San Francisco

The story furnished by ProPublica writers Michael Grabell and Chris Flavelle nailed the issue that almost half of the states in the US are going to walk away from the desperately needed money in the fund, because they are not willing – or able – to come up with their 20% share of this 4 to 1 federal to state match.   This is money that goes directly to citizen wealth and survival and can be used as direct cash transfers, aid on expanding welfare caseloads, rent payments to forestall evictions, and even creating temporary jobs for the unemployed.  The reporters highlight the plans and problems in a number of states like California, New York, and Tennessee.  They also redlined Louisiana, which is already notorious for not taking stimulus money to help the unemployed, and now indicates that its budget crunch means that despite the fact that 20% of our citizens live in poverty, it doesn’t have the money to help them get out of poverty.

What the heck?!?

In the Alice in Wonderland upside down world in which we live and work, the Administration is going around to the states trying to convince them to find someone else to put up the match.  New York State convinced George Soros, who has more money than god, to pony up for them, so now the government seems to think that’s the model.  According to the reporters, they think Wal-Mart or Target might be good sources for example for school clothing.  I have to go look out the window and see if this is in fact the day that pigs are going to fly!

Why are we not able to say to the states do this because citizen wealth makes your people richer and more secure, rather than advising the states in how to practice some weird form of grantsmanship with counties, cities, parishes, and corporations?  If we are going to get that weird, why don’t we rebrand it as ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, calculate how much the state will get back in sales and other taxes for their expenditures since the money will be spent right at home in the blink of an eye, and finally have some economic development that actually works for people rather than for developers and fast talkers?

San Francisco

The JBL’s, as we have fondly called them for more than a decade, were named for Jane Bagley Lehman, one of our dearly departed shining lights from the Tides Foundation’s early board.  Every year they recognize someone whose public advocacy from the local level has impact on national policy.  Salvador Reza, leader of the fight against Sheriff Arpaio and the outrages of the Homeland Security 287(g) program, Artemio Arreola, the political director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and one of the sparkplugs of immigration reform, and the widely known leader in this movement, Angelica Salas, from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) were the awardees.

The Momentum Conference specializes in presentations.  The designs are strong and moving.  The speeches are concise and timed to the second.  The graphics and video are hip and grabbing.  The momentum is fast paced with a strong up beat.

Artemio, Salvador, and Angelica all struck different notes after they were introduced by Russell Long one of our committee collective.  Yes, it was partially the welcomed accents and grammatical flourishes that add life to the language, but it was also the passion, sloppy and strident, as it burst over the two minute limits in each acceptance speech.  These were not slick appeals to the intellect delivered with poise and wit, but hammer strokes to the heart that spoke from pain and urgency about life and death.  These were calls for help for a cause that is struggling to hold the national light, but is every present in the raids in Phoenix, the worker centers of Los Angeles, and the hometown associations of Little Mexico in Chicago.

Salvador told me later he was surprised so many people he spoke to at the conference knew about Sheriff Joe and had heard about the problems in Phoenix.  This is the reality of someone fighting day to day on home turf.  It matters little to him whether this has been the subject of editorials in the New York Times, because the Times do not change his problem with the Arizona Republic.  When he looks out at the Momentum crowd, he doesn’t see his people, so he doesn’t assume support, and in fact clearly it surprises him.  He doesn’t these people in Phoenix or hears their voices.

Artemio had spoken about how he was going to use the money, $7500, which came with the award.   Suddenly, he was a philanthropist speaking to philanthropists.  Part of it was going to the hometown association in the Mexican state where he was from, part of it was going to help three families in Chicago struggling to survive as they faced exportation, and part of it was going to a new project that ICIRR was trying to start to add to the voices.  Didn’t he know that it is hard to track accountability in granting outside the US?  Didn’t he know that money is “wasted” when given to individuals?  Didn’t he know you get “more bang for your bucks” when you support established organizations and not new ideas?  Didn’t he know that $7500 was chum change?

Hell, no!  He was betting it all to win, place, and show!

The JBL’s were followed by a “fishbowl” discussion that was excellently moderated by Alexis McGill Johnson and featured the calmly collected and incisive remarks of Congresswoman Donna Edwards from Maryland’s 4^th District and the surprisingly frank and engaging Ben Jealous, a young man on the go who is now trying to remake the NAACP on its 100^th anniversary.  All of it was fascinating and timely, and they did a great job.

Unfortunately, they had to follow the passion of the immigrant rights warriors making these great leaders of our times seem stilted and artificial next to the heartfelt pleas of Salvador, Artemio, and Angelica to the Momentum participants for help and action right now, this minute, and no maybes.