Sometimes, being equal is not fair.

Across the state and walks of life, New Yorkers are telling lawmakers that instead of slashing funding for social services, schools, hospitals and nonprofit groups, they should consider increasing taxes on the wealthiest.

"When someone making $1 million pays the same tax percentage as someone making $20,000, it may be equal but it is not fair," said David DeFelice, president of the Phelps-Clifton Springs Faculty Association. DeFelice was among the NYSUT members in a crowd of 300 at the Liberty Pole in Rochester.

Thousands of New Yorkers in seven cities across the state joined rallies early this month calling for a modest income tax hike on people who make more than $250,000 a year (based on federally adjusted gross income).

"Asking those who can most afford to pay a little bit more could generate $6 billion in revenue," said NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin.

Federal stimulus funds are already making a difference, but the temporary aid can only go so far, Lubin said.

Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith recently announced $1.3 billion in stimulus funds would be used to replace proposed "nuisance taxes," including a "fat" tax on sugared beverages.

And late last month, the governor announced he would use funds from Washington to restore K-12 school aid to current levels — still $1 billion shy of the aid needed to sustain essential services and more than $1.8 billion less than what schools were promised.

"Cutting services will not solve this budget crisis," Lubin said. "We have to look at creating long-term fiscal stability."

Fight for fairness

Poll after poll shows support for tax reform, and in early March, New Yorkers across the state made the point even more clear. In New York City, the United Federation of Teachers played a pivotal role in the broad coalition with an estimated 70,000 participating.

In Binghamton, NYSUT Board Member Candace Stroud listened with deep sympathy as Kevin Main, a truck driver and member of Teamsters Local 693, told how he lost his job.

In Syracuse, students, teachers, health care workers and community members crowded into the Second Olivet Baptist Church, holding signs that read "Save lives, Save health care" and "Not on the backs of working families." On Long Island, a capacity crowd overflowed the Huntington Hilton, marching outside as well with signs calling for "Fair Tax."

"In smaller, rural districts, 'fair share' has more urgency than ever," Beth Peters of the Wayne Teachers Association said after the Rochester rally. "Our reductions under Paterson's budget impose a much greater burden on our kids and their families. Adjusting the income tax helps to address that unfairness."