by reckless austerity policies. We live in the world’s most prosperous country, yet people whose income hasn’t risen in three decades while their health insurance premiums, rents and mortgages have shot up, are told to make further sacrifices and tighten their belts.

We can no longer afford public spending and tax policies that ignore people’s voices, needs and rights. NESRI’s film illustrates how we can use human rights to develop an entirely different way of making budgets.

While our film is about budgets in general, it is inspired by the grassroots People's Budget Campaign, run by the Vermont Workers' Center (whose Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign was key to making Vermont the first state to pass a bill for a universal, publicly financed health care system). Through mass organizing, the People’s Budget Campaign achieved its first legislative success in 2012: the state of Vermont is now required by law to develop a budget that addresses people’s needs, advances equity and dignity, and enables public participation.

We want to share the idea of budgeting based on human rights with advocates and organizers across the country. Our short film shows how we can change the budget process to ensure that spending and tax policy decisions put people’s needs and rights first.

It is time to change the conversation about budgets: share the film and connect with us about next steps you can take in your city or state. Join the movement for budgeting based on human rights!

Questions? Download our People’s Budget Frequently Asked Questions!